Is there an backup external drive for restoration?

[Kerry]

Is there an external hard drive on the market that makes the
restoration process easy (especially when considering I have 2
internal hard drives, but only one that has programs installed)? I
would rather not have to burn a boot disc each time, and the less
steps the better.

Ideally, the backup drive would backup data from both my internal
drives knowing which data came from which drive, and know which drive
has the programs that need to be restored in case of failure. Can't
this be done in one simple process? I do not have firewire, so I think
I would need to attach via USB.

I currently own a Maxtor 250GB External Drive that backs up files
easily but I can never remember the complex process needed to make a
CD that will restore the system to how it was (e.g. all programs are
reinstalled etc.) after my internal hard drive(s) fail. The manual is
absurdly confusing due to equivocal terminology. From what I've read,
Norton Ghost is confusing too.

The more complex this method is, the less I trust that I did it right.
The process is made even more complex by the fact that I have 2
internal hard drives with more than 250GB worth of data so I have to
tell it to only backup and restore part of my system.

Thanks,
Kerry

 

[Calab]

You may want to look at Acronis True Image
you may find it more "user friendly" than "Ghost"

I also vote for Acronis True Image... It can do a system image without
having to shut down Windows. You can also schedule backups to occur
automatically.

What size are the drives in your PC? You might find it adventageous to
remove the 250gig from the Maxtor enclosure and install a 500gig in it's
place. Once you've done that, you can use the 250gig for your system.
Depending on how old your current drives are, you might see a nice speed
boost.

 

[sandy58]

Is there an external hard drive on the market that makes the
restoration process easy (especially when considering I have 2
internal hard drives, but only one that has programs installed)? I
would rather not have to burn a boot disc each time, and the less
steps the better.

Ideally, the backup drive would backup data from both my internal
drives knowing which data came from which drive, and know which drive
has the programs that need to be restored in case of failure. Can't
this be done in one simple process? I do not have firewire, so I think
I would need to attach via USB.

I currently own a Maxtor 250GB External Drive that backs up files
easily but I can never remember the complex process needed to make a
CD that will restore the system to how it was (e.g. all programs are
reinstalled etc.) after my internal hard drive(s) fail. The manual is
absurdly confusing due to equivocal terminology. From what I've read,
Norton Ghost is confusing too.

The more complex this method is, the less I trust that I did it right.
The process is made even more complex by the fact that I have 2
internal hard drives with more than 250GB worth of data so I have to
tell it to only backup and restore part of my system.

Thanks,
Kerry

E-mail on the way, Kerry.

 

[Kerry]

I also vote for Acronis True Image... It can do a system image without
having to shut down Windows. You can also schedule backups to occur
automatically.

What size are the drives in your PC? You might find it adventageous to
remove the 250gig from the Maxtor enclosure and install a 500gig in it's
place. Once you've done that, you can use the 250gig for your system.
Depending on how old your current drives are, you might see a nice speed
boost.

I didn't consider that my external drive may have a replaceable
internal drive inside it. My C and D drives are 150 (the one w/ all my
programs) and 250GB respectively, so this idea may work. Are you
proposing the following:

Get a new 500GB Maxtor backup, put the image from my current 150GB C
drive on it, replace the 150GB w/ my old Maxtor 250GB backup, and then
"recover" my C image onto the new 250GB C Drive.

Sounds risky!

 

[Calab]

| > I also vote for Acronis True Image... It can do a system image without
| > having to shut down Windows. You can also schedule backups to occur
| > automatically.
| >
| > What size are the drives in your PC? You might find it adventageous to
| > remove the 250gig from the Maxtor enclosure and install a 500gig in it's
| > place. Once you've done that, you can use the 250gig for your system.
| > Depending on how old your current drives are, you might see a nice speed
| > boost.
|
| I didn't consider that my external drive may have a replaceable
| internal drive inside it. My C and D drives are 150 (the one w/ all my
| programs) and 250GB respectively, so this idea may work. Are you
| proposing the following:
|
| Get a new 500GB Maxtor backup, put the image from my current 150GB C
| drive on it, replace the 150GB w/ my old Maxtor 250GB backup, and then
| "recover" my C image onto the new 250GB C Drive.

Yes... except you don't need to replace the whole external unit. You just
need to swap out the drive inside.

| Sounds risky!

Why? Once you're done you'd still have your 150gig drive intact to go back
to if something goes wrong.