Author Topic: HowTo EASILY create image backup? (Read 42978 times)

tomos · « **Reply #25 on:** April 14, 2008, 08:35 AM »

Here's the link: Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD.
-yksyks (April 14, 2008, 07:35 AM)

I think the UBCD4WIN is a lot easier to make and as far as I know it comes with DriveImage XML "pre-installed"
http://www.ubcd4win.com/

edit/ mind you it was a couple of yrs ago i tried bartpe and only end of last year I made the other

Armando · « **Reply #26 on:** April 14, 2008, 11:10 AM »

RSJ HD Image seems like a good solution to me... if it works well.

Curt · « **Reply #27 on:** April 14, 2008, 04:25 PM »

SORRY!! - I can't believe I totally forgot to tell that my CD/DVD drive doesn't work at all, otherwise I would have used my UBCD4WIN or BartPE... I am actually re-considering if I should purchase and use the DriveSnapshot all the same, because the site offers a gratis file that will make some USB sticks bootable!

---

Thanks to Darwin I have Paragon, but something went totally wrong when I used it. At the end of the backup it demanded that I should hit SAVE more than a hundred times, once for each file. I have yet no idea of what I did wrong in the settings. I lost my temper and aborted the endless procedure. It took 4 restarts, and a enlargement of the size of the page file, to get XP back to normal.

---
I have watched GAOTD for a year, but only now am I looking for backup > USB-Drive programs.

MerleOne · « **Reply #28 on:** April 14, 2008, 04:48 PM »

3/ Look for a free version of Acronis True Image 8, you should be able to find a old link still active corresponding to a special offer. Maybe this link can even be found somewhere in DonationCoder forum. Not sure where I got it from.
-MerleOne (April 14, 2008, 07:24 AM)

Ahem, I think I was mistaken, actually it was Acronis True Image 7 that was offered back in 2006 but it seems the promotion code is now cancelled. Sorry ! You could try RSJ HD Image which is free for personal use.

I also found another payware solution : http://www.drive-image.com/. Didn't try it yet !

And lastly : there is an excellent solution, Image for Windows V2, cheaper (I think) than Drive Snapshot, runs from Windows, or Floppy, or USB key or CD. I just restored my portable PC with it this evening, I corrupted the system without knowing why, but I had a fresh backup on an external USB HDD. 90mn later, everything was right again. IFW supports differential images, is somewhat slower than DS, but support is excellent and the product is very reliable.

Link : http://www.terabyteu...mage-for-windows.htm

Curt · « **Reply #29 on:** April 14, 2008, 05:55 PM »

I should of course also have told that my PC doesn't support floppy diskettes.

R-Drive Image really looks fine, but .. ehh ... maybe ... hmm... ehh ... I am not sure...

Tomorrow I will purchase a 160 GB USB Hard Drive, in order to create a "RAW Image",
- and then I will read all of this thread again, before finally making up my mind...

MerleOne · « **Reply #30 on:** April 15, 2008, 12:50 AM »

Then, if you can only boot from an usb flash memory key, IFW2 seems a better choice, but you really have to try before. Some PC can and some other can't. I am sure that you can build a bootable USB key with the demo version, then you can try.

tomos · « **Reply #31 on:** April 15, 2008, 03:48 AM »

Then, if you can only boot from an usb flash memory key, IFW2 seems a better choice, but you really have to try before. Some PC can and some other can't. I am sure that you can build a bootable USB key with the demo version, then you can try.
-MerleOne (April 15, 2008, 12:50 AM)

I know that one (Image for Windows) has been recommended elsewhere here

Edit/ but does it do incremental or differential backups ?
no sign of it at their site

patthecat · « **Reply #32 on:** April 15, 2008, 07:34 AM »

Image for Windows (IFW) current version 2 now supports differential. It does not currently support incremental. The IFW pdf manual (appendix section) indicates that incremental backups are harder to manage and may be problematic in disaster recovery situations.

Although I have all of Terabyte's products, I still use BootItNG for imaging as I am more comfortable with imaging from a bootable CD and not when windows is running. Image for DOS and Image for Linux also runs from a bootable CD and, from an interface / features perspective, more easier to use that BootItNG.

Image for DOS and Image for Linux are self contained bootable cds meaning it runs on the cd from the respective OS title. It does NOT mean that you have to know or need to have a hard disk that has DOS / Linux on it.

Curt · « **Reply #33 on:** April 15, 2008, 05:48 PM »

XXClone (......) However, (......) , I am concerned that the site not has been updated for more than a year:

All new licenses come with at least one year of update subscription. Optionally, you may order an extended subscription beyond the basic 1 year period up front.

- fine, but, ehh.., there are no updates ...
-Curt (April 07, 2008, 05:59 PM)

- but it gets even more critical:

However, when you update your Windows' Service Pack (SP) beyond the SP number that was available at the time of the XXCLONE release, you need a newer version of XXCLONE that supports the particular SP.

- so I will not consider XXClone before SP3 is supported, if ever...

Grorgy · « **Reply #34 on:** April 15, 2008, 05:59 PM »

I'm using paragon hard disk manager version 8 special edition (came free on a magazine) I have backed up a couple of times using it, full 1:1 image, and I have had 1 recovery using it, and it worked perfectly. At the price its the best thing I've seen

(I think it retails for around $USD 50)

Curt · « **Reply #35 on:** April 15, 2008, 06:15 PM »

..... DriveXML which doesnt do incremental images
-tomos (April 14, 2008, 03:57 AM)

- just as I had decided to stay with DriveXML, I read this! What a deal-breaker!

Oh, wait, no deal to break; it is gratis!

Well, if I start using a backup program, I might as well use one that I can keep on using every day, meaning incremental backups are a must-have. DriveXML: off you go!

---

I went out today and bought a stationary 500 GB USB hard drive, 7200rpm, a new stand-alone CD/DVD burner, and a 2 GB USB stick. What? Curt, on your budget?! Huhumm... The tax office made a deposit on my bank account yesterday! Yes!! Unfortunately the deposit was not big enough to purchase the ultimate answer to my problems: a new computer. But I spend ~~$150~~ (inflation: now $200) on these devices, so tomorrow I will take my Paragon 8 Special Edition to a new test, and this time I will follow Grorgy's recommendation and tell it to create a full image.

- tomorrow!

MerleOne · « **Reply #36 on:** April 16, 2008, 01:36 AM »

One last one word of advice : your external USB HDD will probably come with a partition formatted in "FAT32" format, which is much more sensitive to any brutal halt (power failure, computer crash, ...). You should really convert the partition in NTFS format. But only if this HDD is for use with XP, 2K, NT, Vista, etc. If you have a Mac or a Win98 computer, you should leave as it is.

How to convert the partition : no need to reformat anything, you can perform a non destructive conversion like this : Open a command window : Start/Execute/ type cmd + return
type the following command :
> Dir Y: (Y: is the letter under which your new HDD is recognized)
Note Y: Label
> convert Y: /FS:NTFS /X (Y: is the letter under which your new HDD is recognized)
You will be asked a confirmation by entering the Y: Label

Convert will then make a quick check of the current file system, then convert the drive in a few minutes. Et voilà !

One more thing : with your new drive will probably be packaged a backup program (file backup at least). If not, check the drive manufacturer website, for example Western Digital. In most cases, these manufacturer allow end-users to download an OEM imaging software, which they have rebranded. So you might get a free imaging software quicker than you thought.

f0dder · « **Reply #37 on:** April 16, 2008, 06:24 AM »

With a brand new disk without data on, I'd rather use format than convert... also, a full format, even though it takes a lot of time, since that serves as a rather comprehensive disk check as well

And I agree totally about doing NTFS instead of FAT, it's more robust... and also supports individual files larger than 4GB.

MerleOne · « **Reply #38 on:** April 16, 2008, 07:18 AM »

With a brand new disk without data on, I'd rather use format than convert... also, a full format, even though it takes a lot of time, since that serves as a rather comprehensive disk check as well

And I agree totally about doing NTFS instead of FAT, it's more robust... and also supports individual files larger than 4GB.
-f0dder (April 16, 2008, 06:24 AM)

If the HDD is empty, format is certainly a good solution, but there might be some included software already on the HDD. With "convert" you don't have to move the files elsewhere before turning the partition into NTFS. And its pretty quick too.

Curt · « **Reply #39 on:** April 16, 2008, 07:48 AM »

[almost off topic] What is in general the benefit of FAT32, since some people swear to it? [/almost off topic]

PS!
It really is a lot easier to format:
right-click the drive > "Format..." > Okay
-5 seconds later: end of story.

f0dder · « **Reply #40 on:** April 16, 2008, 08:04 AM »

[almost off topic] What is in general the benefit of FAT32, since some people swear to it? [/almost off topic]
-Curt (April 16, 2008, 07:48 AM)

Some people believe that it's "omfg faster!!!", but those people should really be ignored. The only tangible advantage is that more operating systems can handle FAT, whereas NTFS support in non-NT systems is either slow (ntfs3g) or non-existent.

NTFS is more stable than FAT (it has journaled filesystem metadata <3), has faster file searching, support individual files larger than 4 gigabytes, has better access control (not needed for home users, but wonderful in the corporate world), and has a number of other more technical advantages.

patthecat · « **Reply #41 on:** April 16, 2008, 09:39 AM »

Given the numerous advantages to NTFS, some people prefer to stick with FAT file systems since some non-windows systems such as MAC and Linux can read and write to it.

Although some Linux variants are starting to support read only access to disks formatted with the NTFS file system.

f0dder · « **Reply #42 on:** April 16, 2008, 09:44 AM »

patthecat: linux has offered read-only NTFS for many, many years... and there's stable write access as well, albeit pretty slow.

Curt · « **Reply #43 on:** April 16, 2008, 10:32 AM »

Cobian Backup - Powerful Free Backup Software

A few weeks ago we demonstrated an extremely simple backup solution called IdleBackup. It was nothing too fancy, and this time around we wanted to go to the other extreme with a freeware Windows backup application that will really knock your socks off. The program is called Cobian Backup, and I wouldn’t have found it without Leland’s help.

Cobian Backup is one of the most full-featured backup utilities that I’ve seen, and the best thing about it is that it’s completely free. I’ve been a proud owner of SyncBackSE for quite some time now, but Cobian Backup includes almost all of the same features in it’s latest version 9 Beta release. The interface is well designed, creating and scheduling backups is simple, and it is busting at the seams with customization!

HowTo EASILY create image backup?

–Features–

Now I could have just listed off the features that the developer had put together, but I actually think the developer is rather modest of what the program is truly capable of. So I put together my own set of features highlighting all of the things that I find to be the most useful in Cobian:

* Can be installed as a service, which means it is able to run even when a user isn’t logged into the computer

* 3 different types of backups are available:

o Full backups: Every single file in the source will be copied or compressed. If you are overwriting, every file will be replaced. If Overwrite is unchecked, you will have several copies of the same source.

o Incremental: The program will check if the source has been changed from the last backup. If there is no need to copy the file, it will be skipped, saving backup time. The incremental procedure checks the Archive bit attribute of the file. You may want to manually reset the attribute to force a full backup: use the “Set the archive attributes” on the Task menu.

o Differential: The program will check if the source has been changed from the last FULL backup. If there is no need to copy the file, it will be skipped, saving backup time. The differential procedure checks the Archive bit attribute of the file. You may want to manually reset the attribute to force a full backup: use the “Set the archive attributes” on the Task menu.

o Dummy task: This backup doesn’t need a source or a destination. It is useful to use the task just as an scheduler to execute applications, close services, reboot the computer, etc.

* Remotely connect to and manage your backups (Cobian will need to be installed on both the host and client machine to do this). Go to Tools -> Remote Client in Cobian to access this feature.

* Backup to or from a network or FTP location

* Compress your backups using 7-Zip or regular ZIP

o Split the compressed files up into multiple files according to a maximum size that you specify

* You can have multiple source and/or destinations

* You can have a timestamp added to backup filenames so that existing backups are not overwritten

* Perform a variety of actions before and/or after a backup starts:
o Pause for a specified duration
o Start or close a program
o Start or stop a service
o Restart or shutdown the computer

* If you choose to perform an incremental or differential backup you can set Cobian to automatically do a full backup every X backups, where “X” is any number you want.

* It will retrieve files from the Volume Shadow Copy (on XP and Vista) if a file is locked by another application

* You can provide a list of files and/or folders to exclude

* UNICODE support

(.....)

Cobian Backup is a tremendous application that will likely have much, if not all of what you’re looking for. It might take some time to get the backups setup just the way you want, but once you’re done the end result could save you days of frustration. Believe me, in the last two years I’ve had two different hard drives fail on me. If it wasn’t for the regular backups that I performed there could have been a lot of unrecoverable settings, pictures, and documents. Software like Cobian Backup can really come through in a pinch!

Cobian Backup Homepage: http://www.educ.umu....ian/cobianbackup.htm

Note: In this review I was using Cobian Backup 9 Beta.

Copyright © 2008 CyberNet |
-CyberNotes

tomos · « **Reply #44 on:** April 16, 2008, 01:02 PM »

I dont think Cobain will restore your windows though -
that was part of what you wanted, wasnt it?

Curt · « **Reply #45 on:** April 16, 2008, 01:43 PM »

I had it down to look at, but didn't like the options, so I removed it without testing. I have also looked at a great number of other backup programs, but so far I have found none that I like. I will however keep on looking!

Curt · « **Reply #46 on:** April 16, 2008, 01:59 PM »

R-Drive Image was updated again today, so I am giving it a try
- I like it when programs are maintained...

-----

R-Drive seems very competent, but they have made one serious bummer: The program does not offer to auto-shut-down the computer after the backup has been performed!!!

I really find this hard to believe! I simply have to write them, and tell!

MerleOne · « **Reply #47 on:** April 17, 2008, 09:24 AM »

Hey ! I found again the link for a free True Image 8 : seems still valid. http://www.acronis.c....uk/mag/pcpro/ati8pe

And guess where I found it : here on DonationCoder !!!

https://www.donation....msg103981#msg103981

I knew it !!!

mwb1100 · « **Reply #48 on:** April 17, 2008, 10:11 AM »

And you can get a free OEM version of True Image 10 that works only if your machine has a Seagate or Maxtor drive:

https://www.donation...39.msg62502#msg62502