Which drive backup software?

  • Thread starter Thread starter BliND
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BliND

What software would be best to backup my pc incase it fails? I ha
bought a new harddrive and had to reinstall windows XP, update
reinstall software, you know....everything. After about
days....LOL...Got everything back like I want it. So now im lookin
for something to burn my HD partition incase it ever fails so I don
have to wait that long to get everything back. What would be best?
I want something that I can use to reinstall my system just like i
is right now if at some point my system wont boot due to errors o
whatever
 
Use either Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost to image a known "good"
partition onto a second hard drive, CD's or DVD's. Then when you have a
problem you can recover with relative ease.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
I had tried Acronis True Image but it kept asking for my DVD which wa
already there and then error...Can I make it put the recovery files o
my backup harddrive then I burn them my self to the DVDs? Or does i
burn then in some special way to be able to use them on boot? I
that program wont work, which version of Norton Ghost will do what
want? I hear the new 10 is always on looking for changes to mak
recovery points but I just want an exact copy of what my system i
like right now
 
BliND said:
What software would be best to backup my pc incase it fails? I
had
bought a new harddrive and had to reinstall windows XP, update,
reinstall software, you know....everything. After about 2
days....LOL...Got everything back like I want it. So now im
looking
for something to burn my HD partition incase it ever fails so I
dont
have to wait that long to get everything back. What would be
best?
I want something that I can use to reinstall my system just
like it
is right now if at some point my system wont boot due to errors
or
whatever.
Click to expand...

IMO, a ghosting program is best; boot it, load it, forget it
until it's done.

Second would be NTBackup as provided with XP Pro and Home. Boot
from the CD or an ASR disk, and go, wait til it's done. The big
draw to me is that backup is available as soon as you get things
started. Nothing else to install or fiddle with.
Shutdown/Restarts are fast, and everything's right there
available.
I use NTBackup for the operating system partition. Then, I
use DataKeeper for the rest, but I'm seriously considering
switching to WinZip 10 Pro for data instead, because it now has
good features for scheduling, etc. backups and jobs and all that.
It's easier to use, isn't resident like DataKeeper, and
compresses, which DataKeeper won't do unless you are going to a
tape.
If I have to go back just a few hours, then I use Norton's
GoBack, simply b ecause I have it, and it's saved my bacon
several times that way. But I don't let it run resident; it's
sort of a hog.

HTH

Pop
 
I had tried Acronis True Image but it kept asking for my DVD which was
already there and then error...Can I make it put the recovery files on
my backup harddrive then I burn them my self to the DVDs? Or does it
burn then in some special way to be able to use them on boot? If
that program wont work, which version of Norton Ghost will do what I
want? I hear the new 10 is always on looking for changes to make
recovery points but I just want an exact copy of what my system is
like right now.
Click to expand...

True Image should certainly provide you with the ability to image your first
hard drive to an image file on the second hard drive. Maybe you're just
running it incorrectly? Make sure you choose to just backup the first hard
drive if you want its image placed on the second. By default, it might have
chosen both hard drives and you need to place a checkmark just to the left
of the first hard drive and uncheck the second if it is checked.
 
BliND said:
What software would be best to backup my pc incase it fails? I had
bought a new harddrive and had to reinstall windows XP, update,
reinstall software, you know....everything. After about 2
days....LOL...Got everything back like I want it. So now im looking
for something to burn my HD partition incase it ever fails so I dont
have to wait that long to get everything back. What would be best?
I want something that I can use to reinstall my system just like it
is right now if at some point my system wont boot due to errors or
whatever.
Click to expand...

The absolute best is a RAID controller which mirrors your hard drive to
another, identical, drive with every write. If your hard drive fails, the
controller automatically switches all I/O activity to the mirrored drive
(and bitches like the third monkey on Noah's gangplank as a warning).
 
HeyBub said:
The absolute best is a RAID controller which mirrors your hard drive
to another, identical, drive with every write. If your hard drive
fails, the controller automatically switches all I/O activity to the
mirrored drive (and bitches like the third monkey on Noah's gangplank
as a warning).
Click to expand...


Mirroring is not only *not* "the absolute best," it's isn't even an
acceptable backup solution at all.

Mirroring (RAID 1) is a technique used in situations where downtime can't be
tolerated--where the cost of even a few minutes downtime can put you out of
business. It is continuous and permits automatic seamless substitution of
the mirror drive for the original if the original should fail.

It's important to realize that mirroring is not a substitute for backup.
Even those business which use mirrors also do regular backups. I don't
recommend backup to a second non-removable hard drive (whether a mirror or a
stand-alone drive) because it leaves you susceptible to simultaneous loss of
the original and backup to many of the most common dangers: severe power
glitches, nearby lightning strikes, virus attacks, even theft of the
computer.
 
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