PC utilities forum: Which backup/image software should I use? I currently have 3

Hello all,

I searched several spots on the forum and didn't see any that matched my question. If it is posted somewhere and I missed it, i'm sorry.

Hitachi external hard drive: 320GB, Lenovo G560 Laptop w/ 254GB hard drive and Windows 7.

The Hitachi drive's software is ArcSoft Total Media Backup

Lenovo is OneKey Recovery 7.0

Windows 7 backup software

I have a Lenovo G560 Laptop (new) and I just purchased a new external hard drive to use as a backup. The hard drive came with backup software on it. The laptop has a designated backup button above the keyboard that you push when you want to start a backup. And Windows 7 has its own backup software installed.

So, my question is; which software should I use?

I like the idea that the hard drive has the software installed on it so even if I move on to another computer, or I want to backup two different computers, I have that software no matter which machine I am using.

But, then I think that there is software taking up space on the external hard drive that isn't related to the information that is backed up.

I like the idea of the designated button to backup my system when I wish, and since that software is on the laptop I can simply format the external hard drive, get rid of the pre-installed backup software from it and have a completely empty drive.

But, then I think that going the Windows 7 route and use that software to backup my system since that one also seems to be very easy to use.

Are there any thoughts on this?

I know that there are two different types of backup I can do; system image & standard backup (folders, files, etc.) So, I would actually like to do both.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I can partition my external hard drive and use one side as a system image space and the other as a traditional backup. This way if I get rid of a document, pic, etc that I need I can just pull it from my backup and not have to completely flash my hard drive. But, with a major system failure I could flash my hard drive. Correct?

Now my external hard drive is not that big, 320GB, and the laptop hard drive is 254GB, so I think I would need to compress either the image or the basic backup. I am not sure how to do either and hoping someone here could point me in the right direction.

Thank you very much for all of your thoughts & help.