Backup system recommendations?

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tepabajo

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After this latest fiasco with my Maxtor drive crashing I am rethinking my backup system completely. I am now considering using two devices in addition to my primary drive to complete my backup system. My primary drive capacity is 120 gigs which is more than enough considering how much data I want to store. I currently have it partitioned into 4 logical drives, C,D,E, & F. The C drive of course houses the OS and then all of the applications that I use. The other partitions are earmarked for Music, Photos, and a Misc. Storage partition respectively. I will use the Storage partition for parking files generated by applications to avoid fragmenting the C drive. I plan on adding another 60 to 100g drive to use as a secondary backup primarily for photos and my Quicken stuff. You might ask "Why not go with a larger drive?" Because once yearly I will copy all of the pictures and the quicken files from the secondary drive onto CD or DVD for permanent storage which will free up space on the secondary drive. So in essence the secondary drive will be used for temporary storage which is why it does not need to be hugh.
Question: Is this a good plan and would you guys recommend a different storage device for my secondary drive, i.e., zip drive or whatever? :bounce:
 
When copying files to another filesystem as a backup then you should keep in mind that this way you are not protected from a software failure. Sure, if your HD dies you have your data safe but if a Silly User decides to delete your things or you get a Nasty Virus then you lose all your backups since they were that easily accessible under just another drive letter.

Rethink the yearly CD archiving to something more frequent or make the backup hard drive more difficult to access. Like hide the partitions during everyday use or just put it in another computer and copy files over the network.
 
Grab a copy of Drive Image or True Image And make an image of your system/programs partition.
Then use your Data Backup plan as you describe.
I use a USB HDD to store Image files and data.
This way if you have a main HDD failure you can be up and running very Quickly!
 
I think it makes easier your activity, if you will use True Image. It is excellent for making a backup image of your OS. This software has great intuitive windows wizard, it makes utilization very easy and convenient. I need about ten minutes to make a full backup of my system and the same time to restore it. Due to highest level compression it takes not much space, so I could copy backup image on DVD.
 
I've found the best way for backing up is to use a file server on a network, and create a simple batch file that runs on startup to update the destination location with all new files created the last time the computer was on. This way I can assure that even if I have a complete system failure I will still have a computer with all my information and settings on. Bit over the top, but does the trick!
 
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