plans for USB external backup

[Jeff]

The time has come to back up my systems. Currently I have about 20 Gbytes
on each system and I backup my own stuff onto DVDs. However with all the
updates to Windows and other software, restoring the system from scratch
would be a real PITA.

My current plan for backup is as follows. If you would care to please give
me your thoughts.

1. Buy a USB 2.0 external drive case. Not sure which is best choice.
Newegg sure has a lot of different brands.

2. Buy a hard drive on special. I like Seagates for their quiet running
and they are often on special at Best Buy.

3. Buy Acronis backup software. After good recommendations on the web and
viewing their web site it appears to me to be the best choice.

Originally I was going to get a complete system from one of the disk drive
makers, but various folks weren't that happy with the software.
Additionally the above choice will be cheaper.

TIA

 

[CWatters]

The time has come to back up my systems. Currently I have about 20 Gbytes
on each system and I backup my own stuff onto DVDs. However with all the
updates to Windows and other software, restoring the system from scratch
would be a real PITA.

My current plan for backup is as follows. If you would care to please give
me your thoughts.

1. Buy a USB 2.0 external drive case. Not sure which is best choice.
Newegg sure has a lot of different brands.

2. Buy a hard drive on special. I like Seagates for their quiet running
and they are often on special at Best Buy.

3. Buy Acronis backup software. After good recommendations on the web and
viewing their web site it appears to me to be the best choice.

I do exactly this but use Drive Image (now Ghost 9) to image my drive to the
external USB 2.0 drive. Works well. I set it up to slpit the 19GByte image
into 4GByte files so I can copy them to DVD later. This give more options
should I not be able to restore a backup from the USB drive directly.

Go for a big enclosure so you have plenty of cooling for the drive.

 

[Chuck Davis]

My thoughts:
1. If the information on your computer is sensitive, the external drive is
good. You can then place it in a fire safe or another building.
2. Otherwise, I would buy and install a second internal hard drive.
3. Windows XP Pro Back up has performed will over the past three years. I've
had to restore corrupted files three times and it worked like a charm.
4. I only back up My Documents (including My Downloads folder) and I
understand that when I lose my hard drive, I will have to reinstall all
programs.

 

[Darrell S]

I have a 200GB external USB drive that cost less than $200. Works great. I
use Drive Image 7.0 to image my hard drive to the external drive. I have
the external drive powered by a surge suppressor electrical plug-in that I
normally keep unpowered until I need the accessories plugged to it.
(printer/scanner/iPod/VideOh!/DVD burner) That helps protect my backup from
contamination and saves electricity.

The DI 7.0 CD is self-booting so I can access my backup image even if I
can't access my hard drive. So... if my hard drive is not completely
"broke" I can re-image it.

 

[Charlie]

I like your original solution. I have used Acronis and like it very much.
Internal hard drive cheaper but external drive easier. Either way will work
fine.

 

[Ken Blake]

My thoughts:
1. If the information on your computer is sensitive, the
external drive is good. You can then place it in a fire safe or
another building.
2. Otherwise, I would buy and install a second internal hard
drive.

I don't agree. Sensitive information or not, a second internal
hard drive is only slightly better than no backup at all. The
problem is that a user error, sever power glitch, nearby
lightning strike, virus attack, even theft of the computer, can
cause the loss of everything on your drive.

In my view, secure backup needs to be on removable media, and not
kept in the computer. For really secure backup (needed, for
example, if the life of your business depends on your data) you
should have multiple generations of backup, and at least one of
those generations should be stored off-site.

My computer isn't used for business, but my personal backup
scheme uses two identical removable hard drives, which fit into a
sleeve installed in the computer. I alternate between the two,
and use Drive Image to make a complete copy of the primary drive.