Backing up computer data is all too often overlooked. Fortunately Microsoft’s Windows Vista has some built in backup utilities to help persuade users to perform this regularly. I’m interested in seeing how user friendly the file backup utility is.

I decided to test out the file backup utility in Vista RC2. I was interested in trying to see how it would perform from the point of view of the average home user. I gathered some DVD-RWs and opened up the control panel. I chose the “Back up your Computer” and then the “Back up files” option as I was only interested in testing out what options were available for backing up files.


Next I was asked where I wanted to save the backup to. I chose my DVD-RW. I was then asked to choose from what drivess did I want to backup files. I chose to backup only from the drive that Vista RC2 was installed.

The next choices were which kinds of files did I want to back up. Of special note here is that I saw no option to specify any folders to exclude. It appeared to me from this screen that there are no ways to chose anything other than which file types. In other words, it is all or none. This is a very limiting option, but it may make it less confusing to many home users. This way they can be sure to not miss any by accident. I was then presented with a screen asking how often did I want to perform the backup. I accepted the default of every Sunday.

The next series of options were related to the backup media, in this case my DVD-RW. I chose yes through the options, and then Vista started to format my DVD-RW. It formatted it in a manner that would make it easy to simply add files at a later time. On my system, the format took about a half hour.

Then, Vista copied the files to the DVD-RW. The process didn’t take too long, as it only involved 747MB in this case. I then decided to wait a few days and perform the same backup and see the results.

The results were that it performed flawlessly. It scanned my system for any changes, and promptly copied them to the DVD-RW. As the system only needed to copy new files or ones that had changed, it only needed to copy 99.5MB and only took a few minutes. There was no need for the system to format the disc again, it just copied them over. I decided to take a look on the disc and see what vista had been up to. In the folders were a series of zip files containing the backed up files.

Overall I would consider the file backup utility in Vista to be a handy utility for the average home user. It is very easy to use. However, those with somewhat more sophisticated needs will probably want to pick up some third party utility for the extra features and control over backups they offer.