Backup your Hard Drive and Files -- The ABCs of External Hard Drives

a reply to: Gothmog

Raid5 3 disk array has no fault tolerance and runs in degraded mode. With ssd its very possible to have multiple disks fail simultaneously. I would avoid RAID5 entirely and only use RAID1,1+0 or 6 depending on the capability of the controller, but that is also providing this is not a software RAID. You forgot yo mention any increase in sequential reads and writes and write caches with backup battery unless you like really slow RAID with direct disk writes. This brings to mind you will probably want a decent UPS connected to the computer and to configure a clean shutdown when running on UPS power before you run out of backup juice. Or in other words, this OP probably does not have enough technical background to deploy or maintain a RAID properly if they are asking about external drives.

Maybe a better starting point is to take advantage of the versions options built into windows combined with external disk backups.

a reply to: Gothmog
PM4U please

originally posted by: DontTreadOnMe
a reply to: Gothmog
PM4U please

Replies offered .

Can one external drive be partitioned to hold full Windows backups for more than one computer?

For example, could I use a 2TB external drive partitioned into two equal parts to back up two PCs that each have a 1TB drive?

Cheers and Thanks

a reply to: F2d5thCavv2

Yes you can back up more than one pc to a backup drive. There are some drawbacks though. You can only connect to one at a time which means there won't be any automatic backups, only manual. You also need to make sure the software you are using is capable of backing up more than one system. You probably won't need to use two different partitions but you will need to use two different folders to keep the files separate.

My best advice on this subject is twofold. One, create a bootable usb for your system. In the event of some kind of failure involving the inability to boot properly the bootable usb will be your best friend. Once your system is secure back up your personal files.

I was using external backup drives for my entire system, and a separate backup for just my personal files. This is time consuming and even though the software says it was completed successfully there are times when you need those files and discover the software says the file is corrupted.

Since I started maintaining a bootable usb for all my pcs, I only make one system backup, and from that point forward I only back up my personal files. I do not make a compressed backup of the files, I do a direct copy - one drive to the other. On each successive backup I only back up files that were added since the last backup. Sorting by date before selecting the files to back up saves a lot of time.

Prior to this decision I was using incremental backups of my drives. This was very time consuming and the one time I needed them I was unable to use them to back up my system. A bootable usb, however, did allow me to save the system and recover my files. A simple 32gig usb drive, at a cost of under $10, is the best "save my pc" solution available imo.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

Backup your Hard Drive and Files -- The ABCs of External Hard Drives

Are you expecting something like a yugge solar flare today.

www.spaceweatherlive.com...

Thanks, just backed up Windows.

Its strange that I commented on this particular page earlier today. I just finished a rather extensive recovery of my data this afternoon.

While surfing today my antivirus alerted me to a trojan and informed me that it had been blocked and terminated. I shut down all the browsers and ran a scan anyway. Since I had just been dinged I thought I would make it a higher level scan just to be safe. I minimized that screen and started watching a movie on netflix.

My pc started acting a bit strange, which is extra bad since I just finished this build a week or so ago and was not anticipating any kind of problems at all. Then I got the dreaded bsod with a memory management error. I have more than enough memory so it was more likely an allocation error, since the scan was set at high priority which puts it ahead of other system devices in use of resources.

To cut to the end, I was stuck in a boot loop with no option but to use the recovery usb I had created when I finished the system. It reinstalled windows and I was able to reload easeus todo backup and recovery software - which I use for my backups. The software worked flawlessly and the system is running at full capacity once again.

I highly recommend easeus todo pro with lifetime upgrades. Its well worth the money and does what it says it will do.

I would also note that the software I use has worked very well for me. I build quite a few pc's and help friends when they have issues. This is what works for me.

For back-ups and cloning I use EaseUS Todo Backup Home and it has worked very well. The interface is a little confusing at first but once you figure out where everything is its easy and works well. I also use Acronis True Image for Crucial. That is a great piece of software for cloning, backups, etc. But I have not tried it on anything other than Crucial drives.

I use Recovery, RecoverMyFiles, and Recuva for recovering lost files.

I used to use Rufus for USB formatting. Now I go to the Microsoft site and use their media creation tool. That simple bootable USB is a lifesaver. If you keep an external backup of your files you never have to worry about re-installing an OS and losing anything. If you have an issue that requires re-installation its better to just wipe the drive and start with a clean install than try to repair so you can save the personal files.

A good backup routine requires a little discipline or the forethought of scheduling regular backups during off-peak hours. The software is easy enough to set up and doesn't require prompting or micro-management. The only manual requirement is physically connecting the external drive for the back up. I don't recommend leaving it connected all the time. Malicious software could corrupt any drive running on a pc. There is no point to having external storage if you leave it connected all the time. Its just another drive that can be hacked and you gain nothing from having it.

originally posted by: Vroomfondel

A good backup routine requires a little discipline or the forethought of scheduling regular backups during off-peak hours.

Boy, you said a mouthful!!!!
Easy to talk about doing. Like I talked about for three years on the Win 10 machine, never did it, and had that crash after the BIOS update.

I have noticed that M$ now has that backup tool. And getting the OS from the cloud.

I have had a little experience both with Rufus and Acronis, thanks to Compedium's help. I actually had no idea those kinds of software existed.

a reply to: Vroomfondel

Those lifetime upgrades?
Just for the one machine, or on any machine you may have in the future?

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

The purchase agreement says 1 machine. However, I am not convinced that moving an OS from one drive to another, or one machine to another, would void that agreement. I recently moved to a new system and its working fine. Cloning is a big feature of this software. If using it to migrate to a new pc would violate the eula I would have a few choice words for customer service. That having been said, nothing really surprises me any more...

Right now a single year with unlimited upgrades is $39.95. The lifetime upgrade version costs $79.95. I think they have some kind of sale running right now so it might be less than that.

a reply to: TDDAgain

What software are you using, TDDA??

a reply to: Vroomfondel

How did you find the Easus interface confusing?




FTR
some sites that review backups tools
www.greengeeks.com...
www.techradar.com...
www.zdnet.com...
www.pcworld.com...

It is not necessary to set up partitions on a hard drive, but doing so can be useful in some situations. A partition is a section of a hard drive that is treated as a separate volume, allowing you to store different types of data on different partitions. Regardless of the type of hard drive you are using, you can choose to set up partitions if you want. This can be useful if you want to keep different types of data separate, or if you want to install multiple operating systems on the same hard drive. However, it is not necessary to set up partitions in order to use a hard drive.

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions about hard drives or partitioning, don't hesitate to ask.

a reply to: straxjulia544

So if one wanted to use a single hard drive to back up the internal drives on two different computers, would the partition be a good idea ?

Cheers