Posted by Robert Fisher on December 26, 2008 at 9:45 AM
Up to now, when I want to back up something, I simply drag and drop it in Windows Explorer. When I get my NAS in a couple weeks, I think automating that process would be more efficient. There are lots of free backup utilities out there that can likely do the job. It seems they fall into two basic categories. The first is a Zip type of arrangement where you select folders you want backed up, the software monitors those folders and backs them up on a regular basis. This is good for data. The second type seems to be the kind that creates an image of your complete system that can be used to rebuild a system in the event of a catastrophic failure. Sort of like a roided up version of Windoze Restore Point.
I currently don't use Restore Point. It just takes up too much hard drive space and I'm not convinced it's all that effective.
For those in the know, what are the thoughts on the two types of software I've described above? Necessary to go to the level of a full system image? Or is a simple data backup really good enough? I think I'm leaning toward the full system image (redundancy is a good thing) and I think combining the full system image with a RAID 5 set up on the NAS I'd be pretty well protected.
The answer is both. A good backup regimen might be to do a complete system back up monthly and a backup of your photo and document directories daily. I use Norton Ghost right now and it does a good job for both. Downside is that it compresses and orgainzes into a proprietary format so if I need to recover a file in the future, I have to be sure I still have the software. Windows will do the job as well, but automating the process is more involved.
I think the occasional system image is an essential component though, as there are all sorts of files scattered around your hard drive that you are going to wish you had if you ever have to recover from a total hard drive failure.
Posted by Bob Lund on December 26, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Vista 64bit / Acronis True Image 2009 / Lots of drive space
Robert - I have Acronis True Image doing an automated incremental backup on my image and document files to a dedicated 1TB hard drive every night, and a "C:\" drive disk image monthly.
This process gives me some confidence that 'all is well', and has saved my bacon several times! When the drive is full, I'm going to remove it and store it in a safety deposit box at my bank, and start a new drive.
An Opinion
I love the functionality Acronis provides, but can't depend on their Customer Support. My experience with on-line help requests is 90 days+ for a response, so I've had had to resolve my own issues. Their forum can be somewhat helpful . . Happy Holidays - Bob
Posted by John Mumaw on December 26, 2008 at 10:57 AM
I like to reinstall Windows once a year or so to clean up any detritus and allow it to run better. While that works well, having to reinstall the apps was a royal pain, so when I got my new computer set up exactly as I wished, I used Acronis True Image to create a 'mirror' image of the C drive (OS and apps). I tested it a few weeks ago, and it restored the fresh drive perfectly!
I don't use ATI for backup due to the proprietary format issue raised earlier, so I just use the free Microsoft SyncToy to back up my image and data files. The only downside to SyncToy is that it's not automatic, but that wasn't a high priority for me as I do backups on a once a week schedule.
Best of luck with your new system, Bob!
Posted by Scott Nelson on December 26, 2008 at 12:23 PM
The approach I take is,
I have my system hard drive, which is relatively small, a 2 large internal HD's, a Western Digital Essentials 500G, and a 320G Passport. I also like to do a fresh install of my system once a year or so, so I use Acronis to do a backup after I have re-installed the OS and apps, and tweak them the way I like. That backup goes to one of the larger internal drives, the other houses my photos and music which I split into 2 partitions. I use the backup software that comes with the Western Digital Essentials 500G, called "Memeo"and both folders get backed up daily. I also do backups of important files and folders to me as well, like my Outlook .pst file, My Documents Folder and so on. I then use my 320G Passport software to Sync all of my back up files and folders, and I leave it unplugged from my system unless I am syncing. For potential proprietary issues, I also put a backup of the backup and sync software on each of the externals
I find for the backup and syncing, the software that comes with the drives I purchased, both work really well.
Posted by Robert Fisher on December 26, 2008 at 1:39 PM
Thanks all. Good ideas.
Bob, I'm not touching Vista unless I absolutely have to. If I wanted to move to a 64 bit OS right now I'd look for a copy of XP 64. Otherwise, I'll wait till the next iteration of Windoze is available and skip Vista.
I can see where the idea of both a system image supplemented by data backup makes sense.
John, question for you. I like to do clean install annually as well but am in the same position as far as not liking the time it takes to reinstall all the apps. If you do an image of your system using Acronis, presumably that backs up the registry as well, yes? One of the things that gets cleaned out by reformatting the main drive is the registry. By using your backup image to reinstall from, doesn't that just put back the old registry that may still contain a lot of the old crud?
Scott, my current set up is similar to yours. I've got a primary hdd for the OS and all programs, a secondary drive for data and an external drive for backup. The external drive is old and almost full. I've also got an old computer connected to my network that I can use as a file server, although the drives in it are small. I'm going to be purchasing an NAS with 3, 1TB drives. The drives will be set up in a RAID 5 configuration so I'll have effectively 2TB of storage (not including the secondary internal drive and existing external) with decent redundancy owing to the RAID setup. There is backup software included with the NAS I'll be getting but any reviews I've read say the actual NAS is great but the backup software is wonky so I'm looking at alternatives.
Posted by John Mumaw on December 26, 2008 at 2:44 PM
If you do an image of your system using Acronis, presumably that backs up the registry as well, yes? One of the things that gets cleaned out by reformatting the main drive is the registry. By using your backup image to reinstall from, doesn't that just put back the old registry that may still contain a lot of the old crud?
Yes, the registry is backed up...in fact, that's the point of restoring the drive as mirrored.
The apps start up and work immediately.
I mirrored the drive the first day I had it after installing all of the apps I needed, running the free C(rap)Cleaner and then defragmenting that drive and the registry.
So basically, there was no crud in the registry at all. It was as clean a re-install as I could hope for.
Posted by Robert Fisher on December 26, 2008 at 3:09 PM
Yeah, OK. That makes sense John. I think I'll probably do the same thing. Do a clean install of everything, back up the image and be done.
Discussion
7 repliesI currently don't use Restore Point. It just takes up too much hard drive space and I'm not convinced it's all that effective.
For those in the know, what are the thoughts on the two types of software I've described above? Necessary to go to the level of a full system image? Or is a simple data backup really good enough? I think I'm leaning toward the full system image (redundancy is a good thing) and I think combining the full system image with a RAID 5 set up on the NAS I'd be pretty well protected.
Thanks.
I think the occasional system image is an essential component though, as there are all sorts of files scattered around your hard drive that you are going to wish you had if you ever have to recover from a total hard drive failure.
Robert - I have Acronis True Image doing an automated incremental backup on my image and document files to a dedicated 1TB hard drive every night, and a "C:\" drive disk image monthly.
This process gives me some confidence that 'all is well', and has saved my bacon several times! When the drive is full, I'm going to remove it and store it in a safety deposit box at my bank, and start a new drive.
An Opinion
I love the functionality Acronis provides, but can't depend on their Customer Support. My experience with on-line help requests is 90 days+ for a response, so I've had had to resolve my own issues. Their forum can be somewhat helpful . . Happy Holidays - Bob
I don't use ATI for backup due to the proprietary format issue raised earlier, so I just use the free Microsoft SyncToy to back up my image and data files. The only downside to SyncToy is that it's not automatic, but that wasn't a high priority for me as I do backups on a once a week schedule.
Best of luck with your new system, Bob!
I have my system hard drive, which is relatively small, a 2 large internal HD's, a Western Digital Essentials 500G, and a 320G Passport. I also like to do a fresh install of my system once a year or so, so I use Acronis to do a backup after I have re-installed the OS and apps, and tweak them the way I like. That backup goes to one of the larger internal drives, the other houses my photos and music which I split into 2 partitions. I use the backup software that comes with the Western Digital Essentials 500G, called "Memeo"and both folders get backed up daily. I also do backups of important files and folders to me as well, like my Outlook .pst file, My Documents Folder and so on. I then use my 320G Passport software to Sync all of my back up files and folders, and I leave it unplugged from my system unless I am syncing. For potential proprietary issues, I also put a backup of the backup and sync software on each of the externals
I find for the backup and syncing, the software that comes with the drives I purchased, both work really well.
Bob, I'm not touching Vista unless I absolutely have to. If I wanted to move to a 64 bit OS right now I'd look for a copy of XP 64. Otherwise, I'll wait till the next iteration of Windoze is available and skip Vista.
I can see where the idea of both a system image supplemented by data backup makes sense.
John, question for you. I like to do clean install annually as well but am in the same position as far as not liking the time it takes to reinstall all the apps. If you do an image of your system using Acronis, presumably that backs up the registry as well, yes? One of the things that gets cleaned out by reformatting the main drive is the registry. By using your backup image to reinstall from, doesn't that just put back the old registry that may still contain a lot of the old crud?
Scott, my current set up is similar to yours. I've got a primary hdd for the OS and all programs, a secondary drive for data and an external drive for backup. The external drive is old and almost full. I've also got an old computer connected to my network that I can use as a file server, although the drives in it are small. I'm going to be purchasing an NAS with 3, 1TB drives. The drives will be set up in a RAID 5 configuration so I'll have effectively 2TB of storage (not including the secondary internal drive and existing external) with decent redundancy owing to the RAID setup. There is backup software included with the NAS I'll be getting but any reviews I've read say the actual NAS is great but the backup software is wonky so I'm looking at alternatives.
Yes, the registry is backed up...in fact, that's the point of restoring the drive as mirrored.
The apps start up and work immediately.
I mirrored the drive the first day I had it after installing all of the apps I needed, running the free C(rap)Cleaner and then defragmenting that drive and the registry.
So basically, there was no crud in the registry at all. It was as clean a re-install as I could hope for.
Thanks all for the insights.