backup strategy

[trumpet]

I just upgraded my PC, and at the same time installed XP Home with
SP2. So far, everything's been amazingly easy and smooth, and I don't
appear to have any issues. I would like to make a full backup before
I inevitably clutter up/bog down the system, so I can easily go back
to the way it sits today. I have a 20 gig C disk, partitioned into 6
gigs and 14 gigs. I also have a second 20 gig drive that's empty, and
my plan is to backup everything to the second drive. Ideally, I'd
like it to be a carbon copy - so if my main HDD fails, I can simply
swap the slave/master strapping and I'm in business. I'm not sure
this is even possible with XP - obviously I can't activate both
copies, but presumably it would just be a matter of activating if the
need arose to swap drives.

The question is, how to do the backup and include all system/hidden
files, making it a fully functional copy? I've heard Ghost works
well, but I'm not sure its designed for a HDD as a destination - and
I'd prefer to use a method thats free. In the past, I've used
Quantum's filecopy - a utility that came with a drive purchased ages
ago - and it produces a fully bootable copy of Win98SE no problem;
I'm not sure that would be the case with XP though. For one thing,
its a DOS app, and may not even run under the cmd prompt. Also, it
was written long before XP came along, and it wouldn't be surprising
if it doesn't even "see" some of the hidden NT type files, etc. OTOH,
supposedly it just copies everything bit by bit, from the source drive
to the destination - so in theory it should still work. Any thoughts
or suggestions appreciated! TIA
Note - to reply by email, please reformat the addressee (should be pretty obvious)

 

[Richard Urban]

I am not aware of any "free" program that will do what you want. There are
many PAID programs available that will. It seems that people/companies want
to get compensated for their efforts.

I have used Stomp Backup MYPC, Drive Image 2002 and 7.01, Ghost 9.0, Acronis
TrueImage - all successfully.

Open your wallet and spend a little. It is well worth it! (-:

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

If you knew as much as you thought you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Richard:

I'm basically happy with Ghost 9.0, but I've read so many great things about
True Image. If you don't mind a little OT, which of the two do you prefer,
and why?

Ted Zieglar

 

[Sharon F]

Richard:

I'm basically happy with Ghost 9.0, but I've read so many great things about
True Image. If you don't mind a little OT, which of the two do you prefer,
and why?

Ted Zieglar

I'm not Richard but have tried True Image. The interface is very user
friendly. It's laid out well enough that someone new to imaging should be
able to use the program successfully for archiving and restoring. For a
more experienced user, the default settings are fine for a "quickie" or you
can "knock your socks off" while messing around with the advanced settings.

When I added a DVD burner to my system last year, it was a newer model. The
program that I had been using failed to burn a usable disk even though the
support docs listed it as being supported. I tried several imaging programs
at that time, True Image was one of them. Unfortunately, I ran into the
same trouble in regards to the drive and ended up with a different product.
It's possible that they now support my hardware but I haven't checked back
recently to find out.

Acronis offers a trial download of True Image. You might consider giving it
a try to see it working first hand. Unless they've changed it, the trial is
limited. You can create, burn and, I believe, validate images but can't use
it to restore without purchasing a license.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Thanks for the info. Sharon.

Ted Zieglar

I'm not Richard but have tried True Image. The interface is very user
friendly. It's laid out well enough that someone new to imaging should be
able to use the program successfully for archiving and restoring. For a
more experienced user, the default settings are fine for a "quickie" or
you
can "knock your socks off" while messing around with the advanced
settings.

When I added a DVD burner to my system last year, it was a newer model.
The
program that I had been using failed to burn a usable disk even though the
support docs listed it as being supported. I tried several imaging
programs
at that time, True Image was one of them. Unfortunately, I ran into the
same trouble in regards to the drive and ended up with a different
product.
It's possible that they now support my hardware but I haven't checked back
recently to find out.

Acronis offers a trial download of True Image. You might consider giving
it
a try to see it working first hand. Unless they've changed it, the trial
is
limited. You can create, burn and, I believe, validate images but can't
use
it to restore without purchasing a license.

 

[Sharon F]

Thanks for the info. Sharon.

You're welcome, Ted.

 

[=?iso-8859-1?B?uyBtcnRlZSCr?=]

I use TrueImage. I have the image files written to another partition in CD size chunks then burn 6 chunks to a DVD. Quicker and easier than writing directly to DVD.

--
Just my 2¢ worth,
Jeff
__________In response to__________
|
| You're welcome, Ted.
|
| --
| Sharon F
| MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

 

[Sharon F]

I use TrueImage. I have the image files written to another partition in
CD size chunks then burn 6 chunks to a DVD. Quicker and easier than
writing directly to DVD.

Nice solution. Inventive too. I may go back and try the program again.
My drive is more widely distributed now (after a year it could even be
considered "old") and find that it's better supported now.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Right you are Mr. T. Imaging to the HDD and then burning to DVDs is faster
than burning straight to DVDs. Go figure. If you previously used Ghost 9.0,
how did you like it compared to True Image?

Ted Zieglar

I use TrueImage. I have the image files written to another partition in CD
size chunks then burn 6 chunks to a DVD. Quicker and easier than writing
directly to DVD.

--
Just my 2¢ worth,
Jeff
__________In response to__________
|
| You're welcome, Ted.
|
| --
| Sharon F
| MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Sharon: It was you who taught me about having a 'second line of defense' for
backup. In addition to making regular images, once a month I burn my user
files to DVDs.

Ted Zieglar

 

[Sharon F]

Sharon: It was you who taught me about having a 'second line of defense' for
backup. In addition to making regular images, once a month I burn my user
files to DVDs.

And someone taught me; they in turn learned from someone else and so the
(usenet) world turns.

The only thing worse than (or as bad as) having no backup is having an
invalid backup set.

I burn directly to DVD with Image for Windows.

 

[=?iso-8859-1?B?uyBtcnRlZSCr?=]

Sorry, never used Ghost Ted. Used ASR while XP was in public beta and for about 2 months after XP went gold. Then went looking for an image program, read about what was available on the various websites and settled on Acronis TrueImage. It hasn't failed me yet.

--
Just my 2¢ worth,
Jeff
__________In response to__________
| Right you are Mr. T. Imaging to the HDD and then burning to DVDs is faster
| than burning straight to DVDs. Go figure. If you previously used Ghost 9.0,
| how did you like it compared to True Image?
|
| Ted Zieglar

 

[Richard Urban]

I have basically standardized on Ghost 9.0 for the automatic incremental
backups it allows me to create. I am sure that others now offer this also,
but I have to stop dumping money somewhere/sometime! (-:

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

If you knew as much as you thought you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[trumpet]

In case anyone's still interested in this thread, I went to Maxtor's
site and DLed Maxblast 3, a free copy util primarily designed for
moving everything over when buying a new drive - which is exactly what
I wanted. This gives me two identical drives, and access to the
backups without the need to uncompress/restore, etc. Works great for
me! Thanks for all the input.

I just upgraded my PC, and at the same time installed XP Home with
SP2. So far, everything's been amazingly easy and smooth, and I don't
appear to have any issues. I would like to make a full backup before
I inevitably clutter up/bog down the system, so I can easily go back
to the way it sits today. I have a 20 gig C disk, partitioned into 6
gigs and 14 gigs. I also have a second 20 gig drive that's empty, and
my plan is to backup everything to the second drive. Ideally, I'd
like it to be a carbon copy - so if my main HDD fails, I can simply
swap the slave/master strapping and I'm in business. I'm not sure
this is even possible with XP - obviously I can't activate both
copies, but presumably it would just be a matter of activating if the
need arose to swap drives.

The question is, how to do the backup and include all system/hidden
files, making it a fully functional copy? I've heard Ghost works
well, but I'm not sure its designed for a HDD as a destination - and
I'd prefer to use a method thats free. In the past, I've used
Quantum's filecopy - a utility that came with a drive purchased ages
ago - and it produces a fully bootable copy of Win98SE no problem;
I'm not sure that would be the case with XP though. For one thing,
its a DOS app, and may not even run under the cmd prompt. Also, it
was written long before XP came along, and it wouldn't be surprising
if it doesn't even "see" some of the hidden NT type files, etc. OTOH,
supposedly it just copies everything bit by bit, from the source drive
to the destination - so in theory it should still work. Any thoughts
or suggestions appreciated! TIA
Note - to reply by email, please reformat the addressee (should be pretty obvious)

Note - to reply by email, please reformat the addressee (should be pretty obvious)