The perfect backup routine

hence why i have two images.
if the lastest one wouldnt restore i would restore the older image and then browse the newer one for later documents and stuff.
lodore

 

lodore are you keeping OS, programs, and data on the same partition ?

 

Hi longview,
unfortunately yes.....
when i get my own pc soon i will give it three partitions but im not gonna bother changing partitions on this pc.
when I got this pc i didnt understand partitions. but i learned just over a year ago hence why my test pc has 2 partitions.
lodore

 

I backup my personal data to a usb flashdrive whenever i feel it is necessary. Other than that its a weekly update to my backup snapshot and weekly image to an external drive.

 

Even if he is/isn't I imagine he's allready decided on his backup routine by now.

Now that I have to merely "start over" due to my system getting terribly hacked... Though I thought having different partitions for OS, programs, and data wouldn't be anything more then an inconvinience I'm having a change of thought.

The problem is that since I never managed my system like that I'm kinda puzzled how those different partitions and shadowing will work out while using powershadow...

Do you have to shadow every single partition separately or do you maintain a certain partitions on one drive and they are all shadowed at the same time?

i.e.:
do you purposefully put OS & Programs on same drive but different partition and shadow the whole drive... and have the data on a separate drive and separate partition, to be able to save work?

Thanks

 

My perfect backup routine....

i don't do weekly or monthly backup schedule or routine....i don't waste time doing backups without MAJOR update or NEWLY installed software.

this is my backup routine...
- take snapshot
- play couple of days with new update/software (for compatability issue)
- run AV scan....do image backup (to ext. HDD)

 

My backup routine runs along these lines untill further notice.

Quick periodic files backup to either another partition or disk via Second Copy

Copy/Update to .arx (archives) on a routine but random basis (no set schedule, manual), to alternate disk/partition, although the preferred & safest method is the separate metal disk which can be pulled and isolated/stored.

I just today was going thru some tests with restoring images between partitions on a single hard drive with DriveSnapshot!, an absolutely amazingly fast & simple but very reliable imaging program with tiny size & feetprint

It outperformed my long time favorite Paragon in speed today which threw me

 

My perfect backup/restore routine.

My data partition [D:] every day with Karen's Replicator, which only backups changed files.

My system partition [C:] with ShadowProtect Desktop, only when it changed.
1. I have clean images of my system partition to get my clean computer back.
2. I have daily images of my system partition, which I consider as possibly infected.

 

This may seem like overkill, (and probably is) but I'm ultra-paranoid about loosing my data.

ShadowProtect: Mon, Wed, Fri --> F: external (Image wiped before renew)
Shadowprotect: Tues, Thurs, Sat --> C: external (Image wiped before renew)

syncback: daily 11pm Outlook.pst --> C: external
syncback: daily 11:15pm Firefox profile --> C: external
syncback: daily 11:30pm My Docs --> C: external
syncback: friday: 11:45pm Docs & Settings --> C: external

FD-ISR: DailySS, SecondDaySS, ThirdDaySS, FourthDaySS & Archive.arx every Sunday--> F: external
Daily runs every day, SecondDay runs every other day, ThirdDay runs every third day, FourthDay runs every second day that SecondDay doesn't run.
Also on F: external I keep .arx copies of CleanInstall, TestSS & a stored copy of my ShadowProtect image.

Perhaps not streamlined, but once set up, I don't ever touch it. Except to check logs and on occasion restore a SP image.

...screamer

 

I failed to mention although DriveSnapshot makes it a "snap" to easily & rapidly restore images across partitions in XP Pro, i trust more in Paragon Drive BackUp Pro for imaging & restoring the complete drive even though DS does a super job in it's own right to be no more than what it is as tiny as that.

I need to clarify something, you're probably better off with Eric's suggestion of Karen's Replicator for backing up data files or even using Windows Copy To... menu in your right click menu.

I bought Second Copy hoping it would make rapid work of copying my data files to another partition but it's in actuality more of a scheduling copier and when it does begin copying, my windows own copy to...... is faster by a long shot in my experience.

Money wasted again on a software, oh well, you win some then you lose some i guess when you take chances on commercial-ware.

 

Regarding my data partition, I've done a comparision test between ShadowProtect and Karen's Replicator and it was more than 30gb.
ShadowProtect was only 1 minut faster than Karen's Replicator for the same full backup job, that's a very small difference.