Vista Backup and Recovery Checklist

Here are five backup and recovery essentials in Windows Vista that you should know about:

• The Backup and Restore Center, which you access through the Control Panel System and Maintenance applet, is the central location from which the majority of backup and restore operations take place.
• Basic File Backup and Restore is an automated tool for protecting users' data files with minimal user interaction. The file backups can be stored on a wide array of media. They're stored in .zip file format.
• Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore creates an image-based backup of an entire system in the event of a failed hard disk or other catastrophe. Complete PC backups are stored in Microsoft Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format.
• Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS) is an automatically enabled component of the Vista OS. VSS saves point-in-time copies of files that can be restored in the event of accidental file deletion or corruption.
• System Restore uses VSS to create point-in-time copies of system files that can be restored to recover your system after a botched driver installation or other misbehaving system element.