ForgetSun said:
Can you give me suggestion on which backup method do you use? Manual,
software that came with the external hard drive or the backup function from
windows? I just bought an external hard drive and want to backup my files.
Any Pro and Con on each? I have two computers which have two systems, one is
winxp and the other is vista.
Any advice will be great appreciated!
For the moment put aside what software tool you're going to use. Instead
consider what you might want to backup and make decisions from there. Do
you want the whole system backed up so that you can restore everything
in case of emergency (failed hard drive, for example)? Or do you want to
back up just your most important data files? Or both?
After deciding what you want backed up, consider "how often" these
things should be backed up.
System: Does your system change often (you experiment with different
hardware and different applications)? Frequent backups would be a good
approach.
Or, after everything is set up, you leave it pretty much the same? A
different strategy would be more efficient. Perhaps a system backup made
right before major changes, followed with a second system backup once
it's been determined that the change has been successful.
Data: Do you create a lot of new files and/or frequently change the
contents of existing data files? If yes, more frequent backups would be
needed - perhaps daily. If no, less frequent - perhaps weekly - would be
all that's needed. Do you want a complete backup set each time or do you
just want to add new items to your existing backups (a feature that may
or may not be included in the backup tools you choose).
How many copies of backup sets do you want? You have your working set of
files and should have at least one backup set. It is recommended to
maintain at least two sets of backup. If the first one fails to restore,
you have another set to fall back on. Consider a third copy to be stored
off premises. Might sound excessive but if your home and contents were
destroyed for some reason, losing - many years of records, family
photos, whatever - is at least one thing you wouldn't have to worry
about.
Once you've decided what you want backed up and how often - start
looking at different backup tools. "Cloning" and "imaging" tools are
also worth a look if searching for a method of restoring the entire
system to a particular point in time.
Try out these tools. You'll like some more than others: performance
(speed of backups), available features, scheduling features to aid in
maintaining a consistent backup routine and "usability" (some programs
are easy to use, others take a bit of time to learn). Help files are a
good resource - exposing and explaining program interface, full
description of program features, etc.
The free tools in Vista are pretty decent. A bit slow for my tastes but
very convenient - they're sitting there waiting to be used.
Free tools included with backup drives: Some of these are excellent and
well supported. Some are so-so and not well supported. You'll need to do
some research (google, user forums for that product, etc) to decide how
much you trust that tool to safekeep your data.
Many, many other tools available: Freeware, shareware, retail and
commercial products. Many with free trial periods.
In my opinion, the most important "backup tool" is the user. If the
chain fails here, there are no backups. That's why I think it's so
important to find tools that are comfortable (a personal judgement call
that must be made by individual) and that make this task easy work.
