Crisis- SMART predicts hard disk failure...need help with backup

[abhi_mittal]

When I am switching on my notebook, it says that SMART technology is predicting the failure of my hard disk. Please backup.

Please help me. I want to know which is the best free backup software so that I can backup my hard disk on CDs.

Please...this is very urgent. :-[

[abhi_mittal]

Please guide me with the software...and if possible do let me know the instructions for backing up my HDD.
Please respond fast.
I will really appreciate your help.

[wj smith]

I'm not a complete expert but I've heard Acronis True Image is a good program for backing up your entire hard drive. But whatever you decide to use you'll need something to back it up to, like another hard drive, cd's or dvd's.

Depending on how much data you have on your hard drive it could take quite a few cd's or dvd's, so I would think with the low cost of hard drives these days, it would probably be a good idea to use a second hard drive for your backups.

Actually, since you seem to be needing a new hard drive anyway why not use True Image to simply copy your current hard drive to the new hard drive.

Also most hard drive's nowadays are capable of doing this without the need for another program like True Image, so you can do it that way too. When you get the new hard drive, the instructions that come with it should explain how to transfer the data from your current drive to the new one. Hth.

[Close_Hauled]

abhi_mittal,

I duplicate/backup laptop drives all the time with Norton Ghost. You can use Acronis as well, they are both good programs. The fastest way to do this is to use a desktop PC and 2 brackets from StarTech.com:

http://www.startech.com/ststore/itemdetail.cfm?ProductID=BRACKET25&mt=

I plug one drive into each controller on the motherboard. I then boot the PC from a floppy that has Norton Ghost on it. A full transfer should take 10-30 minutes, depending on how much data you have.

Be careful though. Make sure that you are transferring from the old drive to the new one. You do not want to accidently delete your data.

Close

[rrn_nair]

Abhi,

Try saving data to memory stick.Thats easiest.If you have a DVD writer then burn data to DVD.If laptop doesn't boot try booting with an IOMEGA boot floppy and transfer data to an IOMEGA zip disk(Of course you must have a drive and disk for the same)

Software :
Norton Ghost
Acronis True Image 8.0
Retrospect Backup

Rajeev
Kochi

[Notok]

How are you planning to replace the drive in the first place? If you're going to take it to a shop, it may be easiest and best to let them do it.

Do you use Windows XP? If so, you can go into the start menu, accessories, system tools, and start "Backup", which takes you through a very easy wizard that will help you to back up your entire disk, if you wish.

Do you, by chance, have the full Nero Ultra Edition? If so, it has a nice backup tool that can even make a full image of your drive, if you wish.

Acronis True Image is a great program, although it's not free. You can get it at newegg.com for a signifigant discount, however. I used the disk clone feature a couple weeks ago when I got my new harddrive, and it worked beautifully, quick and painless.. of course you have to be comfortable installing a new drive in the first place, which is why I ask how you plan to replace the drive to begin with.

[Rui]

Hi abhi

I recommed ImageForDos. It is very easy to use and guaranteed. Saved my data more than one time. Can be ran from a diskette drive.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com

After imaging your dying HD, be sure to replace it with one with same storage capacity.

Regards

Rui

[Close_Hauled]

Tom's Hardware has an excellent review of external drives that you might want to consider:

http://www6.tomshardware.com/storage/20050804/index.html

My favorite from the review:

http://www.fastora.com/product_index.php?doc_name=exb-0131