Dan said:
hi, thanks for the response. I don't know if both will get this response
so
don't have to post twice. will try to be brief:
- bump "back up my pc" app known to corrupt disks so restores don't work
(called / worked with bump techs on couple of restore).
(recommend don't use bump..) having gone from old dos? backup-restore that
allowed: self-contained commands in small files that "SPANNED" multiple
disks; did not require front or rear-end file "name TABLES" that cause
corruptions, enterprise etc.. sorry,
conversely, (1 user / home pc new install of OS; need to skip
permissions)
looking for simple backup method that spans cd's, does not get corrupt on
user permissions when going from 1 pc to same pc, new OS install.
not familiar with backup - restore
Summary:
- need know how to backup-restore user files, skipping user permission
garbage.
- must be able to span disks (cd's)
- wouldn't care if it were unix commands if "small" backup-restore files
can be carried around with
Look into Acronis True Image. There is a full-feature trial version, it's
not expensive (around US$50), it can span DVDs (don't use CDs), it can
produce bootable restore media, and it's as fast as anything else (much
faster than xcopy or similar).
There are two things you're really looking at backing up. The first is the
OS, so that you can quickly restore a working system in case of disaster.
The second is your data. Back these up separately (the OS backup will
contain your data if it is on the same paritition; not a problem); the OS
backup will only need to be refreshed when you make system changes. You
might want to get a bare hard disk for the OS backups - where I am,
terabyte-size drives are about $80 - and then consider what you're going to
back up the data to. Set the program to make 'incremental' backups, and
you will get one large initial backup and then much smaller "difference"
files.
Unfortunately, when making 'incremental' backups, TI requires the original
backup to be on the same drive, so you can't just store a 'reference' copy
on one DVD and have the increments put on another. Perhaps they will add
that feature someday, but AFAIK it isn't there now.
I use TI but there are other versions of the same kind of software. I'm
sure other posters will chime in with their suggestions; see what works best
for *you* and use that. Overall, though, imaging software is what you want
to use.
HTH
-pk