Multiple Storage Devices - Best way to set up Windows 7 Backup?

[SAS374]

Hi all,
My new Build has the following storage devices:
(1) 120 GB internal SSD Boot Drive, with a few other programs and files also installed
(2) 1 TB internal Hard Drive for downloads and general storage.
(3) 1 TB EXTERNAL Hard drive holding archival files from an old computer that I want to be able to access easily.
(4) 128 GB USB Drive for redundant archiving of miscellaneous old files.

I've just purchased a new 1 TB External Hard Drive to use for daily backup.
I want the daily Backups to include the contents of Drives (1) and (2) only.

What's the best way to proceed? Should I select "Let Windows Choose (recommended)" or "Let me choose"? Any other advice you'd care to offer? All help greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Steve

 

[USAFRet]

First, don't use the Windows thing. It either gets too much, or not enough.

Basically, there are two different classes of things you need to 'back up'
1. The OS and applications
2. Your personal docs. music, video, docs, etc.

Each need to be handled differently, on different schedules.

For the OS and applications. Your SSD. Does not really need to be backed up every day.
Using one of the many imaging applications, Macrium Reflect, DriveimageXML, etc...make an image and store that on the 1TB external. Once a month (or week if you prefer) redo that.


For your personal docs:
SyncBack Free
Point it at source and target folders and drives, give it a schedule, done.

 

[SAS374]

First, don't use the Windows thing. It either gets too much, or not enough.

Basically, there are two different classes of things you need to 'back up'
1. The OS and applications
2. Your personal docs. music, video, docs, etc.

Each need to be handled differently, on different schedules.

For the OS and applications. Your SSD. Does not really need to be backed up every day.
Using one of the many imaging applications, Macrium Reflect, DriveimageXML, etc...make an image and store that on the 1TB external. Once a month (or week if you prefer) redo that.


For your personal docs:
SyncBack Free
Point it at source and target folders and drives, give it a schedule, done.

 

[SAS374]

Thanks for your help.

 

[ArtPog]

Well, let me outline another option for your consideration.

Consider a disk-cloning program to clone the contents of the desired two drives to your new 1 TB USBEHD. Naturally you've already determined that the disk capacity of that USBEHD is sufficient to contain the contents of the two drives as of now and for the foreseeable future, right?

The disk-cloning program I virtually always work with is the Casper 8 program. It's a commercial program that costs $49.99 and AFAIK is available only through the developer. At least I've never seen it advertised by an online vendor. See...http://www.fssdev.com

Using Casper there are a number of approaches one can use for setting up the disk-cloning operation in your situation. I'll detail one. (Naturally it might be different using other disk-cloning programs.)

1. You could initially multi-partition the USBEHD with two partitions - the first partition would be large enough to "service" the 120 GB SSD, your boot drive. So presumably you would create a partition of at least 120 GB.

2. The second partition would contain the remaining disk space so as to be large enough to contain the contents of your internally-connected 1 TB HDD.

3. An enormous advantage of the Casper disk-cloning program is its speed of operation when the program is used on a routine/frequent basis. I've never found a program its equal in this regard and it's the chief reason I use it. It's also simple & straightforward to use and quite reliable in its operation.

So since you've indicated that you desire daily backups of those two drives (a very wise decision which I wish every PC user would follow. If they did, it would probably cut down on the posts to this Forum by 90%!), you would clone the contents of your SSD to the first partition on the USBEHD and of course clone the contents of your other 1 TB HDD to the second partition.

4. If you would do this on a daily basis it would probably take you less than five minutes to complete the disk-cloning operation. Possibly much less depending upon the amount of data being cloned.

And you would have at hand a bootable USBEHD containing all the desired contents of your two internally-connected drives. All the data on the USBEHD would be immediately accessible without the need of any "recovery" operations with the added advantage that the USBEHD device would be bootable. What better backups can one have?

 

[SAS374]

Well, let me outline another option for your consideration.

Consider a disk-cloning program to clone the contents of the desired two drives to your new 1 TB USBEHD. Naturally you've already determined that the disk capacity of that USBEHD is sufficient to contain the contents of the two drives as of now and for the foreseeable future, right?

The disk-cloning program I virtually always work with is the Casper 8 program. It's a commercial program that costs $49.99 and AFAIK is available only through the developer. At least I've never seen it advertised by an online vendor. See...http://www.fssdev.com

Using Casper there are a number of approaches one can use for setting up the disk-cloning operation in your situation. I'll detail one. (Naturally it might be different using other disk-cloning programs.)

1. You could initially multi-partition the USBEHD with two partitions - the first partition would be large enough to "service" the 120 GB SSD, your boot drive. So presumably you would create a partition of at least 120 GB.

2. The second partition would contain the remaining disk space so as to be large enough to contain the contents of your internally-connected 1 TB HDD.

3. An enormous advantage of the Casper disk-cloning program is its speed of operation when the program is used on a routine/frequent basis. I've never found a program its equal in this regard and it's the chief reason I use it. It's also simple & straightforward to use and quite reliable in its operation.

So since you've indicated that you desire daily backups of those two drives (a very wise decision which I wish every PC user would follow. If they did, it would probably cut down on the posts to this Forum by 90%!), you would clone the contents of your SSD to the first partition on the USBEHD and of course clone the contents of your other 1 TB HDD to the second partition.

4. If you would do this on a daily basis it would probably take you less than five minutes to complete the disk-cloning operation. Possibly much less depending upon the amount of data being cloned.

And you would have at hand a bootable USBEHD containing all the desired contents of your two internally-connected drives. All the data on the USBEHD would be immediately accessible without the need of any "recovery" operations with the added advantage that the USBEHD device would be bootable. What better backups can one have?

 

[SAS374]

Thank you very much!!