Backup that precious data for an easy life.

[DundeeDancer]

Starting this thread as someone else on the forum has just lost a shed load of data, poor soul.:tears: For us who have been there we know backups are an investment in GOLD :worthy: but they always used to be a hard thing to do. :confused:



Anyone got any current methods that now do it easily and efficiently?

Cheers DD.

Some more info:-
I used to use PowerQuests tools Partition Magic 7.0 and Disk Image 2002.

They tools are all right but getting dated these days.

Any recommendations on new substitutes for these utilities?

Acronis True Image 10 looks fairly temping with incremental backup option!
Anyone used this? Might be able to reduce my quarterly backups to 1 DVD!

Also thinking I might by a second disk and have a two disk system with at least 3 partitions, first two being mirrors for the OS and important data, with the last partition being a simple stripe for the less important stuff.

Any experiences with partitioning tools for this?

[Dreadful Scathe]

personally i don't care about the operating system - the files are much more important. So i backup Docs, Pictures, Videos etc separately.

I used to backup the OS just after install in the past, but i found i never bothered using it. I always ended up finding the OS disk first and just reinstalling.

[Dreadful Scathe]

of course installed programs can simply be reinstalled - i always keep all the disks of course so thats not an issue. The only other thing is emails, there will be an export option in the program somewhere - use it now and again. Or do what I do - use gmail for everything including all your Pop3 mail - refer to lifehacker.com for info on how to backup your google mail if you don't trust 'em :)

[Beowulf]

Acronis True Image 10 looks fairly temping with incremental backup option!

Anyone used this?

ME !! at work and it's BRILLIANT !! :respect: So much so I've recently ordered it for home use.

[McJester]

At home I use SyncToy by microsoft and my 500gig external drive

I set up shares on external drive and schedule synctoy to run at certain times so that all of 'My Documents' get synchronised with the backup on the external, only files that have been added, altered, moved or deleted get processed.

I have a number of machines each one syncs with a different share.

I also use this to synchronise my bookmarks across various machines.

[Sheepman]

There's a very easy option.

Step 1. Get a Mac.
Step 2. Assign a second hard drive (internal or external) for backups.
Step 3. There's no step 3.

Greg

[ducasi]

There's a very easy option.

Step 1. Get a Mac.
Step 2. Assign a second hard drive (internal or external) for backups.
Step 3. There's no step 3.
:yeah:

Though it won't be that easy for another month or so when this (http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/features/timemachine.html) becomes available.

Until then, I have a big external drive which I use to store snap-shots of my desktop and laptop.

[Barry Shnikov]

There's a very easy option.

Step 1. Get a Mac.
Step 2. Assign a second hard drive (internal or external) for backups.
Step 3. There's no step 3.

Greg

It's true, then, that when you buy an Apple computer you have to certify that you are smugger than the average person?

It's not much of an option if you already have two thousand quid's worth of PC and PC software, is it?

[Beowulf]

It's true, then, that when you buy an Apple computer you have to certify that you are smugger than the average person?

Don't quote me on this But I have the nagging suspicion that iProducts have a little syringe of "Factor-Smug" that needs to be injected into the brain at the top of the spine before their iProducts function correctly

I've seen it happen. A normal person, quite content with their PC or their Creative Labs MP3 player, using a Sony Ericsson phone etc.. suddenly buys an iPod and before you know it.. Apple-smugness factor is increased tenfold and they're pouring their derision on anything that doesn't have an "i" as a prefix !

"iI'm sorry, iI only iDefecate in the iLoo .. iI only eat iFood and drink iDrink and iI breathe iAir. so much more exclusive than normal Air. Does the same things but iI have to pay a monthly subscription to Apple for every iBreath"

we need to find an antidote for this mind altering chemical.

:wink: :na:

The evil iClique is massing.. run for your Lives !!

[ducasi]

Have you ever noticed that the Apple smugness factor is a lot like religious fervour?

That's because, once you've found a better way, you want everyone else to know about it.

[Beowulf]

once you've found a better way, you want everyone else to know about it.

So the iClones keep trying to tell us. there is NOTHING an iProduct can do that I can't do on my PC / Phone/ Camera / MP3 player / Underwear

here you go 32 reasons why PCs are better than Macs (http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/110495/32-reasons-why-pcs-are-better-than-macs.html) :wink: :na:

of course, it's from a PC mag.. I'm sure the appropriate Apple Mac Mags have articles "42 reasons why an Apple is better than a PC"

I've got that Monty Python "Life of Brian" sketch playing in my head now.

"For the demon shall bear a nine-bladed sword. Nine-bladed! Not two or five or seven, but nine"

Basically both PC and Macs have their pro's and con's I know PC's are not perfect (especially under Vista :mad:) but then Mac's are not the holy grail of computing.. sadly that item doesn't exist :tears:

[ducasi]

So the iClones keep trying to tell us. there is NOTHING an iProduct can do that I can't do on my PC / Phone/ Camera / MP3 player / Underwear
This is the mistake that Windows fans keep making. It's not what it can do, it's how it does it.

It's one word – usability.

This is what makes an iPhone better than a Nokia N95. It's what makes a Mac better than a PC. The topic to hand, backups, is just one more example of what makes it worth paying the little bit extra to get a Mac.

[DundeeDancer]

There's a very easy option.

Step 1. Get a Mac.
Step 2. Assign a second hard drive (internal or external) for backups.
Step 3. There's no step 3.

Greg


:yeah:

Though it won't be that easy for another month or so when this (http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/features/timemachine.html) becomes available.

Until then, I have a big external drive which I use to store snap-shots of my desktop and laptop.

Not sure if you have a robust solution there guys?

What would happen if your main hard drive broke?

Would you need to install all your programs again separately onto the new disk?

I like having the option of a periodic disk image burnt off to DVD which then can be copied backed onto a blank hard drive and hey presto system back with all programs and setting.

I tested this in the past when moving from a 20G drive to a 60G drive and the process only took a few hours. Quick if you think about having to install an OS, restore all your applications and apply OS patches!

[ducasi]

Not sure if you have a robust solution there guys?

What would happen if your main hard drive broke?

Would you need to install all your programs again separately onto the new disk?
Read the link I gave. If your main drive breaks you replace it, boot of the install DVD and use the Time Machine recovery facility to restore your computer to the way it was before the disk broke.

You don't have to think about periodic back-ups – it just does it. And as it backs up as you go, you probably won't lose anything – not even a day's work.

[Beowulf]

one word – usability

one incorrect word. :wink:

I've used a Mac. It was one of the first desktop machines I ever used. I learnt my "trade" on a Mac. I'm familiar with how "usable" Mac's are.

They are more "usable" in your opinion. That's fine. IMHO opinion I find my PC more usable. Obviously any Device you're familiar with will seem usable to you.

I considered the options. If a Mac could do what I need better than my PC do you not think for one pico second I'd not switch to a Mac? Do you honestly think that someone who DOESN'T use a Mac is some poor delusional soul who if only he was un-blinkered he would instantly see the iLight and switch? I saw the iLight .. and found it wanting.

They look good... so does my PC.. It's not your normal beige box. They're excel at graphics? So does my PC. It's a 3D Rendering platform on which I do my ray tracing and Digital image processing. Perhaps they excel at Audio? So what, My PC is used to encode the 3d spacial Audio files I experiment with.

If I switched to a Mac now I (as would most PC users) lose out on time and experience having to relearn a new OS. and not to mention the huge double hit to my bank. Tossing away my existing kit /software to buy some flash box / new software that I would not be remotely proficient in than I am with my current set up.

I find my PC exceedingly useful. and usable. and friendly.

Yes, Windows has bugs. so does linux.. and I bet my bottom dollar than Mac OS has had it's own flaws too.

[Flat_Eric]

Having suffered the "if it can go wrong, it will" sod's law on a number of occasion, I now believe in the the low-tech and the physical for my backups:

For data:
I have a DATA folder under C: where ALL my info is stored and organised. That includes application settings like Outlook pst and anything of that kind

Backup process, once a month:
- Zip the DATA folder - reason is to tresspass the Joliet name length considerations in a simple way
- Burn the zip on a CD. This has my preference to ensure protection from a hard disk physical failure

For config:
Ghost 10, no hesitation

[Beowulf]

For config:
Ghost 10, no hesitation

Hmm.. I've used Norton Ghost. It's "ok" I did have a few teething problems with it, and sometimes it worked less than well.

Acronis True image (http://www.acronis.com/promo/ATI/true-image-024.html/?source=google&ad=ati&s_scid=acronis%20true%20image|1020504857&gclid=CKPFn4-U1I4CFRoUEAodJR609g) is what we use at work (Not the home version obviously) and I'm thinking about getting it for my home PC.

Never had any problems with that package.