External Hard drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dezza
  • Start date Start date
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Dezza

hello all,
i have a windos xp os and i was just wondering what's the best way to back
up my Hard disk on my pc, or the easiest way, I have a 1TB ex hd,
I mostly want to to back up music, movies and I would like to know what
software is best to back up as well?
Thank you for your answers in advance.
 
Dezza said:
hello all,
i have a windos xp os and i was just wondering what's the best way to back
up my Hard disk on my pc, or the easiest way, I have a 1TB ex hd,
I mostly want to to back up music, movies and I would like to know what
software is best to back up as well?
Thank you for your answers in advance.
Click to expand...

The most respected utility is Acronis True Image.

You can back up the whole disc or just selected parts of it.

http://www.acronis.co.uk/homecomput...s true image&gclid=CNThj5W0-JwCFZkA4wodrEtZaw
 
hello all,
i have a windos xp os and i was just wondering what's the best way to back
up my Hard disk on my pc, or the easiest way, I have a 1TB ex hd,
I mostly want to to back up music, movies and I would like to know what
software is best to back up as well?
Thank you for your answers in advance.
Click to expand...


Macrium Reflect is good and its free

Flamer.
 
In M.I.5¾ typed on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:13:22 +0100:
The most respected utility is Acronis True Image.

You can back up the whole disc or just selected parts of it.

http://www.acronis.co.uk/homecomput...s true image&gclid=CNThj5W0-JwCFZkA4wodrEtZaw
Click to expand...

Well there are many ways to backup and many great software out there to
do so even for free. Although if you are bent towards Acronis True Image
for some reason, you can get them for free if you use a WD, Seagate, or
Maxtor hard drives.

If you have WD hard drive:
http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&type=download&wdc_lang=en

If you have a Seagate/Maxtor hard drive:
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/discwizard
 
hello all,
i have a windos xp os and i was just wondering what's the best way to back
up my Hard disk on my pc, or the easiest way, I have a 1TB ex hd,
I mostly want to to back up music, movies and I would like to know what
software is best to back up as well?
Thank you for your answers in advance.
Click to expand...



I recommend Acronis True Image.

You also might like to read this article on backup I recently wrote:
"Back Up Your Computer Regularly and Reliably" at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314
 
Ken,

Thanks for the excellent article for backing up your computer.

I agree with most everything you recommend with a couple of minor
exceptions.

Like you, I have three identical HDs - WD 320g units. Drives 1 and 2 are
mounted in the two SATA slots inside my computer. Drive 3 is mounted in a
Vantec SATA external enclosure which came with a cable to connect it to an
unused SATA plug in my computer. The touted advantage of connecting the
external drive via SATA rather than USB2 is that it produces a more reliably
bootable clone. I don't know if this is true or just hype but it works
beautifully for me. Two of these drives are always recent clones (typically
1 week old or newer if many recent changes have been made) of my primary "C"
drive. I can boot to any one of them at any time my invoking the F12 boot
select at boot-up.

For my backup software, I tried several including Acronis True Image 2009 WD
free version, and Macrium Reflect before settling on Casper 5.0. While
Casper is a "cloner" rather than an imager, it meets my needs for a "hot
spare" nicely, producing clones in about 6 minutes with one click and no
re-booting required. It can also be set to start your computer and schedule
a clone operation at any time. While imaging software does have some
advantages over cloning, I do not need all of the "extras" that are usually
provided with imagers since a hot spare is my primary need. Per your
recommendation, I am considering off site-storing for one drive in case the
house burns down or gets washed away.

As an aside, with the hot spares immediately available, I can "fool around"
with all kinds of changes and risky downloads on my "C" drive, knowing that
if I screw up and trash it, a clone of the drive is only a click or two
away.


hello all,
i have a windos xp os and i was just wondering what's the best way to back
up my Hard disk on my pc, or the easiest way, I have a 1TB ex hd,
I mostly want to to back up music, movies and I would like to know what
software is best to back up as well?
Thank you for your answers in advance.
Click to expand...



I recommend Acronis True Image.

You also might like to read this article on backup I recently wrote:
"Back Up Your Computer Regularly and Reliably" at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314
 
Ken,

Thanks for the excellent article for backing up your computer.
Click to expand...


You're welcome. Glad to help.


I agree with most everything you recommend with a couple of minor
exceptions.
Click to expand...


I'm not sure we have any real disagreements at all. See below.

Like you, I have three identical HDs - WD 320g units. Drives 1 and 2 are
mounted in the two SATA slots inside my computer. Drive 3 is mounted in a
Vantec SATA external enclosure which came with a cable to connect it to an
unused SATA plug in my computer. The touted advantage of connecting the
external drive via SATA rather than USB2 is that it produces a more reliably
bootable clone.
Click to expand...


I don't believe in the difference in reliability, but the main
advantage of SATA is that it's considerably faster.

I don't know if this is true or just hype but it works
beautifully for me. Two of these drives are always recent clones (typically
1 week old or newer if many recent changes have been made) of my primary "C"
drive. I can boot to any one of them at any time my invoking the F12 boot
select at boot-up.
Click to expand...


My point is that it's important for the backup device to be external
and not permanently connected to the computer, so that it's not
subject to the risk of simultaneous loss with the primary drive. What
technology the backup drive uses is flexible.

For my backup software, I tried several including Acronis True Image 2009 WD
free version, and Macrium Reflect before settling on Casper 5.0. While
Casper is a "cloner" rather than an imager, it meets my needs for a "hot
spare" nicely, producing clones in about 6 minutes with one click and no
re-booting required. It can also be set to start your computer and schedule
a clone operation at any time. While imaging software does have some
advantages over cloning, I do not need all of the "extras" that are usually
provided with imagers since a hot spare is my primary need.
Click to expand...



I haven't tried them all but I do recommend Acronis True Image. That's
not to say, however, that other software doesn't also work well.

Personally, I never care how long backups take to produce, since I
invariably do them at night while I'm asleep. As long as they are done
when I wake up in the morning, how long they took doesn't matter.

Per your
recommendation, I am considering off site-storing for one drive in case the
house burns down or gets washed away.
Click to expand...


OK, but bear in mind that, as good a practice as I think it is, it's a
lot of extra trouble that not everyone is willing to go through. To me
whether you should do it is a matter of how important your data is to
you.
 
BillW50 said:
In M.I.5¾ typed on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:13:22 +0100:

Well there are many ways to backup and many great software out there to do
so even for free. Although if you are bent towards Acronis True Image for
some reason, you can get them for free if you use a WD, Seagate, or Maxtor
hard drives.

If you have WD hard drive:
http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&type=download&wdc_lang=en

If you have a Seagate/Maxtor hard drive:
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/discwizard
Click to expand...

The version on those sites is sufficiently crippled that in my view, the
paltry sum of £40 is worth it for the fully functional version.
 
In M.I.5¾ typed on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:57:09 +0100:
The version on those sites is sufficiently crippled that in my view,
the paltry sum of £40 is worth it for the fully functional version.
Click to expand...

I have the full version and I like what you call the crippled version
far better. As it does cloning, backing, restoring, and verifying. And
what more do you need? I liked it so much, I uninstalled my full
version. ;-)
 
BillW50 said:
In M.I.5¾ typed on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:57:09 +0100:

I have the full version and I like what you call the crippled version
far better. As it does cloning, backing, restoring, and verifying. And
what more do you need? I liked it so much, I uninstalled my full
version. ;-)
Click to expand...

What was your full version? Why is the "crippled" version better?
 
In Bennett Marco typed on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:07:42 -0500:
What was your full version?
Click to expand...

Acronis True Image Home 2009 (v12)
Why is the "crippled" version better?
Click to expand...

It is better for me since it doesn't sport all of the other junk I'll
never use anyway. All I want from Acronis True Image is to backup and
restore. I don't want it to handle my emails, wipe my disks, run a
sandbox environment, etc. As I have my favorite stuff for those tasks
anyway.
 
BillW50 said:
In Bennett Marco typed on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:07:42 -0500:

Acronis True Image Home 2009 (v12)


It is better for me since it doesn't sport all of the other junk I'll
never use anyway. All I want from Acronis True Image is to backup and
restore. I don't want it to handle my emails, wipe my disks, run a
sandbox environment, etc. As I have my favorite stuff for those tasks
anyway.
Click to expand...

To even LOOK at the freebie requires that my ver. 2009 has to be
uninstalled first. Nope. I've been paying for True Image since
version 8. I'll stick with the one that's loaded with all the bells
and whistles.
 
In Bennett Marco typed on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:21:05 -0500:
To even LOOK at the freebie requires that my ver. 2009 has to be
uninstalled first. Nope. I've been paying for True Image since
version 8. I'll stick with the one that's loaded with all the bells
and whistles.
Click to expand...

It is up to you, but I uninstall both all of the time. And I haven't
experience any problems yet. And if you are like one in a million who
did, you do have backups do you not?
 
BillW50 said:
In Bennett Marco typed on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:21:05 -0500:

It is up to you, but I uninstall both all of the time. And I haven't
experience any problems yet. And if you are like one in a million who
did, you do have backups do you not?
Click to expand...

I have no fewer than three full system backups, each complemented with
a dozen incremental backups AND I have a second internal disk that is
a clone of my system disk (made using Casper 5.0 and updated daily).
 
BillW50 said:
In M.I.5¾ typed on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:57:09 +0100:

I have the full version and I like what you call the crippled version
far better. As it does cloning, backing, restoring, and verifying. And
what more do you need? I liked it so much, I uninstalled my full
version. ;-)
Click to expand...

Your opinion differs to mine. But that is the nature of opinions.
 
In M.I.5¾ typed on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:15:37 +0100:
Your opinion differs to mine. But that is the nature of opinions.
Click to expand...

Well you haven't stated one single feature that you liked about the full
version yet. Obviously there must be something. <vbg>
 
BillW50 said:
In M.I.5¾ typed on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:15:37 +0100:

Well you haven't stated one single feature that you liked about the full
version yet. Obviously there must be something. <vbg>
Click to expand...

Oh yes I did. The ability to make incremental backups was the one I
actually did mention.
 
In M.I.5¾ typed on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:30:44 +0100:
Oh yes I did. The ability to make incremental backups was the one I
actually did mention.
Click to expand...

Well that one isn't bad. But what about the rest of the crap?

Features Missing From the WD Edition
------------------------------------

Acronis Try&Decide
Application backup
Data backup (select files/folders)
Scheduling
Archive protection
Cleanup utilities
Disk utilities
Consolidating backups
Incremental and differential backups
Notifications
 
BillW50 said:
In M.I.5¾ typed on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:57:09 +0100:

I have the full version and I like what you call the crippled version
far better. As it does cloning, backing, restoring, and verifying. And
what more do you need? I liked it so much, I uninstalled my full
version. ;-)
Click to expand...

I concur 100%. I have an external WD I use for backups, and had a real
problem doing a restore from Drive Image XML (the freebie). I downloaded
TrueImage for WD today, created the boot CD, backed up my C: drive, replaced
the C: with another hard drive, and restored it, all in about 2-1/2 hours.
The replacement drive booted up with absolutely no problems. Amazing!
TrueImage is my new best friend, and it's free!! I highly recommend it.

SC Tom
 
BillW50 said:
In M.I.5¾ typed on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:30:44 +0100:

Well that one isn't bad. But what about the rest of the crap?

Features Missing From the WD Edition
------------------------------------

Acronis Try&Decide
Application backup
Data backup (select files/folders)
Scheduling
Archive protection
Cleanup utilities
Disk utilities
Consolidating backups
Incremental and differential backups
Notifications
Click to expand...

Ho hum. Data Backup (select files/folders) and occasionally Disk Utilities
are the other two that I use.
 
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