Richard...
Since you said the magic words "Cost doesn't matter here" (referring to
purchasing a backup program) let me give you my suggestions/recommendations.
I'll come to the cost factor by & by in this post...
First of all, it's no secret that a large number of XP OS PC users - for a
variety of reasons - aren't exactly enamored with the built-in XP backup
program. While some users find no problem with that program that they can't
live with, a large number find the program awkward & unwieldy to use and
simply unsatisfactory for day-in day-out backups/restorations of their
systems.
So many users have turned to third-party backup programs, some of which are
"freeware" while others are commercial products.
Let me say at the outset that a potential user (like yourself) seeking a
comprehensive backup program should try to experiment with as many different
programs as he or she possibly can to determine which one (or type) best
meets their needs. Nearly all of these programs have demo or trial versions
available so it's possible for a potential user to gain at least some
insight as to whether this or that program would best serve their interests
& objectives. I suppose it goes without saying that no one should completely
rely on my suggestions or the suggestions of anyone else (especially in
these newsgroups) in selecting a backup program.
As a general proposition it's difficult for me to imagine a better backup
system for the great majority of PC users than having a precise copy of
their day-to-day working HDD at hand. A copy where *all* the data on their
"source" HDD, i.e., their day-to-day working HDD, is instantly available -
the OS, all programs & applications, personal data, etc.. A copy that needs
no restoration or recovery process of any kind in order to access its data
instantly. A copy that is completely bootable & functional (should it be
another internally-connected HDD or an eSATA-connected external HDD) without
the need to perform any special recovery/restore process.
The comprehensive backup program we generally recommend for most PC users is
the Casper 5 disk-cloning program. The program is straightforward in design,
simple to learn & use even for an inexperienced user and quite effective as
a disk-cloning (or partition-cloning) program.
The Casper 5 program is designed to be used on a routine & frequent basis
(say, once a week or even more frequently). Used in that fashion the user
will be confident that he/she nearly always has at hand an up-to-date
*complete* copy of their system, and should the need arise to restore their
system because of a failed HDD or a corrupted OS that results in an
unbootable system or the system is dysfunctional in any way, the system can
be easily restored in reasonably short order using the cloned HDD either to
directly replace the user's failed/defective/dysfunctional day-to-day HDD or
(in the more usual type of case involving a corrupted unbootable OS) clone
the contents of the "good" cloned HDD back to the internal HDD.
The program has a unique (at least unique in our experience) of creating
*incremental* disk clones following the creation of the original (first)
disk clone. Employing what Casper calls its "SmartClone" technology the
program can create subsequent disk clones of the source HDD usually at a
fraction of the time it takes to create a "full" disk clone. This results in
a decided incentive for the user to undertake frequent complete backups of
his or her system knowing that they can create "incremental" disk clones in
a relatively short period of time. Understand that this "incremental disk
clone" is a *complete* clone (copy) of the "source" HDD; it is *not* simply
an incremental file.
The downside to the Casper 5 program (at least for many potential users) as
compared with the Acronis program (that I believe has been also recommended
to you) and most other disk-cloning programs is the cost of the program
which comes to $49.95 for the program + $9.95 for the "Casper Startup Disk"
(the program to create the bootable CD containing the Casper program -
needed to access the program in the event of a failed HDD when the user is
unable to access the installed Casper program). This "Startup Disk" is
really an essential piece of the program; I can't imagine a Casper user not
having this media. It's a pity that this "Startup Disk" is an added-cost
option; in our view it should be provided as part of the overall program and
included in the program's $49.95 cost. We have complained to the developer
about this but alas that additional cost for the "Startup Disk" is still
present. While the cost of the total program is significantly higher than
other commercial disk-cloning/disk-imaging programs, we believe it's worth
the higher cost when one considers its advantages over other similar
programs and the fact that the user will be using the program many, many
times over a period of months & years.
We are aware of scores of users of the Casper 5 program. To the best of our
knowledge not a single user of that program has ever regretted his/her
purchase of this program and we're not aware of a single person who switched
back to any disk-cloning or disk-imaging program they were previously using
as their day-to-day comprehensive backup program, including the Acronis True
Image program
There is, however, one area where a disk-imaging program, such as the ATI
one, may be more suitable for a user. Where the user is particularly
interested in maintaining "generational" multiple copies of his/her system
at different points of time, then a disk-imaging program will usually be
more suited to meeting that objective.
You mentioned a future purchase of an eSATA external HDD. I assume you're
working with a desktop PC whose motherboard contains an eSATA port or you're
planning to use an eSATA adapter so that you will have SATA-to-SATA
connectivity between the external SATA drive and the internal system. That's
a very wise hardware configuration. By cloning the contents of your internal
HDD to the eSATA external HDD the latter device will be bootable (unlike a
USB external HDD) since the system will treat it (for all practical
purposes) as an *internal* HDD. And you'll generally achieve significantly
faster transfer speeds as well the added security that comes with
disconnecting the external device from the system when not needed.
There's a trial version of the Casper 5 program available
at...
http://www.fssdev.com/products/casper/trial/ and although it's somewhat
crippled it should give one a good idea as to how the program works. And as
I've previously suggested, try out other demo/trial versions of this type of
software including the Acronis program.
Anna
