Windows backup file smaller than selected backup

[kr0490]

I backup my files using windows backup to an external hard disk. But the backup size is smaller than the selected files. The files that are selected to be backed up are 30-40 GB, and the size of the backup shows it is only 3.7 GB. Why is this. It says its 3.7 both in the control panel for windows backup, and when looking at properties on the backup folder. Is it being backed up correctly?? Thanks for the help!

 

[GhislainG]

It depends on what data was backed up and how compressible it is. You can also verify the contents of the backup and even restore a file or two to a different folder to make sure that they are fine.

 

[kr0490]

So it can compress 30gb to 3.7 gbs, that seems extreme.

 

[GhislainG]

It isn't extreme if you backed up documents, but there is an issue if you backed compressed files like JPeg or TIF images, Zip files, etc.

Did you inspect the contents of the backup? Can you restore a few files to a different folder and are the files complete?