file backup software

hello,
i use acronis true image to makes images every so often.

i used to use the maxtor software to make file backups but in the end it randomly used 100percent cpu when the services where started even after a reinstall.

so i am looking for hopefully a free file backup software that i can choose to backup my documents and desktop for all users. so i need to just tick those folders only in the backup window.
i dont want to have to do the whole backup everytime
so is there free backup software that has incremental file backups?
of differencal?
is there anything else in documents and settings that is worth backing up?
also what do you backup?
do you backup just my documents and desktop or do you backup part of program files or emails etc?
because i use thunderbird for email and my dad uses outlook express.
but i keep a copy of all the email on the server in case of any problems they all all on the server ready to re download if needed.
thanks in advance
lodore

 

Assuming you're looking for file/data backup (vs imaging):
I've been using SmartBackup http://www.jam-software.com/smartbackup/ for years, think it's great. Not free, I'm afraid, but small money (+/- $19. Been getting free upgrades for years.)
You select the files you want to backup in a simple Explorer-like interface.
It "remembers" the fileset, so after the initial backup, it's a simple one-click deal to incrementally "refresh" your backup taking only a minute or two.
I have three filesets, two for 2 different drives on backup box, other for portable USB HD.
PS: Yes, it does registry backups as well.

I typically backup all my user app data files, in that they hold all my emails, browser config settings, other app config settings, etc.

 

thanks Bob
i have acronis true image 9 for images
but i also want file backup so i have two backups rather than one
i want to mainly backup my data in my documents and desktop because i have images for the whole OS using acronis true image.
ive got a 100gb external hard drive that i use for file backups and images.
so ive got to be careful what i put on it since its only 100gb.
lodore

 

UR quite welcome lodore.
I have also IFD (Image for DOS). Nice proggie, but the inherent slowness of imaging softs renders them impractical for daily/weekly backups.
Plus the fact that often I need only to recover/restore a single file.
I find that I typically only need to make images every few months (for disaster recovery).
Smartbackup is one of those cheap little proggies that I use multiple times per week, become quite fond of it.

Regards

 

Oh yes...almost forgot..
If you have your heart set on freeware:
http://www.freewareplanet.net/backup.php
http://www.hsinlin.com/software/backup.html

 

Seen this?

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=159891

 

no i havent lol.

also i need a better imaging software.
ATI used to make corropt images if i used high compression. and if i used normal compression the images where fine, but today the image with normal compression dont work eiether and it reports as corropt see my thread in the ATI forum. is norton ghost 10 imaging in windows reliable? i dont care if the images take longer to create i just want images I can reli on.

also what about shadow protect desktop?
which one wouod you choose out of ghost or shadow protect desktop.
i have heard that people have no problems with ghost 2003 images created in dos but i dont know about ghost 10 in windows images.
lodore

 

Ladore, w/ regard to free file B/U:

BrightSparks SyncBack pretty much does it all (except open file B/U. paid version does this) I use this in auto mode as a third B/U of all machines to NAS. Just Docs & Settings and new D/Ls.

There's also Cobian B/U

...screamer

 

Hello,
Acronis True Image 10 allows you to backup documents and folders and such...
Mrk

 

true but if true image 9 dont work on my pc then why would version 10 lol.
i will do another image tonight to see if it works.
if not i will probaly buy some new ram and see if my pc works better and make a new image.

its odd because if i logoff of one account and log on to eiether the same account again or a different one sometimes its faster than after a reboot, but sometimes it is mega mega slow........
its like the pc has gone back in time lol. if i minimize an app when its slow it takes like 30-40secounds to mazimize. anyone else had this problem?

i mean since the images dont verify properly and some days the pc works perfectly but the next day the pc crashes all the time with no software or hardware changes something is up. then the next day its fine again then bad once again.
do making images need to use quite alot of ram and have a high possibility of hitting the bad ram?
lodore

 

also it uses winpe for its rescue cd and my hardware is all known by windows default drivers e.g. external harddrive,internal harddrive,graphics card etc...
lodore