[SOLVED] PC backup imaging software that can run from USB and exclude folders?

[zoobooboozoo]

Hi all,
I'm interested in backing up my PC regularly without installing the backup software on it(I use it to perform live and I do my best to religiously keep it clean, especially of services...). I want to image the system disk incrementaly and be able to exclude one folder. any recommendations?
ASAIK:

• Macrium can't exclude folders
• Veeam can't run from usb and cannot exclude folders
• Acronis true image can do both but is not to be trusted(???)

Correct me if I'm wrong or offer another software?
All the best

 

[TheJoker2020]

Acronis.

Why do you not trust Acronis.? You are the first person I have ever seen that has said that.!

 

[zoobooboozoo]

Acronis.

Why do you not trust Acronis.? You are the first person I have ever seen that has said that.!

Perhaps my choice of words was not appropriate, I just read some different stuff online about how it's unreliable for recovering from the images - the 3 question marks are there to state that I'm not sure at all about it myself...

 

[USAFRet]

Question - Why excluding this one folder?

 

[USAFRet]

Possibly put that folder in a different partition or physical drive. This would make images with Macrium seamless. Select the whole drive except that one partition.

 

[zoobooboozoo]

Question - Why excluding this one folder?

the thing is some of my folders have 100s of GBs of stock content that comes with software I work with - and I don't want to backup that since I can easily download it again if I need to and can't spare so much space for backup. that's why I need an image with a folder exclusion.

Possibly put that folder in a different partition or physical drive. This would make images with Macrium seamless. Select the whole drive except that one partition.

I though about that. I heard it can damage the SSD life or slow it down - any truth in that?

Thanks for the help!

 

[USAFRet]

the thing is some of my folders have 100s of GBs of stock content that comes with software I work with - and I don't want to backup that since I can easily download it again if I need to and can't spare so much space for backup. that's why I need an image with a folder exclusion.


I though about that. I heard it can damage the SSD life or slow it down - any truth in that?

Thanks for the help!

It will NOT slow it down or damage it.

Unlike an HDD, partitions on an SSD are merely logical. It shows you the delineation, but where the data actually resides is up to the drive firmware.

An HDD, partitions are actual physical spaces.

The prime killer of SD lifespan?
Filing it up too much.


As far as "100s of GBs of stock content"....an 8TB external drive can be had for as little as $130.
https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Desktop-External-Hard-Drive/dp/B07CQJBSQL



Either put that data in a different partition ($0) or drive, or get a larger backup location.
Trying to exclude a single folder is making this routine far harder than it needs to be.

 

[TheJoker2020]

Perhaps my choice of words was not appropriate, I just read some different stuff online about how it's unreliable for recovering from the images - the 3 question marks are there to state that I'm not sure at all about it myself...

I have been using Acronis for 3-years, I had a problem with it not reading an image that I needed access to, or the backup copy of that image on a different drive.

I put them aside and created a whole new image, that could not be read either.

I contacted A Toni's (live online chat), they suggested that the software had become corrupted (multiple PC crashes due to over locking is my guess). I uninstalled it, downloaded and installed (a newer version) and hey presto, I could read all of my images again.

So yes, there can be problems, other than this, it has been flawless and intact I ran it last week to scrub over a virus that I had acquired and didn't trust the AV to have truly gotten rid of, that worked flawlessly 👍

FYI, if you are wanting a straight-up backup program, I absolutely love "Karen's Replicator". It is hands on (read totally manual setup) but that gives total control, it also doesn't mess around with compressed files etc. I run this as well (scheduled twice per day) for my documents, pictures etc.

Never found a straight-up backup program that I like, trust and does what I want, I have tried many. Anyway that is off on a tangent and is in no way imaging software.

I hope this helps.

PS:. You can try a full version of Acronis for a month (or 3) and then decide, that is where I started with Acronis.

 

[USAFRet]

FYI, if you are wanting a straight-up backup program, I absolutely love "Karen's Replicator". It is hands on (read totally manual setup) but that gives total control, it also doesn't mess around with compressed files etc. I run this as well (scheduled twice per day) for my documents, pictures etc.

Is this good for the OS drive as well? Boot partition, etc.

FreeFileSync and SyncBackFree also do individual selected folders.
I've used them in the past, but now just on Macrium with full drive images.

 

[zoobooboozoo]

It will NOT slow it down or damage it.

Unlike an HDD, partitions on an SSD are merely logical. It shows you the delineation, but where the data actually resides is up to the drive firmware.

An HDD, partitions are actual physical spaces.

The prime killer of SD lifespan?
Filing it up too much.

Interesting about SSDs, I'm curious - if that's how partitions work than how does an image 'knows' to backup only one partition propely? - just intersted...

As far as "100s of GBs of stock content"....an 8TB external drive can be had for as little as $130.
https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Desktop-External-Hard-Drive/dp/B07CQJBSQL

These GBs are better off on an ssd cause they get loaded frequently(not all of them all the time, but most of them some of the time) and an 8TB ssd is too much atm

Either put that data in a different partition ($0) or drive, or get a larger backup location.
Trying to exclude a single folder is making this routine far harder than it needs to be.

Looks like the partition way is the best way at the moment-either that or live with a big ass backup.

can you recommend a backuping software I can run from a stick? is macrium better then acronis? or maybe another one?

 

[USAFRet]

Interesting about SSDs, I'm curious - if that's how partitions work than how does an image 'knows' to backup only one partition propely? - just intersted...

The OS knows about the partitions.
The drive and the data on it does the translation.
The drive and its chips/cells are a black box to the user and OS.

And where parts of your .doc file are today is not where they will be tomorrow.

In Macrium, you can select/deselect any partition that is presented to you.

 

[zoobooboozoo]

Great, thanks for all the help guys!

 

[TheJoker2020]

Is this good for the OS drive as well? Boot partition, etc.

FreeFileSync and SyncBackFree also do individual selected folders.
I've used them in the past, but now just on Macrium with full drive images.

No, Karen's Replicator literally copies a folder from one place to another, that's it, that's all it does, no imaging capability.

But it is very good at what it does and has a load of useful options and scheduling options.

 

[USAFRet]

No, Karen's Replicator literally copies a folder from one place to another, that's it, that's all it does, no imaging capability.

But it is very good at what it does and has a load of useful options and scheduling options.

OK.
Similar to the two I posted.

I'll have to look into it.

 

[Grobe]

Given the information so far

• OS : Not specified - can be *nix
• Some words on "lot of application" - in that ball park, it tends to means probably windows, but still not directly spoken

Therefore - I can answer this straight out: If that OS just happens to be Linux, then there is the perfect tool for the job - namely rsync. It runs from terminal (not DOS, similar but way more powerful), it ships with virtually every Linux distros.