Filling my HD with backups

[Jimvee]

When I got this Vista machine, I started using the backup program.
It's easier than copying files to various disks and diskettes.

Problem is probably pretty basic. The backups go week after week
'til they fill my external drive. They create one full backup, then a new
subfolder every week 'til I run out of room.
Backup set
Backup File 1
Backup File 2
Backup File 3

I tried deleting "Backup File 1" and the next backup failed.

Coincidence?

 

[Richard in AZ]

When I got this Vista machine, I started using the backup program.
It's easier than copying files to various disks and diskettes.

Problem is probably pretty basic. The backups go week after week
'til they fill my external drive. They create one full backup, then a new
subfolder every week 'til I run out of room.
Backup set
Backup File 1
Backup File 2
Backup File 3

I tried deleting "Backup File 1" and the next backup failed.

Coincidence?

You don't tell us what type of backup you are using.
If backup file 1 was a "full" backup and then backup file 2 was an incremental backup you will have trouble.

Rule #1. Never - Never backup your hard drive to your hard drive. Use an external hard drive or Compact Disks.
Rule #2. See rule number 1.

Backups are there to protect you when your hard drive fails. If your backups are on the same hard drive, guess what?

 

[Jimvee]

When I got this Vista machine, I started using the backup program.
It's easier than copying files to various disks and diskettes.

Problem is probably pretty basic. The backups go week after week
'til they fill my external drive. They create one full backup, then a new
subfolder every week 'til I run out of room.
Backup set
Backup File 1
Backup File 2
Backup File 3

I tried deleting "Backup File 1" and the next backup failed.
Coincidence?

You don't tell us what type of backup you are using.

If backup file 1 was a "full" backup and then backup file 2 was an
incremental backup you will have trouble.

So, I'm hosed? That's what I'm doing. The incremental backups will run
every week until my drive runs out of space. (If I allow them to)

I'm using a 500g and a 1,000g external drive and ping ponging a full backup
and three incrementals to each drive on alternate months. Those full
backups run about 12 hours tho, just in backing up my C: drive.

(I'm looking for a last ditch option before signing up for Carbonite)

Thanks for the info
Jim

 

[Charlie Tame]

You don't tell us what type of backup you are using.
If backup file 1 was a "full" backup and then backup file 2 was an incremental backup you will have trouble.

Rule #1. Never - Never backup your hard drive to your hard drive. Use an external hard drive or Compact Disks.
Rule #2. See rule number 1.

Backups are there to protect you when your hard drive fails. If your backups are on the same hard drive, guess what?

He said "External Drive"...

Your "Safest" option would be to obtain another external drive and start
over beginning with a full backup, once that is done you can delete
everything from your present backup set and it will be ready for next
time around. Don't let it get full to the point where backups will fail.
Keep an eye on Geeks.com or Newegg.com, they have some good offers from
time to time and I have always found them both reliable to deal with. If
you post back with drive size and the method you use someone can
probably offer you better advice. Don't rely on being able to recreate
your operating system drive if it crashes, I've found one of the best
programs for doing that is Acronis, but it's not free.

 

[DDW]

So, I'm hosed?

Yes. Delete all present backups and do a new full backup

DDW

 

[John Barnett MVP]

It sounds like your Vista machine created one 'full' backup followed by
incremental backups. Each backup relies upon the other to restore your
system, so deleting one would cause problems.

To be honest one thing I never ever do is an incremental backup; I always do
a full backup, with full backups deleting one backup will not cause problems
for the other backup files.

While Vista has it's own backup application (particularly Vista Ultimate)
again I do not rely upon Vista's Complete PC Backup. Why? because it is
temperamental. I personally use Acronis True Image Home for all my backups.
Each backup is a 'full' back up rather than an incremental, and each backup
is backed up to a removable hard drive, not to my main system drive.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk
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mail/post..

 

[JerryF]

I'm using a 500g and a 1,000g external drive and ping ponging a full backup
and three incrementals to each drive on alternate months. Those full
backups run about 12 hours tho, just in backing up my C: drive.

You should backup your system drive C, but you should
never backup to your system drive. What good would that
do if it crashed?

Get an extra X-ternal drive and alternate backups to the
external drives.

Consider getting Acronis which can restore your complete
system from the X-ternal drive in case there is a BSOD
problem, or a dead system drive.

 

[Richard Urban]

You do not say which backup program you are using!

A good backup program (basically one that you pay for) has many options. One
is to create backup "sets". You set the defaults, for instance, to create a
full backup every Sunday. Then you create an incremental backup on Tuesday
thru Saturday.

The next Sunday a new complete backup is performed - followed by the 6
incremental backups.

You can decide how many backup sets you want to store. After this amount has
been met the next backup set would delete the earliest backup set. Your
drive would always have the same amount of backup sets which are controlled
by you.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

When I got this Vista machine, I started using the backup program.
It's easier than copying files to various disks and diskettes.

Problem is probably pretty basic. The backups go week after week
'til they fill my external drive. They create one full backup, then a new
subfolder every week 'til I run out of room.
Backup set
Backup File 1
Backup File 2
Backup File 3

I tried deleting "Backup File 1" and the next backup failed.

Coincidence?

Just adding my 2 cents.

I have a large external hard drive with two partitions, each big enough to
hold the backup of my internal drive.

The first two BUs I made were full backups, one to each partition (a few
days apart). After that I've been alternating incremental backups, each
time to the least recent BU.

When a partition fills up, the next backup is a full BU again. This way,
the other BU remains available if the one I'm doing crashes.

The main flaw to this scheme is that both backups sets are on the same
drive, so if the drive fails, I'm hosed.

BTW, I did notice that you said "external drive"