Backup & Restore Software

[Al Bundy]

I am seeking a good backup & restore program to use on my XP desktop and Vista HP laptop. I am currently using the XP backup program but found when I attempted to restore IE only, I received an error message. (Do not recall the exact wording)

Norton Ghost has been recommended but I have noticed quite a few negative comments regarding Norton on a few sites. I have decided to poll the intelligent members of CFI for their suggestions.
Thanks http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[Al Bundy]

I am seeking a good backup & restore program to use on my XP desktop and Vista HP laptop. I am currently using the XP backup program but found when I attempted to restore IE only, I received an error message. (Do not recall the exact wording)

Norton Ghost has been recommended but I have noticed quite a few negative comments regarding Norton on a few sites. I have decided to poll the intelligent members of CFI for their suggestions.
Thanks http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[NakedGary]

http://downloads.zdnet.com/search.aspx?q=restore+and+backup
.

[NakedGary]

http://www.google.com/search?q=Windows%20XP%20backup%20&%20restore
.

[NakedGary]

http://www.google.com/search?q=Vista%20backup%20and%20restore
.

[RalphVa]

I bought Norton Ghost but took it back to the store. I was looking for software that would save my own files, but it wanted to do the whole hard drive, software + my files.

Haven't really found any software that does your own files from say last date done. I just use Explore and backup individual files or folders as I change them to CD and Zip.

Windows XP has its own backup and restore built in. You can restore your entire system back to a certain date. Think you're wasting money on something like Norton Ghost.

[Rabid_Clam]

To copy from one hard drive to a new one Acronis is a good program. Ver 10 and better wil do Vista. But is does have problems with mutiple logical drives. I had to use Partition Magic to get the partitions set where I wanted and even then Acronis would do ony 3 partitions, not more.

So copy all data on logical drives to a DVD or CD first. Then run Acronis to copy the 'C' drive. If you are going to a larger hard drive you need to use the Manual method to change the size of that primary partition. If you have probems with the logical drives after, then simply go into Administrative Tools (control pannel) and Disk Management, and deete the logical drives.

Then use Partition Magic to adjust the size of the 'C' drive. When that is done, then go back to disk management and create the extended partition and then logical drives. You can then copy all data from the DVDs or CDs to these parts.

Is a long drawn out process but this works. XP does not have a good back up at all. Is meant to store back up on tape and just does not work. I really do not know of another process that is successful in copying the whole drive to another or at least the 'C' drive.

Ghost does not work. You will need the ERD disk to make the Ghosted part the active drive or bootable drive where Ghost won't do that on XP. I have used Ghost to refresh systems at work, and it did work fine, don't know what the secret was to do that or what ver of Ghost was used.

So there is my 2cents.

[nfstan]

I am seeking a good backup & restore program to use on my XP desktop and Vista HP laptop. I am currently using the XP backup program but found when I attempted to restore IE only, I received an error message. (Do not recall the exact wording)

Norton Ghost has been recommended but I have noticed quite a few negative comments regarding Norton on a few sites. I have decided to poll the intelligent members of CFI for their suggestions.
Thanks http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

I am using Retrospect Express HD which came bundled with my Maxtor USB drive. It seems to work well. I"ve about given up on the XP backup software.

[mnguy07]

ive had problems with backing up programs like nortan ghost

so i went out and got a external hard drive 180gig and backed everything of mine up, even the fonts

[Sandman]

We use Acronis here at the CFI offices. We love it!

[Rabid_Clam]

Acronis is good. It does have limitations, as I stated in a previous thread or post or reply. I used it to clone an entire hard drive, it did very well but did not make the partitions in the sizes I asked for. But I think Acronis will work on the primary and extended partition, and not the logical drives. That is an issue Acronis will need to deal with.

I have not backed up to a CD or DVD but may do so. Sandman, have you done that with Acronis? And if so, how did it work? Am interested to know to save the whole shebang to disk for archive. Will put it on DVD-RW so can update it over time and not waste tons of disks.

[Sandman]

I have not backup to to CD or DVD. I do all of my backups to another drive on the network or to a USB flash drive. I'm sure it all works just the same though.

[BinCo]

I have about 45Gb of CAD files that I would like to back up from a single drive. I want to make a straight backup to an external drive. NO vaults or compressed files or anything funny, just straight copy. The other thing I want is a system that can copy newer files only after a mass copy.

A long time ago, DOS based Xtree could do these wonderful things. For some reason Microsoft does not think it is required in their explorer.:p Now when I do it with explorer I need to watch the entire time, about 6 hours. If a file fails to copy for any reason, I have to start over again. This includes exe files that need to be "OK'd" every single time :(

Does anyone have any ideas of a better way to do this? I can't emphasize enough that I will not accept anything that creates a vault, like the I/O Magic crap that came with the drive.

[harveym]

Have you tried the 'copy' command in the command window? I prefer using it as it avoids many of the annoying messages that the GUI generates. Also in using the command window you can write a simple batch file to check the date on the existing file and only copy over it if it is different from the new file.
I work mostly in UNIX where it is easy to do such things but I remember that it could be done in DOS too.

I bet that if you check one of the freeware sites, like sourceforge, you could find a utility that will do what you want.

[SymonSez]

I am seeking a good backup & restore program to use on my XP desktop and Vista HP laptop. I am currently using the XP backup program but found when I attempted to restore IE only, I received an error message. (Do not recall the exact wording)

Norton Ghost has been recommended but I have noticed quite a few negative comments regarding Norton on a few sites. I have decided to poll the intelligent members of CFI for their suggestions.
Thanks

Im not sure what you meant by restoring IE only. You should be able to uninstall reinstall IE from Add/Remove Windows Components. I dont think you can just backup IE and restore it because there are probably associated files that it needs to refer to that you probably arent backing up (.dll's). To backup YOUR files, the files that you created, such as word documents, your music, and pictures, they can be backed up fine with the built in Windows backup and saving it to an different drive. If your main drive craps out, no problem, you have all your important files backed up and ready to restore onto your new machine. If you want to get fancier, you can use the 3rd party software such as Backup Exec or the other as mentioned in the previous posts. But that would be serious overkill. All of these create compresed backups. If you want uncompressed backups google up xcopy. Its free but you script it yourself in bat files.

Norton Ghost is built more for full system rebuilds. Say you get a "Blue Screen" or you just feel like your PC is ready for a fresh start. This is what Ghost is for. You build your PC once, load all your software (Drivers, Office, iTunes, updates), take an "image" of it with ghost and you can now reinstall a ready to go Windows system in 15-30 minutes.

Hope this helps..

[Midwest Buck]

I have an ABS Bounceback backup and recovery system.
cmsproducts.com

[unitednudist]

Apple has the best thing in the world for backing up. Its Called Time Machine. I Use it on my PC and on my Macs. It worth every penny.
Room for it all.
Time Capsule is your one place for backing up everything. Its massive 500GB or 1TB server-grade hard drive gives you all the capacity and safety you need. So whether you have 250 songs or 250,000 songs to back up, room is the last thing you’ll run out of. And considering all that storage and protection come packaged in a high-speed Wi-Fi base station starting at $299, data isn’t the only thing you’re saving.

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/01/Time_Capsule_Front_Back.jpg

More than just a wireless hard drive, Time Capsule is also a full-featured AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n technology. Experience a high-speed wireless network and a breakthrough way to back up all the Mac computers on your network. All in one device.

Fits your Wi-Fi lifestyle.
Time Capsule uses the 802.11n draft 2.0 specification, so you can rest assured that it works with certified 802.11n draft 2.0 products. And it’s compatible with Macs and PCs that use 802.11a, b, or g technologies, as well as wireless devices such as iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV.

Print command central.
The included USB port is great for sharing a printer throughout your wireless network. Time Capsule and the Bonjour networking technology let everyone in the house or office — Mac and PC users alike — take advantage of one centrally located printer. And if you want to share both a printer and an additional hard drive, you can. Just connect a USB hub to Time Capsule. Whatever the combination, Time Capsule divides and conquers.

Works with Mac and PC.
Time Capsule with Time Machine in Leopard is the ideal backup solution. But that doesn’t mean Tiger, Windows XP, and Windows Vista users can’t enjoy the benefits of Time Capsule, too. Because it mounts as a wireless hard drive, Tiger and Windows users simply access Time Capsule directly from the wireless network for exchanging and storing files quickly and easily.

Length: 7.7 inches (197 mm)
Width: 7.7 inches (197 mm)
Height: 1.4 inches (36.3 mm)
Weight: 3.5 pounds (1587 grams)1
Security
Wi-Fi Protected Access™ (WPA/WPA2)2
Wireless security (WEP) configurable for 40-bit and 128-bit encryption
MAC address filtering
NAT firewall
Support for RADIUS authentication
802.1X, PEAP, LEAP, TTLS, TLS, FAST
Time-based access control
Electrical
Line voltage: 100-240V AC
Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz, single phase
Maximum continuous power: 30W
Agency approvals
FCC Part 15 Class B, Canada RSS-210, EN 300-328, EN 301-489, EN 301 893, ARIB STD-T66, RCR STD-T33, AS/NZS 4268: 2003, UL 60950, CSA-C22.2 No. 60950
Storage
500GB or 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA server-grade hard disk drive3
Interfaces
One Gigabit Ethernet WAN port for connecting a DSL or cable modem
Three Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports for connecting computers or network devices
USB port for connecting a USB printer or USB external hard drive
802.11n wireless4
Included software and accessories

Tec. Info
AirPort Utility for Mac and Windows
AirPort Disk Utility for Mac and Windows
802.11n Enabler for Mac5
Bonjour for Windows
Power cord
Printed and electronic documentation
Environmental requirements
Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)
Storage temperature: -13° to 140° F ( -25° to 60° C)
Relative humidity (operational): 20% to 80% (non-condensing)
Relative humidity (storage): 10% to 90%
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet
Wireless protocols
Draft 802.11n4
802.11a/b/g
Compatibility
Interoperable with Wi-Fi Certified 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g and 802.11n draft 2.0 Mac computers, Windows-based PCs, and other Wi-Fi devices
NAT, DHCP, PPPoE, VPN Passthrough (IPSec, PPTP, and L2TP), DNS Proxy, SNMP, IPv6 (6to4 and manual tunnels)
Frequency bands
2.4GHz or 5GHz
Radio output power
20 dBm (nominal)
Channels
Channels 1-11, 36-48, and 149-165 approved for use in the United States and Canada
Channels 1-13 and 36-64 approved for use in Japan
Channels 1-13 and 36-140 approved for use in Europe
Channels 1-13, 36-64, and 149-165 approved for use in Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand

[Codewize]

I've been doing a lot of off site stuff with Live Vault. So far so good and well worth the expense.