windows Complete PC Backup backing up multiple drives :(

[Guest]

I was so happy that I wouldn't have to buy a backup program. I install vista
on C: programs on D: and documents on E:
All set to go and it wants to back up C: and D: or E: (cant remember).
I don't see an option.

This blows my backup plans. The whole reason vista is alone on C: is that it
is only 7 gigs and easy to backup to DVD. Well and any of the other drives
and we got 60 to 100 gigs to backup...ugh

What happened? I remember once a very basic backup was only C:.
But now I am making a backup with all basic programs installed and profiles
stored in My documents.
Is Vista seeing anything referenced/installed to another drive in the
registry and therefore, "well we have to back up that whole drive then too"

This sucks, I can't believe this isnt a problem for business owners, whom
backup is only available for (business/enterprise/ultimate)

am I missing something?
Thanks
Wally

 

[Richard Urban]

What you may be missing is that most business owners, and advanced home
users, have a dedicated backup program that affords many more options than
those allowed by Microsoft Backup.

Personally, I have "never" used any operating system supplied backup
program - and this goes back 15-16 years. When I first became a home
computer user, I realized that my data was important enough to maybe pay for
a real backup program. I can still access, and use, data I saved from 1992.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

 

[ramses]

I was so happy that I wouldn't have to buy a backup program. I install
vista
on C: programs on D: and documents on E:
All set to go and it wants to back up C: and D: or E: (cant remember).
I don't see an option.

This blows my backup plans. The whole reason vista is alone on C: is that
it
is only 7 gigs and easy to backup to DVD. Well and any of the other drives
and we got 60 to 100 gigs to backup...ugh

What happened? I remember once a very basic backup was only C:.
But now I am making a backup with all basic programs installed and
profiles
stored in My documents.
Is Vista seeing anything referenced/installed to another drive in the
registry and therefore, "well we have to back up that whole drive then
too"

This sucks, I can't believe this isnt a problem for business owners, whom
backup is only available for (business/enterprise/ultimate)

am I missing something?
Thanks
Wally

I have Vista Ultimate and made systembackups and filebackups on a external
USB-connected drive with no problems.
If you don't have Ultimate then you can only make filebackups.
I advise to get a external hardisk
Anyway it's only 100 $ or so for a 500 gig disk and you can make different
backups.

 

[Guest]

What you may be missing is that most business owners, and advanced home
users, have a dedicated backup program that affords many more options than
those allowed by Microsoft Backup.

I take it you refer to the likes of Backup Exec or Arcserve, which are not
only phenomenally expensive, but are so complex that to operate them without
special training would be very difficult. They are also, in my experience,
not all that reliable, nor especially helpful in the event of disk failure.

It strikes me that backup IS a function which an OS should rightly perform,
as a successful backup may require 'understanding' of special filing-system
features which the writer of a third-party app may not have. Especially with
Vista. Yet, instead we have OS's which perform Internet browsing, media
playback, etc. which are rightly the job of third-party apps. Meanwhile,
backup is relegated to the 'also rans' category.

 

[Richard Urban]

Yes, I am referring to Backup Exec. I have been using it since version 1 -
up until about one year ago. They have always had a desktop version that was
in the $50 range. By carefully reading the "readme" files I knew when a new
version would not be compatible with my old backups. I therefore restored
all the old backups, uninstalled the old version of Backup Exec, installed
the newer version and then backed up again with the new version. I then
deleted the original files from the hard drive as I rarely needed them Yet
when I did need them I was easily able to pull what I wanted from the
backup.

I can still access files that I created in 1992 by doing this, even though
the original files have not resided on my hard drive for over a dozen years.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)