I want the Mother of all backups

Using XP. Will be adding a separate internal hard drive, 30 gigs in size.

It has been many years since a hard drive has died on me, but it could happen. So, since I am thinking about backing up data, I might as well get the most that I can ask for.

My first concern is backing up My Documents on at least a daily basis. I bill and get paid for documents in My Documents, so I do not want to lose any. Any that are lost, means a loss in income.

Second, I have lots of software that are functioning very well. I do not want to have to try to convince a vendor that I paid for the software 2-3 years ago. I do not want to have to reload in software or configure software to work. The software works now and I want it to work an hour after a major crash.

Is there a software program which will put my entire existing hard drive data, software, etc, onto a backup hard drive and also update My Documents periodically? If my existing C drive crashes, can I rest assured that all I have to do is re-name the D drive to C, and resume working. Or, am I asking for too much?

Sounds like you want a RAID setup. Not familiar with how/what to do, so I'll let another answer you.

However, what I use to back up files (on a daily basis):
http://www.mogware.com/FileHamster/

Is free and will save all your documents with every change (each time you change & exit).
THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTION FOR A FULL BACKUP, only specific files.

Hope this helps.

Acronis True Image will allow you to make an exact copy/image of your hard drive...2nd drive needs to be as large as the first drive...

Keeping a second drive attached to the pc makes it prone to lightening strikes and fire. Since the data is important, you'd want to keep the 2nd drive in another location or at least across the house from the first drive..

This is a Very Popular Software:

SyncBack is a flexible, and quite powerful backup and synchronization program that allows to to maintain backup copies of your files and folder, or to synchronize them, so that both locations always have a complete copy (e.g Laptop/PC). It offers different types of actions that let you choose how older and newer files are processed, which files should be excluded (by mask) and more. It offers standard file comparison based on the date and size, as well as optional MD5 checksum, which will detect even the slightest modifications to files. SyncBack also supports scheduled projects, FTP and zip compression of backups, as well as network login, simulation runs and more.

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/SyncBack/SyncBack.html


And, there are several dozen threads here about this same subject;)

I use Acronis True Image for full backup of the computer and GoodSynch by Siber Systems to back up folders to another drive. You also might want to consider a slave drive that is larger than 30gb as your needs may change over time. I also backup to an external usb hard drive, using GoodSynch, and to a usb flash drive. Anything can fail, so the more the better.

The problem I envisage of using an external HD, USB, or the like, is that I want something that is automatic. If I have to physically take some action at the end of the day, I am likely to be busy, forgetful, or lazy. I want to click a button and have the backup done.

Went to the Syncback site. Will read more about it.

Based on what TrueGreen stated, I need to start thinking about matching the size of my present HD. I am only using 13 of my present 60 gig hd, but may need to get the exact same size for the backup.

Steve:

Took a quick look at the Acronis site. From their description, it sounds like one is backing up to the one hard drive, as opposed to a separate hd. I intend to ask their tech support or sales whether the backup can take place to another internal HD. Do you know whether Acronis allows this?

Acronis can back up to any drive... a partition, an external drive, a network drive or an optical drive.

Great. That is what I need.

Once I get a hard drive of the same size as my present hard drive and get it connected, I can use Acronis, backup at the end of every day, and all will be well with the world, unless lightning strikes or my house burns down. I may even ask Acronis to back up every few hours. Why not? There is no charge per backup.

May even want to look into removable trays.
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...DD-Accessories

That way you can backup daily and have a copy off site to protect your stuff incase lightning strikes or your house burns down.

Of course you need something to fill the tray will.
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...al-Hard-Drives

aob: FWIW... If your PC/data is important, you should assume you will have some type of catastrophic damage, or that you will have your PC stolen. (Of course I'm hoping nothing like this ever happens to you but you should assume it will.) Then the question becomes, can my backup scenario allow me to continue?

One additional thought is that many users rely on backups of some type but never test them live. IMO, this is a fundamental mistake. I know it's a scary thing to do by overwriting a working drive but it's the only way to really know if a plan will work. (Note that if you do test, make sure the most critical data is backed up more by than one way/program. That way, if Windows would need to be reinstalled, your data would survive.)

My imaging software of choice is ShadowProtect Desktop. It's more costly than Acronis TI but IMO, I feel it's worth it. I have never had any restore errors with SP (and I have restored with it many times.) http://www.storagecraft.com/products...rotectDesktop/

I am also a big proponent of GoodSync Pro for the more basic data backups you might run. It's not free but it is an excellent syncing program (which may be the answer for data backups away for the PC, especially since you don't want to use external hard drives for images.) Excellent support from GoodSync too!

And do not forget to back up data to something like cd/dvd media too.

I have some data backed up and spread to about 15 places around the the country as we do not want to lose it.

I use Acronis True Image. You just back up the entire drive, either as a perfect bootable clone, or a compressed image that's actually only one file. Ideally you should do it to an removable USB drive, or one in a removable tray. I've never scheduled one, but I believe you can automate it on a schedule.

The 2 HD's don't have to be the same size. Only the used space must be equal If you're making a clone. If you're making a compressed image, the space to be used on the slave drive can be even smaller.

You might also look into Second Copy. I believe it can be set to automatically backup at intervals you determine. Backing up just at the end of the day may be a problem if something happens during the day. Thus automatic and frequent backups might be best for your situation. http://www.centered.com/. It's $29.95 for a single license. It may have been mentioned earlier, but a combination of backup systems may be best. As to True Image, it could take 15 to 20 minutes to perform the backup. It's not quick, but they do offer a fully functional trial so you can see how it works. I would also consider multiple backup destinations, possibly including online. Any thing can fail at some time.

I'm quite fussy about backups. I use Acronis Trueimage and make a new backup image every Sunday. I alternate between backup image 1 and image 2, overwriting each one every two weeks so I always have two rolling images available to back up to. I back up to a partition on the main drive and then make a copy to a separate hard drive. I also make a DVD copy every 2 months for more permanent storage.

Another thing I've found handy is to make an image of a near virgin installation.. with pretty much nothing installed except service packs and the backup program. That way If I ever find the system is getting unwieldy with lots of installed/uninstalled programs (I test lots of software and am a serial tweaker) and clutter I can more easily start over without having to reinstall Windows from scratch. I do this maybe every two years or so.

Thank for raising this question ?