Disk Imaging SW for backup: Here is what I want

After much thought, I think I want to go to a disk imaging program to backup my PC. Below is what I have and what I want to do.

I have:

AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual Core Processor 400+
2048 MB memory, 250GB hard drive
Windows Vista premium Home

File System = NTFS

C Drive = 14.8 GB, 209 GB free
D drive (recovery) = 7.85 GB, 995 MB free

What I want to be able to do is:

1. Save an image of the system to a bootable DVD-RW allowing me to recover the system even in case of complete hard drive failure

2. Have this come in an easy to use, reliable, and relatively fast package. Speed = not so much a concern but a convenience. Easy to use and reliable is a must.

A. Is what I want to do possible?
B. What are my best options to accomplish the above?
C. How much $?

I am leaning towards Shadow Protect based off what I have read but don't know if it will meet my needs.

 

Forget about DVD rw,get yourself a nice external usb drive,with today prices not much of a pain to get one.

To get yurself up in these its better to test/trial the several package.

don't be blow away by all the raving here on wilders but sort out one that fit your personal/specific needs

 

So if I go with an external USB drive, do I just save images to the drive? Would this image be bootable from the USB drive if I had a hard drive failure?

 

I completely agree with Huupi. Yes, you save images to the USB drive and no you won't be able to boot from an external USB drive, but you would be able to restore images from the USB drive to your existing hard drive or any new hard drive.

 

I had a lot of old hard drives lying around and found external enclosures with 100 percent rebates. Had to pay shipping but price still low.

I now have seven external drives that hold backups and they only get turned on when needed.

This may seem like overkill but the total cost of all of them was about $35 (shipping cost total) plus drives that were sitting unused.

They work great for restorations and this was much cheaper than DVD's or CD's. I have hundreds of blank CD's and DVD's that no longer get used.

This is much easier than swapping disks during backups too.

 

As Huupi said,except buy an external drive that will also run off eSATA,assuming your mobo will support.

This will give faster transfer speeds than USB and potentially more reliable,if the True Image experiences are taken into account.

 

I wish I'd thought of making this thread. I think.
However I did get some very good advise about imaging programs and imaging vs. snapshots.
You should try them yourself. But be careful.
I'm a novice and was a little foolish with the way I handled some of this and had some OS integrity issues.
Also had one program that gave me serious problems after I uninstalled it per that company's directions.
As a result I am now able to repair XP a good bit better than before I started looking for the right product.
Good luck.
Hugger

 

I agree that externals are your ticket to preserving your systems and data whatever they be.

Personally i would have already gone that route myself except for the fact that i store/restore images and FD-ISR snapshot archives on internal drives then pull the storage drive cable. Mine is more hands-on method and requires more effort, but with Hard Drives so cost-effective now i don't mind the extra work, and besides, gives a user a chance to get all the PIN jumpers locations down pat from various HD Vendors in case you want to Dual-Boot 2 HD's with single/multiple partitions.

It's much simpler however to simply plug in/out a USB External then this way though, and so i highly support that suggestion.

 

For SATA HDDs which everyone is obviously buying,there are no jumper settings necessary for Desktop/workstation usage, to determine master/slave.
Its determined by DiskManagement,BIOS and which is the C drive.

 

Thought i'd save another thread, I'm looking at getting some disk imaging software through i'm looking at Paragon Hard Disk Manager 2008 Suite, seems to have good reviews so far. Through i'm open to any other suggestions.

 

Check these reviews for a start here

Then do a forum search-there are many threads and posts about this.

 

Are these disk imaging programs for power users or people that are pretty computer savvy? The reason I ask is that I got the following advice from another non computer forum:

"I would not even think about trying any software that does this unless you are very experienced with computer hardware. Seriously, backup your files. You do not need the entire drive.

However, if you want to protect EVERYTHING, then my advice is to get a SATA RAID controller, and hook up two identical drives with RAID 1. However, you will need to reinstall windows (and be experienced in doing it)."

Can a slightly better than average PC user like myself use an imaging program? The last thing I want to do is crash my hard drive due to misusing my backup software. That kind of defeates the purpose!

So if you are say an average PC user that is comfy using software and email, but not comfy say reinstalling windows or a hard drive...is this the right backup solution?

 

That non computer forum is just that and is completely off the mark.
You wont crash your hard drive or create any similar disaster,never heard of that fairy tale.
Just dont worry or be overawed by any new piece of software.

Shadow Protect is bullet proof and simple to use after a short getting to know it period.
Rather than any further speculation you should try it for yourself here

The trial will answer most of your questions-you have more than enough computer knowledge to run it by your description.

 

Shadowprotect also has video tutorials that ake you through the process step by step.
Part of living is learning.
Hugger

 

There many different opinions on what is the best imaging app.
Thru and proven are main 4 app.
a) Norton Ghost
b) Paragon
c) IFW/IFD/IFL
d) Shadow Protect

Each one has his share of followers with differing needs and expectations,so its hard to say which is the best.

Eventually it boils down to what works best in your specific situation.

In my case i have licences for [a---d] but settled with SP as my daily imaging program,cause it works best in my circumstances.

Sorry left out ATI,have a licence too,its in the same league as the earlier mentioned !!