Computer backup

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

OK guys need a bit of assistance from someone with actual hand son experiance.

Remote backup hard drive went pear shaped due to being dropped, now got a new unit rated at 1TB and I'm looking for some software [ preferably free ] to do nightly backups to this drive which is on a USB lead.

Running W7 / 64 bit and would prefer something that only backed up new files or altered ones.

I also have a cloud account doing the same thing but being old fashioned that cloud isn't mine so not interested in anything to do with cloud accounts, that side is OK.

[BikepeteParticipant @bikepete]

I have tried several packages for backing up both business and personal files (about 2 Tb in total.). FWIW I now use two external hard disks and also back up work files at to an internal hard disk on the home computer and vice versa, so there are always three copies of everything across two geographic locations.

The trick is to find software you are happy with in terms of the balance between complexity and configurability. I have ended up with (an older version of) this:

**LINK**

and it's reasonably easy to configure so that all I have to do is plug in the external drives at each end and click a couple of actions to ensure everything is synchronised. But you do need to be thinking clearly when setting it up… especially when using 'incremental' backup mode (only changed files). It is worth doing, though, as a full scan 'from scratch' will take several tens of minutes unless your disks are a lot faster than mine!

Having seen the latest version is still free I might ponder upgrading to it. There are also paid for versions but the free one has all the basic stuff you need – see their comparison.

[MM57Participant @mm57]

I use the slightly paid for (i.e. doesn't cost a lot) version of syncbackup
**LINK**

It would pass muster as an enterprise solution, but for simple backup by duplication of files from one HD to another, taking into account only changed files, it does the job well.

A small learning curve to configure it – the help files are pretty good though

edit: haha – that's 2 votes for syncbackup then

Edited By Martin Millener on 02/09/2014 15:13:01

[TrickyParticipant @tricky]

I use Genie Backup Manager to backup to an external disk and it works well for me. The latest basic version called Timeline Home seems simple to use and is £30. link

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

Hi John.

I have used Syncback for many years without problems.

As a photographer I have a vast number of quite large files to back up to several places regularly. It can be configured in many ways and is free.

Here you go :- **LINK**

Nick

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I use DirSyncPro

Neil

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

I personally use Acronis True Image Home V11, which is rather old now and can probably be obtained very cheaply. I don't like the later versions.I've set up V11 to backup to an external disk every night, but I only connect the drive when I reckon I should take a backup. If the drive isn't connected, Acronis just complains if I check, but otherwise retries every night until I connect the external disk.

A freebie, which I haven't tried, is Easus Todo Backup

Both Acronis and Easus do complete and incremental backups.

[Jon GibbsParticipant @jongibbs59756]

Am I missing something? – I use the standard Microsoft Windows Backup and Restore.

It's under the Control Panel/System and Security of Windows 7.

You can schedule backups whenever you want.

Jon

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

Hi Jon, I tried that first, but could never get it work on my Win7 x64 system. I just gave up and used Acronis instead.

[Bill RobleyParticipant @billrobley]

Hi John.

The backup programme I use is called Synkron for all my backup needs to a separate PC setup for the purpose, though the software will also work to a USB drive as required.

The software is totally free for life, works across different platforms and, best of all, is ad-ware, pop-up and virus free.

When run (As Administrator if using Win7) the software looks at previous backups and only backs up files that have changed or are new since the last backup was taken. The only user input required is to tell it which drive to back up and to where, and then only at initial setup, then you simply click "Sync" and the package does the rest.

It's perhaps worth bearing in mind that the initial backup will take some time, depending on how much data you need to backup. Subsequent backups are much quicker as it only backs up changes to the drive and not the entire contents again.

The software can also be set to backup your files according to a schedule set by the user

I have been using Synkron for years and it has never once failed me.

Give it a try, you might like it.

Link: **LINK**

[Swarf, Mostly!Participant @swarfmostly]

Hi there, all,

I have a Seagate 1 TB external drive that I use for back-up. The software that came on the drive is a real nanny so I ditched that and now use the free version of Acronis.

I did also try Windows own back-up but I didn't like it – can't remember why now.

I find Acronis easy to use, if a bit slow but I should also say that I've not tried to restore from it yet.

I think it's important to disconnect the back-up drive except when you're actually backing up or restoring – that way, if you do happen to pick up a nasty from an infected web-site, it'll only get at your internal drives. This would be particularly important if the nasty happened to be Cryptolocker or one of its variants! SWMBO recommends getting Cryptoprevent from Majorgeeks (it's free).

I also have an ancient Mac G4 Quicksilver.  The external drive I use for backing up from that is Firewire rather than USB – it's much quicker!  Without switching it on, I can't remember the back-up software I use on the Mac (senior moment!).

Best regards,

Swarf, Mostly!

 

Edited By Swarf, Mostly! on 02/09/2014 16:36:33

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

The best backup strategy and software is very much dependent on you use your computer for and your need for security. Using a computer for business makes backing up important.

This is what I do:

I have Luckybackup installed (you could try Backup maker which has similar facilities for a Windows machine). I have it set up do automatically do nightly incremental backups of my data (ie., only changed files) and keep the last seven backups so that if I find I have made an error in the last week I can go back to before the error. I do these backups to a second, internal drive.

About once a month I copy all my data files to an external hard drive.

That takes care of my data and personal settings but it doesn't cover the system with all the software I've installed and all the time that's gone into getting it as I like it. For that I use RedoBackup. It is burned to a bootable CD and will make a complete image of your hard disk and makes it easy to restore to exactly the state your computer was in when the image was made. It can be used to restore everything to a new disk (same size or bigger) and will even backup multiple operating systems on the same disk. It can take a long time so I only do that when I have made major updates or installed new software.

Hope that helps a little.

Russell.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

One nice feature of Dirsync – you can tell it to switch off when it completes, so instead of switching off, I start a backup job. Simples.

Neil

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