Best Back-up Software?

[LTCSZ]

After my recent computer suicide, I promised myself that I would get an external HD and back up FSX and other stuff...Can someone recommend a good backup software program for FSX? Thanks a lot,

Steve in Kansas

[Thoe6969]

After my recent computer suicide, I promised myself that I would get an external HD and back up FSX and other stuff...Can someone recommend a good backup software program for FSX? Thanks a lot,

Steve in KansasYou don't need any software.Just hook up your external drive and your pc will recognize it as another drive.Just simply send anything you want to backup to that new drive.

[LTCSZ]

So, if I copy my entire "Microsoft Games" folder to the backup HD, in the event of another crash, I should just be able to copy it back to the fixed computer without any problem? I didn't think it was that simple!

[Thoe6969]

So, if I copy my entire "Microsoft Games" folder to the backup HD, in the event of another crash, I should just be able to copy it back to the fixed computer without any problem? I didn't think it was that simple!
Don't think I would save the whole folder just the addons you have,or the installers.FSX adds things to the registry that would need to be put there in an install.

[jetstreamsky]

The best way is to use software that creates an image (think of it as a snapshot of your hard drive), this will capture all elements of the setup not just the files you know about, but the whole structure of the install.

You can simply copy your FSX folder and then paste that back later, but all the configs and registry settings would be gone, as they are not in your FSX folders.

The best program I've found to do that is called TrueImage by Acronis. I make an image of my C drive to capture all the windows stuff and then separate images of other drives that I want to keep, like FSX.

TrueImage makes these image files which are exact copies of the ALL the data, these can then be incrementally updated occasionally if you wish, but the upshot is, if you have to put Windows and/or FSX back, you simply run TrueImage select the image files you want or run image disks you've made and it goes back exactly as it was.

Really simple and fast

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

There's even a free trial you can run to see if you get on with it

[LTCSZ]

Thanks for all the info...I will look into the free trial of TrueImage...Sounds like what I need...

Steve in Kansas

[harleyman]

Concur...Acronis is the best...


Let me know and I can give a link to a nice tutorial for it and how to do it.....

[IanP]

O&O also do a pretty good drive image package that I have used on several occasions. Norton Ghost used to be good, but then (as is usual with Symantec) it got bloated with unnecessary complications and expensive.

I've had no problems at all with O&O's Diskimage though. And there's a demo of that too.

[LTCSZ]

Harleyman: I'd appreciate that link...I think I know enough to be dangerous with it...Thanks,

Steve

[JimC1702]

I use a Seagate Replica, backs up everything automatically including the operationg system:

http://www.seagate.com/replica/?intcmp=ilc-replica-stxhphero&cmpid=ppc-_-replica-_-g-_-us-_-seagate_replica-_-e

Jim

[TeaSea]

Both suggestions are excellent...and I agree with the comment on "Ghost"...another good basic program that got too bloated.

Definitely image though. No one has the discipline to push stuff manually. Lot's of folks think they do, until their drive goes bad and they find out how much they "forgot" about.

I speak from experience, having violated my own rules on this repeatedly (do what I say, not what I do :0)

[harleyman]

Please read this post first then look at the image and start clone.

In acronis make a rescure cd(it give you that option).

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4037/bootablecd.th.png (http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4037/bootablecd.png)

Once you have made that rescue CD, boot off it, it will give you the same options after booting off that CD.

You don't need to do this with the rescue CD you can just do this in windows, but the rescue CD is the preferred method http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/smileys/smiley29.gif

We are not deleting anything, the only thing to delete is gonna be destination HDD, and thats basically to format it and get it ready to copy stuff to. make sure you are not set to erase the source HDD.

In the last screen before you proceed, make sure there is nothing set to delete, clear or anything like that with drive 1 (source drive)

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/6200/acroniseu5.th.jpg (http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3449/acroniseu5yt1.jpg)
Click image to enlarge

When its done, it will say job is complete or something, when it is done, turn off the destination drive, you don't want both drives connected to the PC when it restarts or you Will have 2 OS-s trying to start and that will mess up the clone.


so when cloning is done, turn off the external drive before you reboot PC http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/smileys/smiley29.gif

Now you don't need to have external to do this, you can use an internal, the thing to remember is that once the cloning is complete, you can't boot to window with both drives on-line, the clone needs to be removed or taken offline by disconnecting the data cable from the back of clone HDD.

if you do choose to go with an external please make your own external by getting an external enclosure and your own HDD, this way you can use multiple HDDs with one enclosure, and they are much easier for cloning, since all you do after the clone is complete is to just turn the external off.


here are a few recommendations for HDD and external enclosure:


choose your HDD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150014%201035915133&name=SATA%203.0Gb%2fs)

choose your external enclosure (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090092%2050001379%201053807123&name=Thermaltake)

more external enclosure (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090092%201053807123)

[Wozza]

Hi
As HD are so cheap these days why not use a RAID set up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID
Wozza

[LTCSZ]

harleyman: Just one more question...Will I still be able to use the destination HD for other things in addition to the backup? Like storing additional files, pictures, etc? Will I have to partition it or something weird like that? Thanks...

[Cratermaker]

Hi
As HD are so cheap these days why not use a RAID set up
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID
Wozza
Depends what you are looking for in a backup. A raid protects against hardware failure, but if it's malware or a virus problem, you now have two drives infected/corrupted in exactly the same way I believe.

[jetstreamsky]

harleyman: Just one more question...Will I still be able to use the destination HD for other things in addition to the backup? Like storing additional files, pictures, etc? Will I have to partition it or something weird like that? Thanks...

Using the cloning option creates a duplicate drive, it's really intended to set up multiple computers the same way or a direct replacement drive if the original fails or becomes corrupted in some way, however it's a snapshot of one moment in time.

I would use the backup option that creates an image of a partition, then set incremental updates to that image at some interval to capture changes. These images are just like files on another drive and leave your second drive free to do whatever else you want to do with it.

Also you can make images on DVDs, so you don't need to use a drive at all, but they are more convenient there providing that drive doesn't fail. Personally I make a basic image set on DVDs and also keep the same images on a second drive along with incremental backups; and that drive I use for other stuff too. By the way, images are usually compressed so they don't take the same space as the original disk.

[Wozza]

Depends what you are looking for in a backup. A raid protects against hardware failure, but if it's malware or a virus problem, you now have two drives infected/corrupted in exactly the same way I believe.
Yep.......no backup system is fool poof ;)
The problem with imaging and backing up is its time consuming and the fact you think about doing it 10 sec after it all go's pair shaped :D
Also there some very powerful software around that will retrieve software from just about any failure bar a hardware one
Wozza

[harleyman]

In an answer...Yes...


The clone will be in its own space and tagged at beginning to end...Then you add extra and it will just be extra...



That guide is for a clone...Not an image....Doing a image has more risk of failure attached...

Set FSX up how you like it with all your basic stuff and your OS healthy...

Then make your backup..

If your install fails later you back up your C drive and it will put it all back as the day when you made it...


A clone takes up much more space than a image , therefor you can't feasabily do a clone to disk... Only an image....