RichG

My system is configured as follows…

OS = Windows Vista Business
Internal Disk (drive C) = 120Gb
External Disk (drive H) = 500Gb (USB-connected)

I ran my first “Complete System backup” of my system on July 11, and chose
to store the backup files on my external disk (drive H). The backup
completed successfully, and I verified that the system created a 37Gb VHD
file along with a few other very small files. I then verified that the
amount of free space remaining on my external drive was ~37Gb less than I
previously had free.

So far, so good…

I installed two other software applications on my system (Microsoft Visio
2007 and Microsoft Project 2007), and I launched another complete system
backup this weekend. The backup completed successfully, and I verified that
the system created a new 25Gb VHD file along with a few other very small
files.

I expected to see this new 25Gb VHD file IN ADDITION to the previous 37Gb
VHD file from the July 11 backup, and was surprised to find that the previous
37Gb file appears to be MISSING. At least, I cannot find the file in the
folder where it previously existed.

I checked the free space on my external H drive, and found that I have ~
25Gb less free space than I had before. It is as if the 37Gb file is still
on the drive somewhere, but I cannot find it. When I launch the backup
program, it states that the last complete backup was run this weekend, and it
also seems to indicate that a previous backup does exist, but it does not
list it my name or date.

I see from the documentation that a complete system backup will run so long
as enough free space exists, and that it will automatically delete older
backups (oldest first) as necessary to insure that free space is available.

I use this external drive to store other information in addition to complete
system backups, and I need to insure that I always have enough free space to
handle my needs. My plan was to run a complete system backup whenever my
system configuration changes significantly, or every month or so – whichever
comes first. I planned on keeping perhaps 3-4 complete system backups on my
external drive, and to delete the older backups as necessary.

NOTE: I am generally aware of volume shadow copy and how it can reduce the
amount of free space on a volume, but I’m not sure if this is compounding my
issue or not.

QUESTION:

Can anyone tell me (or does documentation exist that explains) how to manage
complete system backup files? How does one manage these backups?

Any assistance is appreciated...

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RichG