Paragon B & R Free 2012: Disk space discrepancy after full back-up...

Hi,

I'm new to these forums, having recently downloaded and installed the 2012 Free edition of Paragon Back-up and Recovery. And I am also pretty much a novice in as far as understanding some of the key concepts of file back-up and recovery- so I hope you will be gentle with me

I recently purchased myself a new HP computer after a recent hard-drive meltdown. My O.S is Windows 7 HP (64 bit).

What I am attempting to do is a full system back-up, and a subsequent differential one (this is a long and torturous story so I will try to be as succinct as possible). And it is entirely possible that a full system back-up + differential back-up may not be the best course of action for me, in which case I will be guided by the advice and suggestions of any kind people on this forum who respond.

So in a nutshell (or as close to it as I can be):

After getting my new computer, I started to think about the importance of backing up my files, and attempted to do so using the 'generic' back-up facility provided with Windows 7 HP. As I am sure you can probably predict this was far from satisfactory and in fact did not work.

So I got online and posted in a couple of computer forums and several experienced posters guided me towards 'third party' back-up software, particularly Macrium Reflect Free. Using Macrium Reflect Free, I was able to create a Linux recovery disc, and a WindowsPE recovery disc (from memory, I tested the Linux one and ascertained that it did indeed 'boot up' successfully).

When I attempted a full system back-up, I found that I completed it successfully on my 1 TB external hard-drive, but that it was puzzlingly large
(695 GB), which was puzzling given that the two biggest folders were 'video' (258 GB) and 'Music' (54.9 GB) giving a total of around 312 GB.

At this stage I started to get decidedly confused, with well-meaning posters and mods on these forums advising me to create separate partitions etc. It was a bit much for my poor brain to cope with, and I started to feel like I just wanted the job done with as little fuss as possible! I started to think I should just get a full back-up done, and then a differential (and if my memory serves me correctly, this is all I need in order to 'recover' from a bad hard-drive crash). However Macrium Free does not offer differential back-up, so I researched until I found Paragon 2012 Free Back-up and Recovery.

Anyway, I managed to complete a full back-up using Paragon Free, but again, this came in at a very large size (690 GB). What is even more puzzling to this newbie is that although I have a 1 TB external Hard-Drive, and the back-up was 'only' 690 GB, according to my computer (where it lists the various drives) I have only 64 MB left on the external hard drive. So I guess this leads to my actual questions:

Why exactly is it that I have only 64 MB left on my external hard drive? Also (assuming I manage to accomplish a full back-up with Paragon Free plus a differential), is it vitally important that I create recovery media using Paragon, or will the ones I have made with Macrium Free suffice?

Thank you to anyone who managed to read to the end of my post, and thanks in advance to any kind folk who can help!

 

Robbieboy: Welcome to the Paragon Backup forum. I don't use the free version myself. I have purchased the HDM2012 Suite and I do full system backups weekly on both of my computers. They have saved my bacon more than once and take about an hour on the slowest computer (laptop).

To answer your last question first, do make a Paragon recovery disk to ensure that Paragon has the drivers that it needs. In fact, every time you update your Paragon to a new version, it is recommended that you create new recovery disks.

I can't answer the question as to why your backup files are so large. You will have OS files and you could have a lot of junk (temp files) about on your hard drive that are consuming space. Try CCleaner - it is free.

With the Suite, my system backup files are compressed about 30 percent plus, so they are actually smaller than the disk space being used on the computer.

You should do a Properties check of your hard drive under Windows Explorer and find out how much room is being used.

It makes no sense that a backup file of 690 GB would chew up all but 64 MB of a 1 TB external drive. There must be something else on that drive; or, there is an unallocated partition that you should recover. Again, the Suite can do that for you.

Those are just my thoughts. I am by no means an expert, but there are those on this forum that are more knowledgeable and probably provide better advice. Hope this helps. Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil

 

Thank you garioch7 for your warm welcome, and for the tips and suggestions you kindly provided. The HDM2012 Suite certainly sounds like a good product which I may invest in at some point in the future- hopefully when I have gained a better understanding of the basic concepts of file back-up and recovery

There is one suggestion that you made, that being:

You should do a Properties check of your hard drive under Windows Explorer and find out how much room is being used.

I know this is probably a very obvious question, but could you please tell me exactly what is meant by this, and what part of my computer I would go to to do so? Thanks for your help, it is much appreciated!

 

Robbie:

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I was busy yesterday with an HD video project and didn't check my forums.

At the bottom of your Windows screen, on the task bar, you should see a folder icon. Click on that. Then navigate to the C:\ drive (root directory), select it with the mouse (left click) and then right click. At the bottom of that pop-up menu, you should see a "Properties" option. Left click that. You will get information about how much of the disk is being used and how much is free.

Hope this helps, and once again, sorry for the delay in responding. Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil

 

Hi Phil,

Thanks for getting back to me.

You were 'on the money' when you suggested a properties check on my hard drive- thank you!

What seems to have happened is that because I included 'HP Recovery' (D) Drive in my back-up, my computer has made what appears to be incremental back-ups on a weekly basis, in addition to the full system image. So what I did was a full system back-up, without including the (D) Drive. This weighed in at 698 GB, but at least I have 232 GB left on my external HD (I may have to invest in the HDM 2012 Suite!).

I am just wondering if you favour differential or incremental back-ups? In regards to my own PC usage, I do not think that I will be making any major changes to my OS, nor would I anticipate adding huge amounts of music, movies etc. Given that this is the case, would incremental back-ups be preferable? Thanks a lot for your help!

 

Hello. I never use differential or incremental backups. I do a full system image each week. It is amazing how much stuff is being updated on your computer from Windows Updates, virus definitions, drivers, new software updates, etc. I don't want to have to go to the hassle of restoring an old image, and then going through all of the subsequent partial backups to get my computer back to where it should be.

That is just my personal preference. I don't mind the hour each week for the simplicity and assurance that I have a good image (usually I keep three versions just in case the most recent was corrupted). Just a few weeks ago, my laptop went south and in an hour, I had recovered it back to where it was five days previously. Painless.

Just my thoughts, others may, and will, differ. Have a great day, and great that you found your problem.

Regards,
-Phil

 

Thanks for the tips, garioch7. I am a big fan of 'simple and painless', particularly where computers are involved- so I will probably do full back-ups with the paid product like you do. Only wish I had gotten your advice earlier, would have saved me lots of time and trouble. Thank you!