Bare-metal Backup For Win 7

I would appreciate recommendations for the easiest to use full disc backup software for my Win 7 HDD. Never done this before, so the process needs to be pretty much automated, and the app needs to copy the entire disc. The copy needs to be complete, ready to go, bootable, etc. I don't need anything else, like incremental backups, coping individual files, nor any other bells'n'whistles. The sole purpose is a once yearly mirror copy in case of catastrophic HDD failure.....had one last year with my XP Pro (three years of research was lost). I would of course prefer a freebie, but not adverse to buying, provided it is a one time payment, and not rentware (yearly fee). The sole criteria here is it has to be easy for a newbie to use, and it has to copy the entire disc.

 

For your very clearly stated needs the built in backup system in Win 7 is fine. It creates a system image and doesn't have any bells or whistles. I wouldn't usually recommend this solution due to its lack of features but it's perfect for your needs. Find it in Backup and Restore.

 

As Earthling said, system backup is good, and pretty simple-
Personally, I make clone hard drives for myself- Just means you keep a complete hard drive as a 'spare'.
My method is to use Partition Wizard https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/minitool_partition_wizard_home_edition.html
And- an external enclosure, but this may be a little hard for Senex

 

Okay so my setup with my XP Pro PC is using a spare 1 TB hard disk in a Syba SY-MRA55006 mobile rack for the clone destination. I plan to use the same setup in my new PC with Win 7, as soon as I can get it to the computer shop for the modifications. I'm assuming this is doable with the Win 7 built-in app?

My specific PC is:
Optiplex 7010 Mini-Tower, Quad Core i7 3770, 3.4GHz, 16GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1TB Hard Drive: Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

and the mobile rack info:
https://www.amazon.com/Syba-SY-MRA55006-Mobile-Extra-Black/dp/B00834SJ8K

Let me know if anyone foresee any problems with this. Thanks.

 

Sorry, I have not been around- This seems to be your pc
https://www.cnet.com/products/dell-optiplex-7010-sff-core-i7-3770-3-4-ghz-4-gb-128-gb/
As it seems you do not have a spare place to add a hard drive, I would have considered a powered external hard drive- not necessarily this one, but one like it - Just that it is enclosed easily, and most externl enclosures are good.
https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Exte...ed-search-10&pf_rd_t=BROWSE&pf_rd_i=160354011
If using an external enclosure, the Partition Wizard will clone to any size hard drive, using just its own included copying software

 

As mentioned in reply #4, I have the Mini-Tower model, not the SFF:
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7010-Minitower-Desktop/dp/B01K0GNUOG
The spare 5.25 bay has now been modified with the Syba mobile rack, and a 500GB Crucial MX500 SSD now occupies the top slot, awaiting install of MX Linux. The lower slot is for a 1TB Caviar WD1001FALS, for the bare-metal/clone backup.