Easiest/Best Way to Backup a Computer?

To give a quick background, I have a Dell XPS17 with Windows 7. Cost is not a major concern (open to any external HD or USB) and I don't have a huge amount of data (certainly don't need 1TB or anything close and more like 128-256GB would be plenty).

What I am hoping to get some advice on is the best way to go about backing up everything. I don't mind if the physical process takes a long time, but I don't want to have to spend a lot of personal time scanning my computer for important files and want to have a more blanket approach that just guarantees I have everything should my computer crash.

Ideally, there would be a way to back it up in such a way that should my computer crash, I could use my backup to make whatever new computer I started with startup just like my old one with the same settings files, folders, and maybe even software. This last part might be a stretch and is not that important because I can obviously redownload whatever I need but just trying to get a feel for the best way to go about backing everything up.

Cheers,

IP

 

Easiest way is to buy an external or your choice. Then either use free or paid to backup to the external hard drive. These programs create exact images of your current hard drive.

 

there are also lots of products that does a blanket backup of your harddrive.

for something free Reliable Server Backup Software for server backup & disaster recovery, data backup solutions in Windows Server/Workstation and PC - EaseUS

my favorite so far is Genie9 (Formerly Genie-soft) | Backup, Restore & Disaster Recovery Solutions for Windows but it's ore of a timeline backup (creates backup points on regular intervals so you could have multiple backup points that doesn't eat a lot of space), it is however a paid app with a 30 day demo.

 

Why not use Windows 7's own backup and restore on an external HDD?
Backup and Restore - Windows 7 features - Microsoft Windows
Windows 7 Feature Focus: Backup and Restore

 

That is a good option.

You can also use Norton Ghost (or similar) to make an exact image of your PC and store it to disk, though, you will have to make a new image every time you want to take a full backup. But restoration is easy and it will be an exact replica of what your desktop was at the time of the backup.

http://www.symantec-norton.com/Norton_Ghost_15.0_p115.aspx?par=goo_us_norton_ghost&gclid=CLTKu7DwrK8CFYEQNAodkRMTpQ

 

I've had good results with Macrium Reflect, which is the free backup software s2odin linked to. I used it to image my desktop rig's Windows XP OS partition, and restored the image to an Intel X25-V SSD. Afterward, I used the SSD as the desktop rig's boot drive.

 

Would anyone ever want to recover with a factory re-install image? NO!

Backup… Lets look at win 7 vs Easeus V4.0 I’m using an external HD
formatted FAT32 (for legacy devices also). Win 7 backup will work only
NTFS to NTFS. There are other issues, management, compression settings,
and deleting old backups. I used Norton Ghost on a Dell XPS/Vista laptop.
Now using Easeus for Acer 8951G/Win 7 and everything else.

When I compared Windows 7's disk-imaging function with the disk imager in the free Easeus Backup, the third-party backup app came out on top in every category. Easeus Todo Backup is fast, easy to use, and reliable.

Disk imagers go head-to-head

Features EaseUS Todo Backup Free Windows 7 backup
Support Windows XP YES NO
Support Windows Vista YES NO
Support Windows 2000 YES NO
File backup Support single file and file folder backup Only support folder backup
Disk and partition backup YES YES
Backup network shared files YES NO
Full backup YES YES
Incremental backup Support file backup, disk/partition and network shared files backup, support backups saved on internet Image files saved on the internet doesn't support incremental backup
Schedule backup YES YES
Event based backup YES NO
Sector-by-sector backup YES NO
Backup to hard drive, CD/DVD YES YES
Backup to network YES Only Professional or Ultimate editions of Windows 7 support
Delete images out of date YES NO
File recovery YES YES
Disk and partition recovery YES YES
Sector-by-sector recovery YES NO
Restore to dissimilar hardware YES NO
Update backup YES YES
P2V image files convert YES NO
Compression YES NO
Password protection YES NO
Image splitting YES NO
Priority YES NO
Email notification YES YES
Check image integrity YES NO
Disk/partition clone YES NO
Wipe disk/partition YES NO
Support hardware RAID YES NO
Linux bootable disk YES NO
WinPE bootable disk YES NO

 

Marcium reflect. Free and easy.

Sent from my samsung galaxy s2 using tapatalk

 

To do a full image I cannot help with as last I used was acronis years ago. For a standard backup of data windows backup is easy and reliable now. I say now because I have had nothing but problems with ntbackup in the past with XP and server 2003.

 

Thanks a ton for the responses. This is incredibly useful for me. While an exact image is nice, I am definitely much more concerned about a simple way to have all my pictures, documents, and personal data (I have a PSQ database that is probably 10 gigs in itself) backed up in case of failure. It sounds like Windows 7's backup function is a simple option to do this? I assume this is much more preferable from just clicking copy and paste of the C: from the computer to the external HDD? (that is what I used to do).

Finally, should I care about which external drive or USB flash drive I buy or are basically any one with a lot of good reviews on amazon or newegg going to be reliable and last a long time without problems?

 

Anything from Seagate or Western Digital should be top notch. I always suggest their WorldBook Duo Products, those drives have Redundant disks you can set to Raid 1 for added Security.

 

As far as this is concerned they are all pretty much the same. Portable hard drives (using 2.5" drives) don't require external power and desktop drives (using 3.5" drives) require an external power supply. You could see if your laptop has USB 3.0 or eSATA and buy one with either of those to help transfer speeds increase. From what I've tested, eSATA is slower over longer transfers (10GB+) but faster with smaller transfers. For example using Reflect to image my C: drive takes 3 minutes from my SSD to 7200RPM external drive.

You could also build your own external hard drive and use a good hard drive so you know for sure it won't fail.

 

Thats a good point. USB 3.0 Drives (Even the 2.5" pocket drives) are ROCKETS when it comes to backups.

 

Once the backup software & hardware is selected (HD, SSD, USB 2.0/3.0),
install something like this for an emergency, on the same dedicated external drive.

Portable Protection
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KillSwitch is included
But wait! There's more! Many malicious programs manipulate system security in order to do their dirty deeds. KillSwitch's Quick Repair tool checks over 20 often-abused system locations, identifies any that have been compromised, and quickly fixes them.

 

Thanks again so much, this forum is awesome.

I think I have a 3.0 USB drive (Dell XPS 17 bought in May 2011 so I assume it has that) but at the time I remember reading some people having trouble with it. Just looking at my ports I have one normal USB, one USB that also says esata and two that say SS next to them. My device manager shows 4 generic USB ports, and a 3.0 root hub.

Are 3.0 hard drives ALSO compatible with standard USB ports should there be any difficulty with the 3.0 port? Basically, am I taking any sort of risk getting a hard drive that is for 3.0 or esata or they work for regular USB too?

I should also say, because I don't need huge size (500gb would be more than enough), I would also like a hard drive that is relatively small and mobile even if not a USB flash drive. Finally, I would much prefer not to need an external power source.

Something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digit...SAZS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334201123&sr=8-2

I don't really know the difference between my USB ports but obviously faster is nice although not a huge issue for me. Mostly, I want the process to be simple and as automated as possible but if it then takes 10 min or 2 hours I don't care too much.

 

Yes, USB 3.0 is backwards compatible to USB 2.0.

And that drive looks fine.

 

How fragile are these drives? Can they be kept in a laptop bag with other stuff getting bumped around a little bit or should they be treated like glass?

 

Don't throw it around but drives are pretty durable these days. I always threw mine in my backpack when I would go to class.

If you are worried about durability, they make rugged drives found here and here

 

I don't know about others' experiences, but I've always done a lot better buying a high quality enclosure and using a bare drive with it as opposed to an external drive. I've had a few of those crap out on me... only to discover that the drive works perfectly and that it was just the cheap enclosure. You can always get a quality rugged enclosure and then you get to be picky about a particular drive.

 

The SS ports are your USB 3.0 Ports. Always use those.

That drive should do well. But keep in mind, mechanical drives can still get beat up. If you are worried about your data's safety, leave it in a safe place at home when you can.

It can take some abuse, no doubt... but still. Dont be reckless with it if you want it to last.

 

Seagate GoFlex Slim (320GB) Vs Western Digital Passport

Super thin. Runs at 7,200 rpm. Has USB 3.0. Includes free back-up management software. Comes with a 3-year warranty.
Design & Features

The GoFlex Slim (320GB) has raised the bar on slimming down. It weighs 4.8 ounces, and measures 4.91 by 3.07 by 0.35 inches (HWD). In fact, the drive may be the thinnest of its kind right now. It's also fast. The spinning hard disc inside is a zippy 7,200 rotations per minute (rpm). The drive is also equipped with a USB 3.0 connection (with an included detachable cable), which allows transfer speeds up to 10 times the speed of USB 2.0. The GoFlex Slim has a black anodized-aluminum enclosure that features a silky soft-touch finish, accented by a glossy stripe that runs along all four edges of the drive.

The Seagate GoFlex Slim (320GB) is a plug-and-play device, meaning that it's ready to go the moment you take it out of the box. The drive comes with NTFS formatting, which is compatible with Windows, but not with Macs. Mac users and anyone needing cross compatibility will want to reformat the drive to HFS+, which is Mac compatible, or FAT32, which is compatible with both Windows and Mac systems.

Performance compared to Western Digital Passport
Using that USB 3.0 connection, the GoFlex Slim provides strong performance across the board. In PCMark Vantage, the GoFlex Slim scored 5,713 points. It also completed a Drag and Drop test (where we transfer a 1.22GB test file onto the drive) in 15 seconds. Compare this with the similarly equipped Western Digital My Passport Essential SE, which scored 5,617 points in PCMark HDD tests, and completed a Drag and Drop test in 18 seconds.

 

If you are looking for offsite storage as well, backblaze.com is probably the cheapest way to go for unlimited backup. Really neat service and is completely painless

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IMHO, I use the 1t GO Flex drive, with the removable plug, that lets U swap interface if needed. The plug will let you use any BARE 2.5" Sata drive as a USB 3.0 drive dock..which can be very handy. I use this with a couple of old WD 250G blue drives for storage back-up.

 

Hello, i use genie timeline also, have you upgraded to the new version 2012? It's even better. There 's a free version you can try it check the website.
I totally recommend this software!
Best Regards

 

I use uranium backup freeware. Features list: Backup Software: Free, Tape DAT, LTO, Blu-Ray, DVD, FTP, Zip, backup database SQL Server, NAS

 

Just use an external harddrive. Safe and easy.

 

Hi, I would like to ask advice about back ups as well, but I have a very different set-up-- I am a long-time user of CRASHPLAN Plus, which backs up all of our important data to an offline server and can create redundant local data backups as well. I use Syncplicity to sync my desktop documents with my laptop. This plan is perfect for data protection and synchronization, but isn't a great disaster recovery solution. (Crashplan doesn't do disk imaging.)

In the rare event of a crash or upgrade, I generally do a complete windows reinstall, drivers and all. The more customized my windows setup gets, the more time-consuming this is becoming. I would like to image my boot drive, including operating system, software, customized settings, software keys, etc., so that if my system fails, I can just restore that image, either to the same HDD, or a new HDD or computer, and keep working.

If I use Easeus free to image my hdd, can I then use the linux boot dvd to restore that image even to a new hard drive/new computer and trust it to update drivers, etc? I think that if I restore old versions of my files both crashplan and synplicity will replace outdated files with the most recent updated and changed versions.

Any hints or tips would be appreciated. I am on this forum enough to know that advanced users experiment happily with new software and hardware, knowing that a restore is easy. I would love to feel the same way.

 

Windows backup/restall can do what you mentioned, even from a network drive(that can be slow if you don't have GbE).

Saying that, I had a problem doing the restore on a new v131 most likely caused by the new USB 3.0 thing which default W7 boot disk doesn't recognize(thus can't see my image on it).

Restalling to a new machine is another thing as change in hardware requires new drivers and activation(not that hard though comparing with starting from scratch). I recently put one of my old SSD into the v131 and only need to re-activate windows and install the hardware drivers(which needs to be done anyway even if I have to install W7 from scratch).

 

For more info on EaseUs Todo Backup:

Download the PDF User Guide (61 pages). Go to site or Google it.
This app means business. Learn something new, storage engineering.

 

This thread has been really helpful, but I need some help as newbie.

Is it possible to back up two hard drives--one SSD and one HDD--with a single HDD? Both hard drives will be in the same notebook computer.

 

Thanks to everyone! I just went out and bought a little external drive to practice my first "emergency backup". Nobody has mentioned Macrium. Any thoughts?

@Jtrauma: it would be helpful to understand what you mean. You can back up multiple drives to a single HDD if it's big enough to hold the files-- I've been doing that for years. Do you mean, can you combine two hard drives to one single hard drive? Or just store back ups from two different drives on one third, separate drive?

 

I will have two hard drives in my laptop: a 180GB SSD and a 500GB HDD. I want to back up both of them.

Basically, I don't know if there is a difference between backing up an SSD as opposed to the usual HDD. Will I be able to backup both with, for example, a single 500GB Western Digital external usb drive?

Thank you for helping, I hope that makes it clearer!

 

My experience tells me yes, absolutely, as long as the total size of both backups doesn't exceed 500g. You could even back up one to the other, although some might call you crazy.

 

Does anyone have recommendations for file sync software between two drives?

I use Macrium Free Reflect and the Windows 7 Backup Center to image and backup entire drives, but I'd also like to be able to sync certain files/folders to an external hard drive instead of manually copying them.

This would help backup of documents, music files, pictures, etc. I like to have those types of files backed up in a readily accessible way versus having to use a separate backup program to restore or retrieve certain files from a backup or image file.

 

Microcosft has a tool called SyncToy which does what you say, and beautifully. The only thing is it's not automatic. I use it to keep my movies and photos "backed up" locally. I also use the free version of Syncplicity, which is a terrific synchronization service, to keep files in sync between my laptop and desktop. Basically that allows me to treat my laptop as a workstation and the desktop as a server. If anything happens to my laptop, apart from the hassle and expense, I don't have to worry.

 

Acronis is what I like to use for backup/restore.

It does a great job with compression, and has all the features you could need for a really fair price. It's been free after rebate on several occasions.


I used it to do odd jobs that some of the free stuff may not handle like taking a HDD and cloning it to a SSD for a drive upgrade and the SSD ended up being properly aligned.

 

Shelley is spot on, for any modern program such as Free Backup Software: Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Edition - Overview the image (backup file) will be compressed by default. My SSD show 30 GIG in windows but the image on the external drive is only 18 GIG. The only issue you could run into is if your hard drive(s) are encrypted, then you may have to do a sector by sector copy and you would need 680 GIG minimum useable space on the backup drive.

 

SyncToy is the easiest tool for backup of a few folders.

For backing up an entire drive the windows system image works perfectly. You can reinstall to a brand new drive or recover just certain files as explained here:

How to Recover Specific Files from a Windows System Image - How-To Geek

 

I would say backup files over the network and make a baseline image with an imaging tool like acronis or ghost. Atleast that's how it's done in a larger network. Recovery will take time regardless of the event. If your data files are small external storage such as CD or USB drive isn't a bad idea depending on if you want to get into the science of data deterioration or data corruption. Organization of files can help make the process easier and redundant storage can be considered better. Network storage is easy to be more consistent with making timelined backup if that is the goal. Onboard storage such as a ODD HD or secondary HD isn't bad as long as you don't throw your computer off a cliff or something. Finding a process that works is most often the balance of easy and best as they are not always the same.