FirstDefence-ISR?

Then you've already learned the final lesson many, including myself, had to learn and that is to always test the restore function of your chosen backup software and strategy before feeling reasonably safe with it.

 

I always like to test the restore just to feel safe. And yes many a times it didn't work where I had to start over. I think that's how you learn more about the software, your system, and yourself. If you never tread those waters how will you learn. But yes, my main goal is to use my external for my images and images only.

I know myself, I learn from the mistakes or at least try too.

I know it was a mistake I made that's why the restore didn't work. I just haven't got back to it yet when I have had a decent amount of sleep. Too many nights I stay up past my bedtime and when you get tired you make mistakes. Especially when you literally can't make sense of what your reading.

That's really got me going now "why it takes me 3 1/2 hours to do an image". I wonder if it's something in the settings of IFW. And my C: drive is a 10,000 rpm Raptor.

Rilla927

 

I've successfully restored an image from external hard drive via USB2. I recommend that you ditch the DVDs and migrate to external. The liklihood that two Western Digital Hard Drives will fail simultaneously is very small. The reason that I say two is that if you use FDISR as your primary line of defense and IFW/IFD as a secondary, then it would essentially take a hard disk failure to require the use of your secondary line of defense. At that point the only way you could get screwed would be if the hard disk containing your backup image failed.

It is highly unlikely, I mean damn near impossible, that two Western Digital hard drives will fail simultaneously.

 

Dallen, you don't know my luck! I look at things with the Murphy's Law Philosophy!

My external is a Western Digital in a BusLink USB Hi-Speed 2.0 Case.

My C:drive is actually a pair of Raptors that is data striped. And your right about the liklihood of a failure, I do agree.

This is exactly what I had planned. FD as first defence because it's so much quicker and easier.

Rilla927

 

What is PD by the way?

 

Hi Aigle,

it's Perfect Disk the defrag program by Raxco

Rilla927

 

Hi all you FD users,

I just thought of something. I've been reading about this Data Anchoring thing in FD.

Steer me in the right direction here, but if FD takes snap shots, why wouldn't all the data be in the snap shot? Why would you have to add the Data Anchor?

Thanks everyone!

Rilla927

 

Rilla927,

The problem is that FD is so good at what it does that it can actually harm you.

For example, I take a snapshot on day 1. Then, I'm working on an important project and I save that project after I've been working for 2 days on day 3. Then BANG!!! I take a break to surf porn on night 3 and I'm infected with a virus that eats my system. No problem right because I have First Defense

I simply use FD to boot into my secondary snap shot and I'm up and running. Then I copy my secondary to my primary. Reboot into my primary and I'm off and running. My system is virus free. Therefore, everything is fixed right? Wrong!!!

Where is my project Oh crap!!! My secondary snapshot was created before I worked on my project. Had I used data anchoring and included the My Documents forlder that contains my project, then anything in My Document would have permeated through all snapshots and I would be fine.

Do you understand the advantages of Data Anchoring now? Use it with caution however. If you Data Anchor something that becomes the problem, then you could find yourself in the opposite situation. The problem now transcends through all snapshots and you've defeated the purpose of FD.

 

Yup, and that is precisely why I have never used Data Anchor even though I think it is a rather neat feature to have been included in FD: what if I contract a virus in my email? I want that virus isolated in THAT particular Snapshot and to not spread to my other Snapshots!

Acadia

 

I don't use data anchoring at all. I use multi hard disk partitions and keep data and O/S Separate. Each snapshot can see all the data.

My email and Docs etc all live on the data partition that is backup up with TI.

 

Thanks Eilla! just could not guess it.

 

You welcome, Aigle!

Rilla927

 

All well understood!

Yes I do understand what the data anchoring is for and does.

Rilla927

 

So your saying by you using the data anchoring it provides you with your files throught out all your snapshots, understood.

This is hypothetical. Each day when your done playing or before, which ever, as long as you update your Primary snap shot what ever files you may have created in my docs or any where else for that matter will be included in your Primary or secondary if updated with no data anchoring, correct?

My concern is, if there is a limitation of the size of the file you want to anchor itself, such as my docs.

Rilla927

 

By using data anchoring you have EXCLUDED My Docs from all snapshots. One copy sits on the hard drive and doesn't participate in snapshots. So, it's there all the time. (ETA: Yes, "with NO data anchoring", data is in ALL snapshots, BUT then you risk getting file versions mixed up as dallen said.)

Now, in that situatuion - IF you data anchor, you can see then that the "My Docs" structure on your system drive should get some extra careful backup attention.

Separate system and data partitions works well for me, as starfish mentioned.

Hoping not to confuse things here, but here's another twist: I recently picked up AJC Active Backup on Peter2150's recommendation. On my desktops, I have all 4 of them continuously archive data files from the separate data partitions to an external USB2 drive that is visible across my network (via sharing, NOT a network server drive). On my 2 laptops (me and SWMBO), however, I have my separate data partitions documents continuously AJC archived to a folder on my system drive because they obviously won't always have access to the networked external drive. For the laptops, I DATA ANCHOR the AJC Archive folder from the FDISR snapshots because it's just too much redundancy and disk space is more precious, of course, on a laptop.

 

Interesting I tend to use Syncback or mirrorfolder http://www.techsoftpl.com/backup/scrnshot.htm