neatnettricks

[blueboxer]

Having at last heard the gospel of the backup preachers, I went out and bought a nice one-terabyte USB external hard disc to cope with my three computers (all XP, a desktop with 160 GB HD, a laptop now with a 250 GB after making death rattle noises, and an OE 250 GB laptop.) The desktop and early laptop are FAT32, the later is NTFS. The WD external hard disc I bought is NTFS. The surplus space on the desktop houses Ubuntu on a dual boot, the first laptop leaves it unused in case I ever figure out a use for it.

I got a copy of the same backup software my small, independent ISP uses for his operation, the hard disc comes with some similar stuff on it. I have a few disc imaging programs like Macrium Reflex.

I would like to back up the newer laptop daily and the end of the day, the other maybe weekly or longer intervals, and the desktop would likdely be sufficiently backed up if done monthly or less often.

The Geek Squad kid at Best Buy told me that I should not partition the new hard disc, that I should just set up separate folders for each computer I want to back up. This does not strike me as credible, from what I know about how files are written. Or is there as usual some devil in the details that I don't know? And, how big should I make the partitions, in your opinion?

I'd rather ask for advice first than contemplate recovering from a catastrophe later. Suggestions, anyone?

[drcard]

Hi blueboxer,

It all depends upon the program you are using to do the backups AND if you plan to use the external drive for other storage.

If the backup software is merely coping the files then you will need to partition in order to have one partition in FAT32 and another in NTFS. If the backup software is making an image it will save it in a file format unique to that program and it makes no difference if the backup image is saved on a FAT32 or NTFS drive, thus no partition is needed. If you would like to use the external drive for storage of files, then partitioning would be best so the stored files would be separate from the backup files. Storing photos and video files on the storage will save space on the used PC while still being able to access when desired. For security I have all my personal account files stored on an external drive that has an on/off switch. It stays off until I need to do that type of business. Thus even if my PC is hacked, those records can't be accessed.

You didn't say what software will control the backups. There are numerous backup programs out there and I have tested many of them. These are the features that I think make a backup software worth spending a few $s on:

Able to create a bootable disk - when the HDD totally fails you will need to install a new HDD and then boot to the disk which controls loading the backup image onto the new drive.

Compression - Even with a TB drive the backups that are not compressed will soon fill the drive. Compression means more copies of backups before an old copy needs to be deleted.

Automation - Remembering to do a backup is a hassle and often people want to use the PC and not perform maintenance tasks. My setup is totally automatic and does the backup when I'm not using the PC; thus I spend no time doing backups, but always have a current backup.

Recovery - All or none. Many times you desire a copy of a backed up file but don't want to a full recovery just to get that one file.

You can get all these features in backup software that cost less than $70 (even less if you bargain shop).

HTH, Dana:))

[blueboxer]

Thanks, Dana. Now of course I naturally have more questions. The incremental backup (which I gather can't be an image) is Allway Sync. I also have Acronis but when I tried to use it it failed me and their help seemed to be some Russian guy who just wanted me to go away. I also have Drive Image XML but it has, I believe, limitations. I just did an image backup with the freebie version of Macrium Reflect, onto a small external drive I have. And I haven't yet looked to see what the software is that Western Digital installed on the new drive, though the literature seems to assume a constant connection which a shortage of USB ports could make uncomfortable.
I'm also wondering about the partition size limit (about 32 gig) in XP under FAT32. But then, is there any point in imaging data partitions with no operating system files om them? Can I put image files of C:\ from two different computers in the same partition? Should a daily backup incremental file be a non-image file, with an image file simply created time to time as a reserve?
I think you can see where I'm going with this, and what I don't know that I need to. Can you give me further direction?

[drcard]

Hi blueboxer,

There are different kinds of backup. Each is designed to recover from a different kind of loss or need. The smart user plans for all types of losses or needs. So let's go over each plan with what you have.

First, a little explaining to understand what each type of backup means.

Image versus file backup - An image is an exact copy of the drive or partition. File backup is exact copies of selected files and not all files.

The image file contains the boot files, OS, drive table files (like MTF in NTFS or FAT in FAT32). The image backup is the kind of backup you need when your HD suddenly dies. The goal is to replace the HD with a new blank HD, then load the image onto the new HD. Once done the system with boot to exactly like it was when the image was made. Just remember anything added like documents, photos, or emails after the image was made to when the old HD died will be lost. Recovery from a dead HD can be hard or easy depending upon the software that made the image. Good software (like the Acronis) will have you make a bootable CD. The idea is to put the new HD in, boot to the CD, run the image software, and the software will restore the image from the USB dive to the new HD. Imaging software that doesn't make a CD will require you to install Windows and the software and then have the software install the image over your fresh install of Windows. This image safety for a HD that dies can be extended for other type disasters. Make an image to DVDs (or online) and store off site. This covers lose of the PC and USB HD like fire or theft. I have not used Acronis, but the listed features indicate that it could perform this function if you can learn how to use it.

Acronis current software indicates that it can do auto delete. If so, then you will not need a separate partition. If your version of Acronis does not auto delete then you will want to create a partition to the size to hold the number of backups you want. The size will depend upon if you use compression or not. For example: If the backup for the Desktop you have takes 25GB and you would like to keep only the last 3 backups. You would then make a partition for 90GB (allows for growth of the PC but is less than 4 backups). The backup software will either delete the oldest backup before doing the 4th backup or will notify you that there isn't enough space for the 4th backup so you can manually delete the oldest backup. You can then create partitions for each of the other PCs you have and their backup images. All these partitions won't be necessary if your version auto deletes.

BTW: The Western Digital software is a coping software. It doesn't make an image. It will copy one drive onto another (including boot files) but both drives have to be functional. Using software like this for backup requires a user to know how to turn boot files off and on (which most users don't know).

To cover the loss of changes between image backups you need daily file backup. Incremental is faster backups because it will only copy those files that have changed since the last backup, but when you restore you have to restore each incremental backup since the image so all changed files since the image can be restore and nothing is lost. Total file backup will take slightly longer but will require only one backup to be restored to get all data back. Again Acronis can do this.

Here a good backup plan:

Make a boot CD using Acronis.
Schedule Acronis to make images once a week (when your not using the PC)
Store one of the above images once a month off site (DVDs or online)
Make daily full file backup of selected files (My Documents and e-mail).
Configure the auto delete so you keep the last 3 backups.

If your Acronis can auto delete then partition the new USB drive into 2 partitions...one for your backups and one for storage. Size will depend upon how much backup space you will need. In calculating remember that an image will be only that portion of the drive that is being used and not the free space. For example if the desktop with the 250GB HD has only 25GB in use then the image will be 25GB not 250GB (even less if you compress the image file).

FAT32 or NTFS is not an issue when storing the images. You can backup a FAT32 drive and store the image onto a NTFS drive. The data in the image like the copied FAT and HD drive data determines the restore format and not the format of the drive that the image was stored on.

I suggest you read the user manual to Acronis and view the tutorials on the web site to learn how to use Acronis.

If you find Acronis too difficult to use (and many users do), I suggest another backup software that I use which is very easy to use: Genie Backup Manager.


HTH, Dana:))

[blueboxer]

Thank you, Dana. I think I am getting the idea and can make this work. Since I bought the XP Pro laptop used I did not get the recovery discs with it (my bad, I do know better) and since the XP Pro is an overwrite of Vista which Microsoft does not countenance I can't get it to validate either. So I need to preserve my OS image, though I do have a spare, legal, unused copy of XP Home for use in extremis.

I did read and understand and followed the directions in Acronis and did make a boot disc and drive image, which I also verified according to instructions and then tried to use to make a restoration. Everything went swimmingly until about three-quarters of the way through when everything stopped with the announcement that the - verified - CD was corrupted, and that was that. Long email exchanges with Acronis support produced nothing intelligible. I did do a retest, the only difference in the results being that the "disc corruption" was reported a lot earlier. The support was slow and useless.

But it does sound as if I should make an image backup of each drive, then set up a copy with a regime to add the incremental changes each day. And since I have a terabyte to play with, I will likely go with one partition per computer and lots of leftover space.

[drcard]

Hi blueboxer,

[blueboxer]

Since I don't play music or movies on my computer, wear on my CD is not highly credible as a possibility. Dust, maybe. But do note that I said I had already verifed the disc before I tried to use it, i.e. on Acronis' own built-in test it was shown to be working.

It's nice that other people have had good experience with Acronis; I do wish I could say the same. Oh yes, months after, I got a sales pitch in the guise of a satisfaction survey from them and replied in a civilized fasion but made my dissatisfaction abundantly clear. Guess what reaction I got?

(Answer: they just keep sending me ads).

[drmark]

I am also not a fan of Acronis. I have never yet had a copy that worked correctly. I have been using O&O Pro. http://www.oo-software.com/home/en/products/oodiskimage/index.html It allows for imaging as well as cloning and automatically creates a bootable image as a part of the process.


Mark

[blueboxer]

I have another option that seems to work for transferring single files and folders. There's a PD program - Open Source I think - called GeneLink 1.11A which lets you use a USB null modem cable between two computers in close proximity to send files and folders from one to the other. I have only tried it once or twice and that some while ago but as I recall it worked satisfactorily and was a very hassle-free setup even for a computer non-expert like me.