opinion on best backup software??

Rollback Rx8.1 = snapshot + imaging software

 

I was also a bit concerned when I bought ATI 9 (the only reason was a great price for it). When I checked their forum I thought, God this is never going to work properly.

I backup once a week my full disk (no partitions) to an external HD, keeping always two images on standby. I never restore unless I have a good reason to do it, and so far I've performed 5 restorations in a year without any problems (always through the recovery CD, IMO the best way to avoid conflicts within Windows).

I used to verify my backups in the beginning, I don't do that anymore. I'm very happy with it, but I would never upgrade to another version: Too risky. I'd probably try another software with my next computer.

 

@zfactor,

Imho you should follow Jo Ann's advice (quoted above)... Don't allow the problem-posts in the ATI forum dissuade you from attempting a restore. If you haven't done so already, make an ATI Emergency Reovery CD and boot up with it to make sure it recognizes your HDDs. If it does, you will be hard pressed to find a better Emergency Recovery CD around (it's very fast to boot and very user-friendly). ATI 11 is a fine disk-imaging system. That's not to say that others may not better suit your needs, but only you will be able to decide that after trying them!

 

If at all within your budget and possible i found it better to keep (2) imaging programs rather then rely on a single one. That lessens the possibility of some freak or other failure in the one while the odds will still remain in your favor with the other to turn to.

A layered approach, even where concerns imaging apps is a must in my camp, because these are softwares after all, and they can and do experience sudden surprise glitches and/or malfunctions at the most worse time when they happen.

I make & keep images from BOTH DriveSnapshot & Paragon just for that purpose and the confidence of the extra security measure.

 

Easter, you are freaking me out

I recently invested into FirstDef_ISR for disaster recover and have been persuaded to believe that I do need an imaging program too. (I know hardware failure). So I am looking at the options for that and assuming I would pick something that would allow me to do a simple picture/image of my system and data for storage. Now I am reading that these need to be verified and even better they should be tested. While this makes sense - you don't want to find out in case of an emergency that your backup is useless, I am reading that doing the test may also cause trouble. To be honest, if my trying to secure the system is likely to cause me to mess my system (believe me I will be capable of that), I think I rather trust my luck, first Defense_ISR and normal backups.

I don't think I am ready (yet ) for your suggestion to get two imaging programs, just in case.

I sometimes wonder how to evaluate the real need and the desire to play with another toy

 

well ati worked well i made and restored a backup on 2 systems with no issues so i guess ill use it. im looking at other snapshot suggestions also that were mentioned thanks everyone

 

with an imaging app.+ FDISR ( Raxco or Software Pursuits versions ) you are well prepared for any disaster you can think off !!

 

Nobody spoke of Image for Windows by Terabyte so i will. Terabyte make such reliable software. IFW is on my top list because its as fast as Drive Snapshot but has more features and with some effort can be configured to exactly how you want with the numerous options. It has never let me down. It has auto extra safer verify before and after verify. It half the price of ShadowProtect yet has more features. IFW doesn't have as sophisticated gui but it makes up for it on everything else. It can run from any folder and doesn't need to be installed. It easy to run from a recovery cd. If you not a corporate customer but a home user i strongly suggest Drive snapshot or Image for Windows for all your backup needs. They lack a scheduler which makes them less heavy and so you can easily use the task scheduler in XP.

Alot of the image programs use Volume Shadow Service technology so it all down to what you like and the resources, features and reliability.

I also give a for Paragon Drive Backup and a ShadowProtect these are reliable but for me they take up more resources than the others i recommend.

Everyday in Acronis thread i see yet another user moaning about True Image 11 and causing problems for them. The Acronis forum staff sure do sound like scripted robots and not human dosen't do them any favours. It creates a communication problem and leaves users more disappointed. yet they still rely on Acronis for there backup...shake my head.

I find if you go with a big company any individual specific problems on the product are less likely addressed as the product is well established and sells itself whereas if you go with a smaller company they are keen to sort out any problems and so you get a better finer product.

@Easter
Sorry to hear about your motherboard. That's such bad luck.

 

with an imaging app.+ FDISR ( Raxco or Software Pursuits versions ) you are well prepared for any disaster you can think off !!

Only place now where you can download the original FDISR version aka BootBack is from SoftwarePursuits,but then i guess its meaningless for newbees because you have to have a serial number to activate this trialversion.Also SoftwarePursuits is stop selling it anymore. Only usefull for people with a license key in order to get the latest build or reinstall or any other reason.

Its a sad event that this wonderfull stuff is lost to the world.

 

ill check out paragon as well...

 

well i install paragon and i really like its layout.. ati is more click and go .. but i like the layout of paragon....does paragon run in the backround? i dont want this to run all the time only when i request a backup i will most likely not use the schedule feature. so does paragon load anything at start up?

so which is the more reliable program in your opinion. and what are some of the differences between pagaron pro 8.51 and ati 11 home.. thanks a million.

 

Image for Windows 2.00 final release should be out in 2 weeks or less so watch out.

 

There are three main categories of backup apps:
-Traditional Backup (file-level)
-Image Backup (partition-level)
-Continuous Data Protection (CDP) / Continuous Backup / Real-Time Backup

I would go for the last one, for total automation, as no scheduling is necessary. Especially if you have a Quad-Core processor, you can assign one of the four processors to Continuous Backup with any change you make to your filesystem.

 

The last (continuous) type isn't a solution for disaster (system) recovery - it just serves for data-recovery!

 

Received email regarding discount price for HDM 2008 Suite from Paragon. Anyone gave this a whirl and see any improvements over the 8.5 version of HDM? The price is good and covers 3 licenses but don't know if I will get it or not yet.

Gary

 

It's a 'lighter' version of HDM 8.5 - i.e., less robust (for a lower price).

 

care to share what the prices are now?? thanks

 

also which is easier on resources. i have a bunch of office laptops that are not the greatest when it comes to speed but we need to be able to back them up. i saw i think 5-6 running processes from acronis they were all small but i did notice some lag after initial install of it even if it was not set to schedule..

is this to be had with all the backup image software? is paragon somewhat easier on the system? thanks again everyone this is def one of the best forums on the net..

 

I find acronis trueimage to be the best backup software ot of the ones i have tried. I've used it successfully on 6 different systems, desktops and laptops.

Personally i just remove the ATI startup entries and set the services to manual.

 

hmm good idea. do you know exactly which services it uses.. or are they clearly labeled? thanks that would work for me..

 

Pete, I downloaded the trial version, installed and ran into my first hurdle.
Supposedly the trial version does not come with some file required to actually go into the restore environment. So I am not sure how to get the missing file as I don't have a CD. I am also scared by the need to verify and restore to test that the backup actually works. Can I do this using a F_ISR snapshot or do I have to "risk" my actual drive, use a different drive or find a spare pc? I still have not quite understood how you guys use images for restoration. In various threads people are debating whether reinstallation may take 2 minutes or 5 minutes with this software or that software. Personally I would like something reliable and easy to add to my arsenal and don't care if it takes "a bit" longer.

 

You gave them all a shot to conclude so ? My experience is shortened to ATI 9,SP,Image for Windows and Norton Ghost,they're all not that bad as some SP fanboys want to believe you so, but must admit that in my experience SP has the edge.