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back up pc

 
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Jon



Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 183

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 07 8:41 am    Post subject: back up pc Reply with quote
    

Couple of questions for those in the know, if you dont mind.

Im thinking of getting an external hard drive to use to back up my pc.

Is it possible to back up all the files by just clicking one button, rather than having to drag and drop files into the new hard drive, and maybe having a setting where it will automatically back up say maybe once a month, automatically updating any new files, can anyone recommend a make and model of hard drive that will allow me to back up all files as above if possible.

Ta!
Jon

MarkS



Joined: 01 Aug 2006
Posts: 2626

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 07 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Dont start by thinking hard drive, think about why and what you are backing up. How you are going to restore and how many backups you want to keep.

then think about software to enable this and then hardware

You can image the drive but dont expect it to 'just work' when restored onto another machine. ditto dont expect software that has been installed to work properly when restored onto another system.

Are you looking to back up email/documents/application data/software?

multiple backups? (off site storage?)
backups of multiple Pc's?

Personally I would probably go for a network storage device.
At the moment I'm just burning the stuff I want to dvd on a regular basis and the dvd's go into a small fire safe.

Jb



Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 7761
Location: 91� N
PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 07 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

My approach to backups is to backup the installation media for applications and keep all data on a separate drive which can be backed up (or at least descend it all from a single subdirectory)

You can then take image backups if you want less frequently and backup just the data more frequently. Image backups don't always work as seamlessly as one would like to imagine. The only problem with that apporach is when you have aplications that don't put all of their data where you tell them to.

Last edited by Jb on Tue Sep 11, 07 9:59 am; edited 1 time in total

tahir



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45389
Location: Essex
PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 07 9:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

What I use is PTReplicator from www.karenware.com Free & easy to set up

dougal



Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent
PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 07 11:43 am    Post subject: Re: back up pc Reply with quote
    

Jon wrote:
Couple of questions for those in the know, if you dont mind.

Im thinking of getting an external hard drive to use to back up my pc.

Is it possible to back up all the files by just clicking one button,
Yes. https://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/storage/0,1000000998,39167303,00.htm
Quote:
... rather than having to drag and drop files into the new hard drive,
not the best choice, not the only alternative, but WAY better than nothing
Quote:
... and maybe having a setting where it will automatically back up say maybe once a month,
now you are getting into the arena of 'scheduled' back ups, which could be automated rather than requiring buttons to be pressed...
Quote:
... automatically updating any new files,
Important point here. Two different concepts. 1/ Take a complete snapshot of your main drive every time. Needs space and time, but simple - and has the potential to get you running again as quickly as possible. And 2/ an 'incremental' backup, where having done one snapshot of the target directories, you then backup *only* the changes. This is quicker, but (I believe always) means that you have to run the backup program's Restore option to get something that works - and you need a working machine to run the restore from - see the problem?

I'd suggest that the important thing is to have a rigid separation between *your data* (which is the essential stuff to have a copy of, 'cos there's no way of replacing it unless you do) and your working environment (OS, software programs... ) which you *could* reinstall (if absolutely necessary, by repurchasing) but which it would be convenient to be able to restore simply.
And then you can apply different strategies to the different types of stuff. But they need to be kept apart so that you can get to them easily!
Quote:
... can anyone recommend a make and model of hard drive that will allow me to back up all files as above if possible.

IMHO, the backup software and strategy is more important than the specific hardware involved (granted a certain level of reliability).

But its probably Maxtor's Onetouch package that you have been attracted by.

Jon



Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 183

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 07 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Thanks for the replies.

To be honest im not very IT savvy, I keep getting told I should be backing stuff up and have seen adverts on tv about external hard drives.

its only a home pc, but has all my pics and documents on it, its getting a bit on in years and its making wierd groany, grumbly, whirring noises it didnt make before, just worried the whole thing is about to die and I lose everything, it runs on Windows xp if that helps.

seen adverts for maxtor and I think its seagate stuff, they should do what I want ?

dougal



Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent
PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 07 12:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Seagate now own Maxtor.

Anything is way better than nothing.
Its "your stuff" - documents, photos, email address book, etc - that should be your priority, rather than being concerned as to whether you can start up from it.

Even a 4gb usb flash drive (£20 for a slow/ordinary one?) will hold a copy of the important (utterly irreplaceable) stuff for most folks.

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