Backing up data ! how do you do it?

[arrabista]

Sawat Dee all you tech minded BM's ....

Just wanted tips and pointers to how you guys back up for worst case scenarios....hard drive failures or viruses that corrupt your operating systems?

Thought it might be useful to share this info because you never know what might happen!!

My questions are:

• Do you use any software to back up whole hardrives?

•can you suggest good reliable freeware that does the job we'll?

•whats your backing up methodology?

 

Currently I have external hardrive and on that I have a Software folder where I have copies of everything I installed in case of a crash ..plus separate folders for pictures, movies etc

Every few months I just update by copy and paste but surely there is an easier way BMs....my way seems very old school

Never tried restoring all my settings on the operating system but how do you guys do this if a crash happened?

Thanks for your time and looking forward to your input

Arrabista

[LongLiveLos]

Sawat Dee all you tech minded BM's ....

Just wanted tips and pointers to how you guys back up for worst case scenarios....hard drive failures or viruses that corrupt your operating systems?

Thought it might be useful to share this info because you never know what might happen!!

My questions are:

• Do you use any software to back up whole hardrives?

•can you suggest good reliable freeware that does the job we'll?

•whats your backing up methodology?

 

Currently I have external hardrive and on that I have a Software folder where I have copies of everything I installed in case of a crash ..plus separate folders for pictures, movies etc

Every few months I just update by copy and paste but surely there is an easier way BMs....my way seems very old school

Never tried restoring all my settings on the operating system but how do you guys do this if a crash happened?

Thanks for your time and looking forward to your input

Arrabista

 

Paragon - http://www.paragon-software.com/home/br-free/

 

Keriver - http://www.keriver.com/

 

Both excellent, reliable and offer free versions.

 

I use Paragon free and it's saved my ass twice. It creates an exact "image" of your "OS" drive/partition and you restore it by booting into a rescue cd you create after installing the program. If a restore is needed, just reboot your computer, enter "bios", change the boot sequence to first "cd", pop in the rescue cd and save/exit bios. It will load the cd and just follow the instructions. Make sure your external drive is plugged in and powered on as you will have to browse to where your restore image is located.

 

Takes about 25 minutes on my machine to create/restore images. And don't forget that in the case of a malware infection, an image will "clean" better than any antivirus ever will!

 

EDIT: I image weekly and save images for a few months incase i need to go back in time for some reason. Also several times a week in addition i use Free File Sync - http://sourceforge.net/projects/freefilesync/ to backup my email/browser settings, profiles, bookmarks, etc. Works awesome and is very fast!!!

Edited August 23, 2011 by LongLiveLos

[stevxpl]

For personal data I just use one of those Western Digital pocket hard drives, comes with back-up software on the drive when you buy it.

[jojomecanic]

I install everything on my computer, programs, settings, etc.

Once everything is fine, I just make an image on an other hard drive.

 

In case of crash or anything, I just swap HDD (5 minutes max) and everything starts again !

[Sam Beckett]

Hey mate

I actually use whs (windows home server based on sbs server 2008)

I bought a HP Microserver $200 AUD from HP (asking a bit more on EBAY) (64 bit proscesor 250gig HDD with room for 4 total HDD) and 1gig ram (upgraded to 4gig for $30aud

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-ProLiant-N36L-MicroServer-633724-011-STOCK-/270805047435?pt=AU_Servers&hash=item3f0d3d188b

 

Purchased WHS software from EBAY $85

I store all my contents on that (music video docs) shared to a homegroup with all my pcs running win 7 and it also backs up my PCS as per the my setup

It backs up to any hard drive connected to it, just needs to be configured , internal or external.

Very small, its not wireless but theres room to add a couple of cards, some guys I know use it as a HTPC.

No need for a monitor, its can be controlled with REMOTE desktop or the remote software that installs once setup

 

I have a couple of network ports setup in my house, so its hard wired to my router , but all devices wired or wirless are backup

Its easy to setup, and once it is you never need to worry

It will actually prompt you on ur dectop if theres any issues.

 

Whats cool about the backups is that it archives them, does not over write them if u need them u can restore a complete PC or just grab the files u lost, I used it the other day, selected a backup from 1 week earlier, it loaded a VITUAL drive in my pc, I dragged the lost docs to my desktop, and its done

 

Anyway thats what I do, but Im a geek lol

 

 

Edited August 23, 2011 by Sam Beckett

[arrabista]

Paragon - http://www.paragon-software.com/home/br-free/

 

Keriver - http://www.keriver.com/

 

Both excellent, reliable and offer free versions.

 

I use Paragon free and it's saved my ass twice. It creates an exact "image" of your "OS" drive/partition and you restore it by booting into a rescue cd you create after installing the program. If a restore is needed, just reboot your computer, enter "bios", change the boot sequence to first "cd", pop in the rescue cd and save/exit bios. It will load the cd and just follow the instructions. Make sure your external drive is plugged in and powered on as you will have to browse to where your restore image is located.

 

Takes about 25 minutes on my machine to create/restore images. And don't forget that in the case of a malware infection, an image will "clean" better than any antivirus ever will!

 

EDIT: I image weekly and save images for a few months incase i need to go back in time for some reason. Also several times a week in addition i use Free File Sync - http://sourceforge.net/projects/freefilesync/ to backup my email/browser settings, profiles, bookmarks, etc. Works awesome and is very fast!!!

 

 

LonlgliveLOS ! thank you for your response mate ..will try parargon..i realized i have acronis tru drive image you familiar with this?!

anyway thank you for your response much appreciated!

[arrabista]

For personal data I just use one of those Western Digital pocket hard drives, comes with back-up software on the drive when you buy it.

 

Thanks mate handy to know ,cheers

[arrabista]

I install everything on my computer, programs, settings, etc.

Once everything is fine, I just make an image on an other hard drive.

 

In case of crash or anything, I just swap HDD (5 minutes max) and everything starts again !

 

jojomecanic..thanks for your input mate,can you elaborate on how you mount the image when you swap the HDD and

5 minutes max) and everything starts again !

love to know this!

[arrabista]

Hey mate

I actually use whs (windows home server based on sbs server 2008)

I bought a HP Microserver $200 AUD from HP (asking a bit more on EBAY) (64 bit proscesor 250gig HDD with room for 4 total HDD) and 1gig ram (upgraded to 4gig for $30aud

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-ProLiant-N36L-MicroServer-633724-011-STOCK-/270805047435?pt=AU_Servers&hash=item3f0d3d188b

 

Purchased WHS software from EBAY $85

I store all my contents on that (music video docs) shared to a homegroup with all my pcs running win 7 and it also backs up my PCS as per the my setup

It backs up to any hard drive connected to it, just needs to be configured , internal or external.

Very small, its not wireless but theres room to add a couple of cards, some guys I know use it as a HTPC.

No need for a monitor, its can be controlled with REMOTE desktop or the remote software that installs once setup

 

I have a couple of network ports setup in my house, so its hard wired to my router , but all devices wired or wirless are backup

Its easy to setup, and once it is you never need to worry

It will actually prompt you on ur dectop if theres any issues.

 

Whats cool about the backups is that it archives them, does not over write them if u need them u can restore a complete PC or just grab the files u lost, I used it the other day, selected a backup from 1 week earlier, it loaded a VITUAL drive in my pc, I dragged the lost docs to my desktop, and its done

 

Anyway thats what I do, but Im a geek lol

 

 

 

Sam Beckett....thank you mate for yor input too ..is your name a reference to the famous writer??

cheers

Arrabista

[jojomecanic]

jojomecanic..thanks for your input mate,can you elaborate on how you mount the image when you swap the HDD andlove to know this!

I use Norton Ghost to make the image.

Then I load the image on the second HDDwith Norton ghost, asking to make it a NTFS system (with the image). I have then 2 HDD exactly the same. I unplug the second one and store it somewhere.

 

If a big problem occurs with my HDD, I open the computer, unplug the HDD and replace it with the spare one. And it goes as if it was new.

I can then plug the first one again on usb or as slaveHDD and load again the first image on it...

 

Of course, I have always a second HDD in my comp that have a copy of my datas

 

So that's 3 HDD :

#1 - OS + data

#2 - copy of data

#3 - original OS ready to replace #1

 

If your HDD #1 is out of order, it take less than 5 mn to put the #3 inside and come back on PA :-)

I also change HDD when my comp start to be a bit slow (instead of searching the problem for days), or when I install a new program that makes everything goes crazy, etc.

 

This is the easiest, quickest and cheapest way I've found. Of course you must know how to use a screwdriver. This is usualy the bigest problem

Edited August 24, 2011 by jojomecanic

[Sam Beckett]

Sam Beckett....thank you mate for yor input too ..is your name a reference to the famous writer??

cheers

Arrabista

 

 

NO

 

The Time Traveler

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096684/

 

LOL

 

Sorry to disapoint

[pubstud]

I used to back up all my docs/files/pics on 1.4MB floppies but they weren't large enough so I started using CDs.

Then CDs weren't large enough so I started using DVDs.

Then DVDs weren't large enough so currently I'm using 500Gig external drives.

I'm currently filling up my 4th 500Gig external, so they really aren't large enough either.

 

Ask me the question again in 2-3 years and I'll probably tell you I'm currently using 500 Terrabyte externals - and they aren't large enough...LOL

[gogo dog]

Every few months I just update by copy and paste but surely there is an easier way BMs....my way seems very old school

 

I plug in a USB external drive and run a DOS batch file containing several xcopy commands every few days.

[FOH]

I have a 160 GB HDD with nothing on it but my OS. C:

 

I Have a 500 GB HDD for all other data D:

 

I never use any of those shitty email programs like Outhouse Excess that require system resources to operate them I use Forte Agent for email and it doesn't use any system files and I have it installed on my D: drive and it runs fine even after the re-install ot the OS

 

I also have a 500 GB USB external drive which I use to back up my D: drive every Sunday Morning.

 

If I lose my operating system I simlpy format the C: drive and re-install the OS and all my programs.

 

I have never lost any data and because I also back up my favourites directory from the C: drive I don't even lose my favouite sites list.

[peanut billy]

my personal backup routine from the very beginning...

 

first, I install windows 7 onto my hard drive. then, I install all my application software like open office, games, etc... when I have installed everything, then, I install "advanced systemcare".

http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-SystemCare-Free/3000-2086_4-10407614.html

 

advanced systemcare is software that defrags and optimizes your computer. I run this tool everyday when I wake up.

 

after optimizing, I install my "acronis true image". and I do a backup using "acronis true image" to an external drive. (this is temporary startup backup to ensure that I don't have to reinstall from beginning up to this point.)

 

after you do this, then, you install a free software called "mini-tool partition wizard".

http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html

 

I use this software to create 2 partitions on my hard drive.

 

the idea is to have one partition that is OS. and one partition that is DATA. I name my partitions "w7" and "data" make sure both partitions are NTFS for security.

 

if I need to resize the partitions, I also use "mini-tool partition wizard" for this task.

 

another thing, you will need to manually change the settings on all your application software like utorrent, itunes, orbit, extractnow, etc to direct file creation in the DATA partition. again, the idea is to have all your data on the DATA partition, and your OS and application software on the OS patition.

 

once this part is done, then, I do another backup to an external drive using my "acronis true image" to backup all the work done up to this point. (another temporary backup.) oh. this time around, I only use acronis to backup the OS partition.

 

for backup of my DATA partition, I just do cut and paste when I actually have started collecting data.

 

if you have reached this point, you have pretty much done most of the hard work. everything is fine tuning now.

 

one of the things I do for fine tuning is - install the "acronis backup manager" so that you will be able to make backups of the OS partition on the fly to a hidden partition on your hard drive.

 

essentially, I am able to make backups to the internal hard drive, and to an external hard drive. in fact, my backup routine includes making a rotational 3 backup. each week, I do one complete internal backup of my OS partition, and one complete external backup of my OS partition. and yes, in addition, I "verify" these backups using the verify routine in "acronis true image". with the amount of stuff I have (40 gbs), it takes me about 12 minutes per backup of OS partition. verify usually takes half that time.

 

I do a "cut and paste" of my entire DATA partition to my external hard drive once a week. in this case, I just overlay the old stuff with the new. you may want to do it differently. it all depends on how big your external hard drive is.

 

if you are wondering why I picked "acronis true image", wonder no more. here's the scoop. acronis true image allows you to create an emergency bootup on either a CD or a flash drive. this feature is very important if you have a netbook that doesn't have a cd drive.

 

if you are wondering why I don't backup BOTH the OS and the DATA partitions using acronis, consider this... you want to be able to access your data file by file rather then restoring everything first before accessing those single items you want recovered. get it?

 

I know this all sounds complex. but it works for me. saved my neck so many times, I've lost count.

[s0315]

After my laptop and all coming with got stolen few months ago :( I decided to adopt a serious backup strategy:

I use two lacie rikiki go hd, one 1To for movies, games, pictures docs I dont really need on my laptop but I still want to keep. The second rikiki go is 500go and is used with Timemachine on Mac Os X. It just copy everything from my harddrive, I don't have to do anything.

 

Now you want to keep your back up disk in a separate place than your laptop while travelling, meaning not in the same bag, in case it got stolen or lost.

 

I use dropbox for the most important files, like ID scans, addresse book back up stuff like that.

Edited August 30, 2011 by s0315

[yogert]

Yous should mirror your hard discs through raid. Raid. If one harddisc breaks, you always have another one.

[Newguy1967]

At this current point in time backing up to Blu Ray or DVD takes a long time and deters all! The secondary option is a mirroring server, again potentially complicated.

 

A highly recommended open source product is Clonezilla:

 

http://clonezilla.org/

[Spanky99]

Yous should mirror your hard discs through raid. Raid. If one harddisc breaks, you always have another one.

 

I would not unless you have invested in a RAID card with significant cache as it slows the system down. You can do software raid but its not as fast as a RAID card.

 

If you are worried about your documents I would recommend a backup service such as Mozy or Carbonite that runs in the background and is easy to restore from. If you want an imagine of your machine then dump it to an external drive. If your machine crashes then you can restore the image and retrieve your files from the online service.