BACK-UP Software

[HHBizzle]

Hey GNGers

I just got a new external harddrive at work to store all my shit and back up a database, but it does not come with any backup software.

I know there are many out there but I want to know your reccomendations.

[sylverarrow]

I do know Windows XP comes with one. I use it for some of my users here at my work. I have it set either daily or every friday to backup depending on the user. If I recall correctly once you had it setup you couldn't edit without creating a new one.. I don't remember. It's free so yeah!

Start -->Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Backup

[HHBizzle]

ill check it out
danke

[zero]

NT Backup software generally dumps everything into proprietary files. We use something at work which has a free version also that's not too bad. It can do simple copy backups, or mirror source and destination, and compare file times to only copy what has changed. Plus you can have it backup everything maintaining directory structures so everything is immediately accessible on the backup media, instead of having to "restore" from the backup to get at the files you want.

It's called SyncBack SE
http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/sbse.html

There's a paid for version too, but the free one does enough for what most people need.

[ioScream]

windows will also do a compare, and backup change.. i use between my desktop and laptop.. its called append i believe..

[zero]

But will it do just files and directories? Last time I used NT backup, granted it was on Server 2003, it put everything into 1 big file that you have to restore somewhere to get at what you wanted. Using this approach basically copies or mirrors files and directories to another location. If the XP version is different than NT backup then it might work fine too.

[Animal]

Acronis TrueImage (http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/). Best backup program I have EVER used, hands down.

[Hae-Yu]

For a super easy backup get Sync Toy from Microsoft's PowerToys. It really can't get more user-friendly than that. You pick a folder you want to back up, pick a destination, and pick your operation (incremental, synchronize, append, + 1 more). Save it and just select it to run it in the future. This does a file-by-file backup meaning you don't have a single large, compressed file that can't be accessed anywhere else like a lot of other junk BU solutions. I use it for my regular BUs to a portable HD. Documents, movies, music, .pst file, bookmarks, and things of that nature. I've used it for a few years now and never had an issue.

OTOH AR's Acronis True Image is the best for everything and is very friendly. Especially bootable images which isn't as common as you'd think.

I was just researching these too and Acronis was what I chose. I had to wipe n reinstall Windows 2 weeks ago. I decided after I finish configuring all my main apps, I would use a spare hard drive to make a bootable Windows image and store this as an emergency backup in a desk drawer. If I have a catastophic failure or my system builds up glitches, I won't have to reinstall a million patches, configure my email and other settings, or do anything else, but can get straight back to work with a clean, fully configured, fresh install of Windows in less than a half-hour.