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    backup overkill?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by merlin666, Jan 25, 2011.

  1. merlin666

    merlin666 Notebook Consultant

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    I am using both Lenovo Enhanced Backup & Restore and Win7 Backup&Restore and my backup drive (640 GB for 320GB internal) is getting full. I am fairly clueless about various options and have just been going along with the various prompts from Windows and ThinkVantage, but I am suspicious that there is much duplication and unnecessary backup going on. So, what can I do to optimize my backup options, and identify redundant files etc to clean out my cluttered backup drive?
     
    merlin666, Jan 25, 2011
    #1
  2. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    To free up some space in Windows Backup, open up the Backup and Restore screen, and click on Manage Space below the image of your external HDD. There, you can delete old data backups (which are redundant--often, I don't need more than 2 or 3 backups) and old disk images, which is sort of a "picture" of what your drive looks like at this point in time (I usually only keep only one of these images). That said, I only have an 80GB system drive that is a bit more than half full, and a 160GB HDD that I use for backups, so I probably keep less redundancy than many others.
     
    MidnightSun, Jan 26, 2011
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  3. merlin666

    merlin666 Notebook Consultant

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    I am not sure about the difference between Lenovo Backup and Windows Backup. I think that Windows backup creates an image of the whole C: drive, whereas Lenovo only does the system? Or do both do the same? Which one is preferrable, or is it necessary to use both?
     
    merlin666, Jan 26, 2011
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  4. evilid

    evilid Notebook Consultant

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    I found that Lenovo R&R has many limitations.
    1. It is not possible to choose the backup sources. It just backs up C: Drive. You cannot choose other drives or specific folders.
    2. You can't choose the output location either. R&R has to use several predefined default locations. For example, when I have multiple USB devices, R&R simply define them as AN external USB storage. No choice to choose a particular HDD.
    3. Backup preferences also have very little options. For example, you cannot choose particular days or conditions.
    I think if you need to backup your C: drive to an external USB drive every day, it is still good.

    Windows backups have more options. You can choose backup sources (a specific folder or drive) and output locations (a particular drive, external or internal). So I believe windows offers a better solution overall.
     
    evilid, Jan 26, 2011
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  5. Renee

    Renee Notebook Virtuoso

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    "I am not sure about the difference between Lenovo Backup and Windows Backup. I think that Windows backup creates an image of the whole C: drive, whereas Lenovo only does the system? Or do both do the same? Which one is preferrable, or is it necessary to use both?"

    I think Windows Backup is definitely preferable. Lenovo is not.

    Renee
     
    Renee, Jan 26, 2011
    #5