How do you backup your system?

[Catoosa]

Quote from gnome:

HD cloning....

I have 2 HDs mounted so I can do a quick clone at any time (<1 minute with Casper XP 3.0, <3 minutes with Acronis True Image).

I also have 2 other HDs (out of the machine) which I rotate with the 2nd HD to keep all fairly current

I like your method (this is close to what I do). I use removable HD bays to make it fast to plug in the HDs for drive cloning and drive swapping.

 

[CPTrader]

It seems Acronis is the preferred imaging software here.

What are recommendaions for HDD or CDs to use for the actual backup along with Acronis?

Thx!

 

[nononsense]

Quote from Holmes:

part 2

No need to make every week a complete backup.

My setup is that I have encryption software which makes a "virtual HD".

The "virtual HD" needs to be "mounted" (made accessible) and once a day I synchronise "my" data ("My Documents" and other directories that have data that change) to the "virtual HD". For this I use robocopy (part of the Windows Resource disk) and that takes less than 1 minute.

And I only backup the partition / HD when I have made changes to the programs / setups etc. (normally once every three - four weeks).

The file that is the "Virtual HD" gets archived on second HD (every day) and once a week to CD.

Hope this helps
Sherlock

Hi Sherlock,

What HD encrypting package do you use? Do you also encrypt your swap partition?

Be good,
nononsense

 

[gnome]

Quote from CPTrader:

It seems Acronis is the preferred imaging software here.

What are recommendaions for HDD or CDs to use for the actual backup along with Acronis?

Thx!

If using an internal HD, any one will be as good as another. (I don't know about the differences with external HDs)

As for CDs... those made by Taiyo Yuden are generally recognized as the best. Google for more info.

As for Acronis, it's probably THE best at imaging... it also clones just fine, too.

Other good cloning possibilities are CAsper XP 3.0 and Western Digital Data Lifeguard. WD's has the advantage of being FREE. It works just great UNLESS you get an error message about "odidev.dll". If you see that, you won't be able to use it.

 

[ElectricSavant]

Can I backup to an internet storage service server? Is it still costly?

 

[nononsense]

Quote from CPTrader:

It seems Acronis is the preferred imaging software here.

What are recommendaions for HDD or CDs to use for the actual backup along with Acronis?

Thx!

Don't use CD's if you don't HAVE to. Convenient for moving around though, but less reliable for vital backups.
External HD usb2 (or dual usb2/firewire: don't get stuck with ONLY firewire)

I have been through MANY hd's. I prefer Seagate. Why: less noise and less heat. Good reliability and good docs & support.

Don't back up to internal HD's. They should be PHYSICALLY REMOVED and stored in a SAFE place. (read preceding posts on this)

 

[gnome]

Quote from nononsense:

Don't use CD's if you don't HAVE to.
External HD usb2 (or dual usb2/firewire: don't get stuck with ONLY firewire)

I have been through MANY hd's. I prefer Seagate. Why: less noise and less heat. Good reliability and good docs & support.

Don't back up to internal HD's. They have to be PHYSICALLY REMOVED and stored in a SAFE place. (read preceding posts on this)

Agree on all points, however Seagate's cloning software SUCKS compared to WD's (both are lite versions of Ontrack's Disk Manager, ironically).

Update.... I previously mentioned that I have 2 HDs mounted... I don't really consider the 2nd HD as legitimate backup, just a convenience... things could happen which could damage both mounted HDs at the same time.

 

[nononsense]

Quote from gnome:

Agree on all points, however Seagate's cloning software SUCKS compared to WD's (both are lite versions of Ontrack's Disk Manager, ironically).

Update.... I previously mentioned that I have 2 HDs mounted... I don't really consider the 2nd HD as legitimate backup, just a convenience... things could happen which could damage both mounted HDs at the same time.

I only use Acronis tools for backup & cloning. Haven't used HD manufacturers programs for a long time. In fact these are all written so that they only copy to/from their own brands which I found to be a constant nuissance.

 

[gnome]

Quote from nononsense:

I only use Acronis tools for backup & cloning. Haven't used HD manufacturers programs for a long time. In fact these are all written so that they only copy to/from their own brands which I found to be a constant nuissance.

Not quite correct... only ONE of the HDs has to be the same as the software.

 

[CPTrader]

Thanks everyone!