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Windows 7 - Why is backup so slow?

Anonymous
2010-03-16T03:04:46+00:00

I have a brand new Dell PC (Intel i7 processor) running Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.  (OEM)

I have about 350gb of data that I have transfered onto the new PC.

I have tried running Windows 7 backup to two different external drives.

It seems to take 24 or more hours to run a backup with Windows 7.

On my old PC with Vista it took 3-4 hours to backup the same data to the same drives

I can drag and copy files to a portable drive in about 3 hours

Here is what I did:

External drive shows 99% free space.

Ran error check on both PC and external drive.

Used settings for automatic fix file system error as well as attempt recover of bad sector.

PC is running normally.

Power state is normal.

No other programs running.

Logged in as administrator  (I have no other uses.  Just me as administrator)

Opened Windows 7 Backup.

Select "let me choose" what to back up.

Chose Local Disk "C" and "Include a System Image" box

Executed backup

This process should take a few hours, not a day.

What else can I try to speed up the Windows 7 backup process?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-03-16T22:07:37+00:00

    Hi ColoradoHi,

    I would suggest you to temporarily disable the anti-virus and firewall, check if the problem still persist.

    Note: Make sure you enable the anti-virus and firewall once the process is complete.

    If yes, then I would suggest you to perform backup process in Clean boot.

    To help troubleshoot error messages and other issues, you can start Windows 7 by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This kind of startup is known as a "clean boot." A clean boot helps eliminate software conflicts.

    1.      Log on to the computer by using an account that has administrator rights.

    2.      Click Start Collapse this imageExpand this im, type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER to start the System Configuration Utility.

    a.      Collapse this imageExpand thisIf you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

    3.      On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the Load startup items check box. (The Use Original Boot.ini check box is unavailable.)

    4.      On the Services tab, click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box, and then click Disable all.

    Note Following this step lets Microsoft services continue to run. These services include Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, Error Reporting, and other services. If you disable these services, you may permanently delete all restore points. Do not do this if you want to use the System Restore utility together with existing restore points.

    5.      Click OK, and then click Restart.

    For further information, visit the below mentioned link:

    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=929135

    Steps for Normal startup:

    1.      Click Start, and then click Run.

    2.      Type msconfig, and then click OK.

    The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed.

    3.      Click the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device drivers and services, and then click OK.

    4.      When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

    You may also refer the below mentioned links.

    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/windowsbackup/thread/1ba794f6-0bac-443b-9e22-5b8f175c69ba

    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsbackup/thread/3e08fc65-52f5-48ca-ae13-321cdfc44fbd

    Hope this information helped!

     Thanks and regards,

     Fouzan – Microsoft support.

     Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum 

     http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-%20US/answersfeedback/threads and let 

     us know what you think.

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-04-05T21:36:42+00:00

    Turned off all security, anti virus and firewall.  No help.  Really disappointing because this worked so well in Vista.

    Also did a Dell system restore back to factory settings.  I only had the computer for 2 weeks.  Wanted to make sure I did not screw something up when I transefered data and setting from my old Vista PC.

    Back to starting with a fresh Dell OEM install of Windows 7 on a 2 week old Dell PC.  I then copied via click and drap one large file of photos into My Photos using a portable hard drive.   Drag and clink took 2 hours to transfer the data to/from the portable hard drive.  Tried to run a Windows 7 backup up.  After 12 hours the backup was still not done and I cancelled it.

    I have a brand new Dell PC running Windows 7 and I have wasted 80+ hours trying to get Windows 7 backup to work.  I am PC novice.  No techie, but I can follow instructions well.

    Loaded the rest on my data, software etc. and decided to move on.  Bought backup software from Acronis for Windows 7 and did backup with full system image plus data in under 5 hours.

    I plan to use Dell software for another backup.  I keep 3 backups.  All drives will fail.  It really stinks to use different third party software.  It is nice to have eggs and many baskets.

    Microsoft:  I'm a PC, how about some basic backup software that is simple to use and works?  Needs to be so simple a cave man can do it!  I'll skip the system image if you can just backup my data like Vista did.

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-11-05T16:12:12+00:00

    There is a hotfix that might help:

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2283445

    Thanks,

    Windows SAN Dude

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-01-31T11:18:26+00:00

    Hello,

    I have applied this hot fix, but Windows Backup continues too slow.

    The backup is running for more than 7 hours.

    Windows Backup doesn't works. It's defective.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2011-01-31T12:48:49+00:00

    You could try the 'Fast Indexing' option? You seem knowledgeable enough to 'know your way around a computer' so I won't repeat it here for you. Your Computer is brand-new, you say, this option may have not been set up, yet. To explain away 'why' it is being so slow for you.

    I bet that the Vista OS was set up in this way, to account for the 3-4 hours you claim it was able to do. And, that's it, in a nut-shell.

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