Backup Software Suggestions Needed

You bet I am taking notes on all the good information I am receiving. Kind of gets a little complicated but I really appreciate the input from you gals & guys! keep it coming and soon I am going to make a decision on an external hard drive and imaging / back-up software. So much to do, so little time to do it! Have a great week all.

Aarond38

PS you can bet I am reading all the replies!

 

That's correct. What you get with IFW that you don't get with BootIt NG is the capabiliy to image from within Windows, including open/locked files if you use the free Phylock add-in. But, some people would PREFER backing up from within the special boot environment of BING rather than taking the perceived risk of backing up from within Windows.

True, and you have to have things set up pretty deliberately to have them coexist.

 

Hi,

You could maybe try DriveImage XML V1.18

http://www.runtime.org/dixml.htm

The program allows you to:

* Backup logical drives and partitions to image files
* Browse these images, view and extract files
* Restore these images to the same or a different drive
* Copy directly from drive to drive
* Schedule automatic backups with your Task Scheduler

Maybe even
Nero BackItUp

http://www.nero.com/nero6/en/Nero_BackItUp.html

Good luck in finding a backup solution.

 

I'm glad, we agree at least on one thing (just kidding)

@ronjor,
Thanks for removing the link, it feels better, than my removed curses..

 

Hi all,

I was more than a little surprised by this:

What criteria should I use in the future so as not to provide a link to a rogue site to this forum? Please do not interpret this to be a sarcastic question as it is not.

With regard to the following comment:

This is why I included the following in my prior post, especially note the bold highlighted text:

On should rarely, if ever, use a single site on the internet for information to help one to reach a decision. However, does an advertising bent totally invalidate the information a site may provide?

Unfortunately, a good freeware review site I frequently visit:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

is silent on free drive imaging solutions. Hopefully this is also not a rogue site as well.

Note that my final decision for disk imaging software was "top ten's" 7th pick. Viewing Fred Langa's review, among others, of Bing, IFW and IFD helped me to reach my final decision to go with TeraByte Unlimited's drive imaging solution. This said, I also have Runtime Software DriveImage XML installed on my PCs. In addition, my BartPE recovery disk includes both IFW and DriveImage XML. However, since I use IFW the vast majority of the time, I do not feel comforable giving DriveImage XML either a "thumb's up" or "thumb's down".

bktII

 

Thanks ronjor,

I have bookmarked this URL from sywarewarrior and will screen future links prior to posting.

bktII

 

Update:

After doing a lot of research and very carefully considering all that was "said" on these pages I made my 1st leap and purchased an external 160GB harddrive that was on sale at circuit city. Just in case u r interested(in purchasing one) I went to the store and it was listed on sale for $129.99 and I showed them an internet print out from COMPUSA that had it listed for $119.99 so they dropped the price for me by 10 bucks. It also had a rebate mail in (which I will file but do not have a lot of confidence in!) for $60. back so over all I feel I got a pretty good deal. I came home and plugged the baby in and in 25 seconds I was ready to go. Now that much is settled. Now I have to decide on an Imaging Software Download.

From all I have read and learned (which isn't much since I am new at this) I have it narrowed down to downloading (on a free trial basis) both Acronis TI-9 & Terabyte "Boot-it NG." I am a little afraid of Acronis IM9 since I have carefully reviewed both the Acronis Help Site & reviews by you folks and the Acronis Forum located here on Wilders. I HAVE DOWNLOADED THE NEW 84 PAGE ACRONIS IM-9 MANUAL and will read it over carefully.

A lot of Computer Tech. folks are high on Acronis and seem to say that the folks having problems with Acronis are either not reading the instructions and / or trying to use CD / DVD back-up improperly. Since I have a new external HD I am hopeful that this will be easier to perform both back-ups & Imaging of my HD! One other problem I may have with Acronis according to the various forums is my wireless mouse & keyboard.

I have rambled on far too long. What do you folks think? Once again thank-you all for the excellent feedback which I really appreciate more than words can express. Looking fwd to more feedback before I make the plunge.

Respectfully,

Aarond38

 

aarond38,
I think, you are doing great. I also ordered an EXTERNAL harddisk of 160GB and that is more reliable and safer, than any other alternative.
The price is a separate issue and isn't really important for me. Price has nothing to do with backup.

The Acronis forums at Wilders mention indeed problems with ATI9, but keep in mind that ATI9 works PROPERLY for many other people and they most probably have read the manual, the knowledge base, FAQ, ... FIRST, before they started using ATI9.
I still doubt between Acronis and Terabyte, I didn't make my mind up yet.

 

That's a very good point, and one should keep in mind that nowhere near all of those people that it works without a hitch for will post about it in the forum. You are seeing only "the tip of the iceberg" of the entire ATI user population in the forum.

That's what's great about getting to trial software, you get a chance to find out if you're one of the unlucky ones that it's problematic for.

 

You don't mean you gonna use it together, do you ? If yes, trial one at a time. Otherwise you gonna have probs

Succes

 

For offsite image storage; Terabyte IFW/IFD/BootItNG work with partitions allows imaging and copying as well. USb support, DVD support, CD support and boot options with all three (check your BIOS settings for boot options and for usb boot support and google for USb boot options.)

For same machine storage: Terabyte. Check the options for file browsing and reducing image size in IFW. Will work in back ground with Phylock enabled. (defaults in Bootit as is for imaging/copying)

Partition manager: BootIt

Tiny footprint, bootdiscs, good documentation, good support, right price....

I am no pro but this app rocks. For some reason the streamlined and simple interface and the low key website make speople think it cant be that good.

IT IS.

"Minute to minute" save and restores may be a different KOF.

Check the Leapfrog Forum here for another highly regarded option.
Check the Rollback thread for another option.
File back-up managers may have a roll to play for you; two good ones (not free) Genie and Sync-Back, there are many others..

Give some thought to how you will implement a back-up strategy wrt to support for software failureand hardware failure salvage options.

Finally, dont pay too much attention to me I've been hitting myself with a hammer in the head a bit lately. Heh.

 

"Finally, dont pay too much attention to me I've been hitting myself with a hammer in the head a bit lately. Heh"

In that case I will keep out of the way of your longboard as I flash past on my kayak,especially if you are on the Avalon-Northern Beaches

Mike

.

 

Grew up on the Peninsula.
Somewhere on the NSW coast
The colder the water, the bigger the waves, the longer the boards and the older the surfers.
Wait for the boomgate across Barrenjoey Rd.
LOL

 

If you are referring to the EXTERNAL 160GB seagate drive (ST3160203U2KEY) listed at CompUSA for $119.99, what is the corresponding drive at Circuit city? I see one for $179, but no rebate.

 

Found the drive at the Circuit City web site, but it must be picked up from a store that has the drive in stock. Not available near me.

I guess to catch these deals, it is necessary to check the weekly specials every Sunday and act fast,

 

Another point to consider with a disk imaging purchse is whether you think you will need a Windows recovery CD in case a hard drive problem occurs in the future.

See the following LangaList link, scroll to "A *Must-Have* Repair/Recovery Tool", here:

http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-08-08.htm#1

The BartPE site is located here:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

The BartPE plugins are located here:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/plugins/

Note that both Acronis True Image and Terabyte Unlimited Image for Windows (IFW), but not Bootit NG, both provide plugins (at no additional cost) for BartPE.

bktII

 

______________________________________________________________
Below is the link to the Circuit City Site where I downloaded the info. ref. the Seagate 160GB External harddrive which is still there! You just have to find a local circuit city store that has one in stock. It is not available by internet order. Hope this helps. I picked it up yesterday & they stilll had several on the shelf. Goof luck with your find.

Aarond38

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Search.do?c=1&context=&keyword=seagate+external+hard+drives&searchSection=All

 

you might want to check out ShadowProtect Desktop edition that just released. It is an image based product like ghost/acronis. I have used ghost and acronis and am trialing shadowprotect. I definitely like the scheduling, built in console for managing multiple machines and the mount image stuff is awesome. Also, it is very fast in doing backup and restore operations.

Give it a shot if you are still trying to decide. Here is a download link for a 30-day trial from download.com.

http://www.download.com/ShadowProtect-Desktop-Edition/3000-2242_4-10528693.html?tag=lst-0-1

 

"Another point to consider with a disk imaging purchse is whether you think you will need a Windows recovery CD in case a hard drive problem occurs in the future."

In case of a hardware failure,no recovery disc is gonna help

Otherwise,surely the point of imaging is that you can restore THE LOT ,including the OS without any further complications or need for recovery discs.

For example ,with TI,you boot up the TI disc prior to Windows attempting to boot.

Then the Acronis recovery consol will allow any actions,including restoring the hopefully good copy of Windows,from the previous image.

Mike

.

 

I am curious why you and most others,prefer an external drive to a secondary internal,which costs about a quarter and takes up no space, for imaging storage

In case of hardware failure,unless the secondary drive containing the Image is borked,the risk surely is the same for internal as external.

For example,if the motherboard,video card,memory or power transformer are damaged,these will not affect the internal drives themselves and it will take just as long to get going again under both scenarios.

The only advantage I can see is transportability and the ability to use another computer in case of real emergency.


PS: Longboard-yes its about time passports were needed for the Peninsula-you couldnt move over Easter for Westies and other ring-ins

Mike

.

 

Good point mikisu.

But you should further consider if you want to use a windows based recovery environment or a linux based recovery environment. TI is linux based, which from my experience does not have the same coverage as a recovery environment based on WinPE. Windows recovery environments are usually more current and more comprehensive with respect to storage and networking drivers. Ghost and ShadowProtect use WinPE as a basis for their recovery environment.