i have a desktop computer with an extra 75 gig hd in it.  i have networked the tr to it.  whats the best way to totally back up my tr?  how can i sync it to that hd on the desktop.  whats the best software option or any option for that matter?

THANKS!

For straight file backups (as opposed to system backups) I’ve been using Iomega’s Automatic Backup ( http://www.iomega.com/software/autobackuppc.html ) and it works really well. It can monitor directories and instantly copy files over to the network drive whenever it senses a change. Or you can setup a timer and copy the files over at specified times. It also does versioning so you can keep up to 99 revisions of individual files.

It’s pretty good software and is unobtrusive. There are other similar packages for backup but this one is easy to use and is pretty cheap.

thanks gr00vy.  what about ghost or something like that?  i really dont know much about programs like that.  but i once heard they are good. 

???

Ghost and a few other products are “system backup” programs in that they backup entire disks or partitions. So, they don’t do incremental file backups or partial backups.

Ghost is ok and better suited for business uses compared to other products. I’m currently writing a review on Acronis True Image and should have that done in a few hours. It’s more consumer friendly and it supports a wide variety of external devices and networks as well.

i will read your review!  thanks!

just so i understand ghost or acronis if i have a 75 gig hd i can basically back up my entre tr to that other hd and never really worry about losing my info.  in the even that i did i would just drag the backup over to the tr from acronis?

is that correct?

Well, let’s say you hose your system. You would first boot up Acronis’ boot disk and it would allow you to see the network share on your desktop system. Then you run the recovery software and it will handle restoring your notebook from the desktop.

thats what i am talking about….....thats what i want!  i dont want to loose my data.

how long would it take to restore if that dreadful situation happened 1-2hrs?

Oh…probably 1 hours tops. It depends on how big your saved data file is and if you have multiple partitions.

And..it’s up…please let me know if I’m missing anything you’d like to know. There’s lots of pics.

Acronis True Image 6 review:

http://www.siliconpopculture.com/reviews_comments/32_0_2_0_C/

[quote author=“gr00vy0ne”]Ghost and a few other products are “system backup” programs in that they backup entire disks or partitions. So, they don’t do incremental file backups or partial backups.

Ghost is ok and better suited for business uses compared to other products. I’m currently writing a review on Acronis True Image and should have that done in a few hours. It’s more consumer friendly and it supports a wide variety of external devices and networks as well.

whoa, wait a sec…not sure about Ghost, but I remember an older version of Drive Image by powerquest that lets you see the contents of a backed up image and extract just the file…I think you can do that with Ghost too, or am I totally wacked?  be honest.  If I am not wacked, then what is the real advantage of a program that DOES NOT back up the entire image?  Speed maybe, but not sure…

Acronis True Image, Norton Ghost, and Powerquest Drive Image all are system volume backup software. They backup entire partitions and drives to “image” or “archive” files. Basically, they take an exact snapshot of your system so that you can restore your system exactly how it was. All three programs also allow you to see and restore individual files from within the image file if you need it.

The other kind of backup software is file backup software. These are programs like BackUpMyPC, Iomega Automatic Backup, NTI’s Backup Now, Dantz Retrospect, and others. Rather than doing completely full backups, these programs offer finer granularity and control over file backups. Many of these offer features such as incremental and differential backups. Typically, you do a full backup first as your baseline backup. Then you perform an incremental backup which only backs ups files that have been modified since. Differential backups back up files that have been modified since the last incremental backup. Confusing? It sure is. It’s a secure method of backup data from the old days when using DAT tapes. Not all of these programs make you perform all these steps. Many of the newer products offer simpler interfaces. The advantage of these programs is that you’re not backing up an entire volume (which takes a lot of time depending on the size of your hard disk) and only groups of files.

For instance, Iomega’s Automatic Backup can be scheduled to backup your files, a directory or several directories at a scheduled time. Or, you can set a “watch” on specific directories. So, let’s say you’re watching “My Documents” directory and any time you save or modify a file in that directory, Automatic Backup will silently copy it to your backup location (like an external hard disk, another partition, or a network share). Automatic Backup can also keep “revisions” of files so that everytime you modify a file it copies the modified version to your backup location and it keeps a revision of the file (before you modified it…and the time before that). You can specify how many revisions to keep (up to 99).

So, these kinds of backup programs are good for your daily or weekly backups. System backup or archival software (Like Ghost, True Image, and Drive Image) are then good for monthly backups.

So you really can’t compare the two kinds of backup software together since it’s apples and oranges. Some of these programs offer trial versions and unique features so you may want to check them out to see what works for you and is easy to use.

[quote author=“gr00vy0ne”]Acronis True Image, Norton Ghost, and Powerquest Drive Image all are system volume backup software. They backup entire partitions and drives to “image” or “archive” files. Basically, they take an exact snapshot of your system so that you can restore your system exactly how it was. All three programs also allow you to see and restore individual files from within the image file if you need it.

The other kind of backup software is file backup software. These are programs like BackUpMyPC, Iomega Automatic Backup, NTI’s Backup Now, Dantz Retrospect, and others. Rather than doing completely full backups, these programs offer finer granularity and control over file backups. Many of these offer features such as incremental and differential backups. Typically, you do a full backup first as your baseline backup. Then you perform an incremental backup which only backs ups files that have been modified since. Differential backups back up files that have been modified since the last incremental backup. Confusing? It sure is. It’s a secure method of backup data from the old days when using DAT tapes. Not all of these programs make you perform all these steps. Many of the newer products offer simpler interfaces. The advantage of these programs is that you’re not backing up an entire volume (which takes a lot of time depending on the size of your hard disk) and only groups of files.

For instance, Iomega’s Automatic Backup can be scheduled to backup your files, a directory or several directories at a scheduled time. Or, you can set a “watch” on specific directories. So, let’s say you’re watching “My Documents” directory and any time you save or modify a file in that directory, Automatic Backup will silently copy it to your backup location (like an external hard disk, another partition, or a network share). Automatic Backup can also keep “revisions” of files so that everytime you modify a file it copies the modified version to your backup location and it keeps a revision of the file (before you modified it…and the time before that). You can specify how many revisions to keep (up to 99).

So, these kinds of backup programs are good for your daily or weekly backups. System backup or archival software (Like Ghost, True Image, and Drive Image) are then good for monthly backups.

So you really can’t compare the two kinds of backup software together since it’s apples and oranges. Some of these programs offer trial versions and unique features so you may want to check them out to see what works for you and is easy to use.

know of any free/open source file backup software for windows ..? something like retrospect or similar ... i am not big into system backups I am more concerned about data.

I am more concerned about data.

What do you mean? Individual data chunks? LIke individual files? Just transfer ‘em to a DVD-RW. Easiest thing.

~Nox

I hate retrospect, it crashes all the time, and I am not the only one to complain. As Groovy said Ghost and others like it are mainly for full restores.

I used a program called my backup or something like that…it allowed me to specify files to backup at a certain time…IMO thats the best type of software for you.

Erik

[quote author=“gr00vy0ne”]Oh…probably 1 hours tops. It depends on how big your saved data file is and if you have multiple partitions.

And..it’s up…please let me know if I’m missing anything you’d like to know. There’s lots of pics.

Acronis True Image 6 review:

http://www.siliconpopculture.com/reviews_comments/32_0_2_0_C/

Great review.  Thanks.  I’m not seeing the Ghost upgrade price on their site.  Do you think they abolished it?

It looks like they’re no longer offering a competitive upgrade price. Still, even at $49.99, the product is worth every penny. It’s extremely useful and solid.