Totally overwhelmed with backup options, what to choose?

[Monkey_feces]

Whenever I try to adopt a software solution to store my current drive for backup should a virus infect me, I get lost with all the available options.
Can anyone recommend me a preferably free HD backer that can compress my main windows installation drive onto another file storage drive?
That's the only feature I'm really looking for, but I would be grateful if someone could recommend other backup features that I might find helpful.

 

[ChingChang]

I use Acronis TrueImage to make an image of my OS drive. Is that what you're looking to do? It can also do other types of backups. Check out their website for more information.
Norton Ghost is another popular drive imaging software.