Backing Up Files--Beginning

[W. eWatson]

It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some regularly
scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of disk space.
Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?
--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[Alan Edwards]

I can see a Backup in Accessories-System Tools but I have never been
game to use it. I use this instead:
SyncBack Freeware: http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/compare.html

....Alan

 

[Daave]

It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some
regularly scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots
of disk space. Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?

Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if
the only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your
needs.

What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?

If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you run
into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is restore the
most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have a stable system
once more.

 

[Richard In Va.]

You could try file Comparator freeware version 2.2 by Softbyte Labs.

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utilities/File_Cleanup_Utilities/Comparator.html

It's purpose is more to compare files in two separate locations and will
make both locations equal if you want. I think it is intended to be a
replacement for MS Briefcase. It's ideal for transporting files on a
thumbdrive between work and home. But it also can be used to "backup" files
from one drive or folder to another. After it's run once to your taste, you
can run it again later and have it only copy the "new" or "updated" files...
as an incremental backup.

Above is the freeware version and works quite well, the full version
"Comparator Pro" can be found here...
http://www.softbytelabs.com/us/index.html

Their other applications are quite useful too, in fact... they're flat out
bad to the bone!

Or...

You can try xxcopy.exe, www.xxcopy.com, If your comfortable with DOS and
the old xcopy.exe command. You can use the XP scheduled task to run your
backup batch file daily or weekly. This will take some work and
determination tho, but it is freeware as well. I use this to mirror one
drive to another at 10:00 a.m. each day. Mirror meaning it will copy new
files, copy files that have been updated in the source location and delete
files from the target that no longer exist on the source. The first run
might take 1/2 hour, but subsequent run should take lees than 1 minute if
run on a regular bases. Simply rename a file at the source location... no
problem, that change will be mirrored to the target as well.

xxcopy is the old DOS xcopy command on steroids...

Hope this helps!!

Richard in Va.
++++++++++++++

 

[Theslaz]

Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if
the only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your
needs.

What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?

If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you run
into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is restore the
most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have a stable system
once more.

Acronis True Image will NOT be part of my backup package; now or ever!
Just had a nightmare with IT this past weekend. Had various problems
with my computer because of a failed installation. Thought the easy way
out would be to restore from a image I made with IT. Wrong. IT gets have
way through the restore when it decides to tell me that the image is
corrupt. I was than left with a computer without a operating system and
no backup. I than tried to restore via a backup that I made with IT. It
wouldn't/couldn't even read the file!
I am now looking for a good program that I can rely on for my regular
backups. I have tried the free version of "DriveImage XML" and I have
purchased "Backup Plus". From now on; I will be using two programs to
backup and I will periodically test them to make sure they are working!

One man's opinion! ( from experience )

 

[Richard In Va.]

Yeah, I looked REAL close at Acronis True Image... but then found the
freeware xxclone application.

www.xxclone.com

Developed by the same folks that made xxcopy, I've used this too and was
quite impressed. Xxclone your OS drive (while running) to a secondary
"backup" drive. Run the "Cool Tool" features to make sure your secondary
drive is bootable. Swap the 2 drives and boot to your cloned drive....

Solved a word of concerns for me.... don't forget to make a paypal donation!

Hope this helps!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++

 

[Theslaz]

Yeah, I looked REAL close at Acronis True Image... but then found the
freeware xxclone application.

www.xxclone.com

Developed by the same folks that made xxcopy, I've used this too and was
quite impressed. Xxclone your OS drive (while running) to a secondary
"backup" drive. Run the "Cool Tool" features to make sure your secondary
drive is bootable. Swap the 2 drives and boot to your cloned drive....

Solved a word of concerns for me.... don't forget to make a paypal donation!

Hope this helps!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++

Thanks for the info. I will check it out. What I like about these
freeware versions; is that they are so easy to use and
everything/progress is displayed up front.

 

[Richard In Va.]

Yes, VERY easy to use. Just make sure you have your Primary or Basic
partition created as NTFS and set as active prior to running xxclone. If
you have a huge drive, maybe make the partition 40-50 GB and leave the rest
as unused or unassigned space. Run xxclone, let it find your "source" and
"target" drive. Run the (2) "Cool Tools", then run xxclone. When xxclone is
done, run the "Cool Tools" again to insure the xxclone drive will be
bootable. Then swap the drives out leaving your original OS drive unplugged
and boot to the xxclone drive. Then use XP disk management to create your
other partitions or extended partition and logical drives to utilize the
additional drive space. Leaving the extra space unused when running xxclone
might help prevent drive letter confusion during xxclone.

Hook your original OS drive back up for everyday use and put the clone drive
away for safe keeping. OR use the xxclone drive and keep the original in
case you need to make a new xxclone drive. Never let a stubborn virus ruin
your day again!

One other thing tho, don't forget to check for security updates and such
when hooking up a xxclone drive. Also, be mindful of any hardware changes
with drivers and such that may have occurred between drive changes.

And don't forget to make a PayPal donation...!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++

 

[Steve]

It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some regularly
scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of disk space.
Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?

I use Second Copy after trying several others. The setup is flexible
but intricate, e.g. you must know exactly which folders you want to
back up, etc and I don't remember if it's free or not (you didn't
specify that requirement).

www.secondcopy.com

 

[Daave]

Acronis True Image will NOT be part of my backup package; now or ever!
Just had a nightmare with IT this past weekend. Had various problems
with my computer because of a failed installation. Thought the easy
way out would be to restore from a image I made with IT. Wrong. IT
gets have way through the restore when it decides to tell me that the
image is corrupt.

Ouch. After you had created the image, did you validate the backup
archive? That's something I *always* do. Which version did you use?

 

[Theslaz]

Ouch. After you had created the image, did you validate the backup
archive? That's something I *always* do. Which version did you use?

Using version 10. Tried to validate the archive before I did the
restore. The progress bar indicated that it would take 36 days. This was
a 44 Gig file. Stopped the restore process and tried it again without
validating. Took 6 hours before it crashed.
No big deal. My computer was running before this attempted restore; it
was just a bit confused. I was able to save and move all the files that
I assumed I would need just in case. I have restored my computer before
from scratch and I know what to do. I had manually saved all my data
files and anything else that was necessary e.g. email and browser on my
external drive. I was up and running with a clean system within 6 hours.
Just pisses me of that IT didn't preform like it was supposed to.

 

[Richard In Va.]

Now that looks good too, looks like karenware has some other useful freeware
tools too!

Thanks!

Richard in Va.
++++++++++++

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Sunday, January 18, 2009 8:10:30 PM, and on a
whim, W. eWatson pounded out on the keyboard:

It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some regularly
scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of disk space.
Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?

Hi W,

Just because you have "lots of disk space" doesn't mean anything. You
want your backup to be on a separate drive, so if your main drive fails
you can restore the data from the other drive. Better yet, get two
external drives and alternate between them.

For data the included ntbackup is fine. Backup as often as when your
data is modified and you couldn't live without it.


Terry R.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some regularly
scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility.

There are many better choices. The backup program built into Windows
XP is among the poorest choices.

You might be interested in reading this article on backup I recently
wrote: "Back Up Your Computer Regularly and Reliably" at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314

I've got lots of disk space.
Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?

Backing up to the available disk space within the computer is only
slightly better than not backing up at all. Read my article for a
discussion of this.

 

[Daave]

Using version 10. Tried to validate the archive before I did the
restore. The progress bar indicated that it would take 36 days. This
was a 44 Gig file. Stopped the restore process and tried it again
without validating. Took 6 hours before it crashed.
No big deal. My computer was running before this attempted restore; it
was just a bit confused. I was able to save and move all the files
that I assumed I would need just in case. I have restored my computer
before from scratch and I know what to do. I had manually saved all my
data files and anything else that was necessary e.g. email and browser
on my external drive. I was up and running with a clean system within
6 hours. Just pisses me of that IT didn't preform like it was supposed
to.

I'd be pissed, too.

In my experience, it took me an extremely long time (16 hours if I
recall) to restore an image using the Linux-based Acronis boot CD with a
friend's laptop that only had a USB 1.0 connection. I was able to divide
the restore time by three by using a Windows-based Bart PE CD with the
Acronis plugin. Still, I wasn't exactly thrilled with how long the
restore took. But with my desktop PC (which is newer and has USB 2.0),
the restore process lasts about thirty minutes (that's an estimate; it's
been a while since I needed to restore).

FWIW, and this is for the benefit of others, the time to validate the
archive is immediately after it's created. This way you will know right
off the bat if you can trust it.

I've used DriveImageXML and I like it. Of course it lacks the capability
of making incremental images, but it's good for what it does. If you
don't change your system that much (by installing new programs) and you
have a comprehensive data backup plan, your method seems sound. If
Acronis TI worked for you, I'm sure you'd prefer it (it's easier,
quicker, and it's just one program rather than two). Sorry to hear about
your negative experience.

I use version 9. I wonder if others can report on experiences with newer
versions with respect to USB speed.

 

[W. eWatson]

Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if
the only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your
needs.

What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?

If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you run
into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is restore the
most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have a stable system
once more.

Actually, I have Acronis. I used it once back in July when I needed to
recover from a problem. I'd use a USN HDD. Oddly, the other day when I was
using my USB Seagate drive on another PC, an auto backup message appeared
that invited my to install theirs. I did, but have not looked at it at all
since. I guess I could use the Win scheduler to turn this into a regular
event. I soon may run out of ports for HDDs!

--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[W. eWatson]

Yes, VERY easy to use. Just make sure you have your Primary or Basic
partition created as NTFS and set as active prior to running xxclone. If
you have a huge drive, maybe make the partition 40-50 GB and leave the rest
as unused or unassigned space. Run xxclone, let it find your "source" and
"target" drive. Run the (2) "Cool Tools", then run xxclone. When xxclone is
done, run the "Cool Tools" again to insure the xxclone drive will be
bootable. Then swap the drives out leaving your original OS drive unplugged
and boot to the xxclone drive. Then use XP disk management to create your
other partitions or extended partition and logical drives to utilize the
additional drive space. Leaving the extra space unused when running xxclone
might help prevent drive letter confusion during xxclone.

Hook your original OS drive back up for everyday use and put the clone drive
away for safe keeping. OR use the xxclone drive and keep the original in
case you need to make a new xxclone drive. Never let a stubborn virus ruin
your day again!

One other thing tho, don't forget to check for security updates and such
when hooking up a xxclone drive. Also, be mindful of any hardware changes
with drivers and such that may have occurred between drive changes.

And don't forget to make a PayPal donation...!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++

I'll look into it.

--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[W. eWatson]

There are many better choices. The backup program built into Windows
XP is among the poorest choices.

You might be interested in reading this article on backup I recently
wrote: "Back Up Your Computer Regularly and Reliably" at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314





Backing up to the available disk space within the computer is only
slightly better than not backing up at all. Read my article for a
discussion of this.

Thanks. I'll give it a read.

--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

 

[W. eWatson]

The date and time was Sunday, January 18, 2009 8:10:30 PM, and on a
whim, W. eWatson pounded out on the keyboard:


Hi W,

Just because you have "lots of disk space" doesn't mean anything. You
want your backup to be on a separate drive, so if your main drive fails
you can restore the data from the other drive. Better yet, get two
external drives and alternate between them.

For data the included ntbackup is fine. Backup as often as when your
data is modified and you couldn't live without it.


Terry R.

I almost made the fatal mistake last summer in believing I could live
without lots of stuff I had on my PC thinking, "I have saved enough as
simple backups." Not true. I really had forgotten lots of stuff, and
couldn't find some backup CDs/DVDs. Got to get organized. Fortunately, I
recovered everything completely.

--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>