Backing Up 2 internal drives with partitioning.

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Boston Stump

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Just built my first computer and all is working well. However i want to protect it and prevent future heartbreak as best as i can. I decided to buy a 1TB hard drive to backup my files.
I have two hard drives installed:
120GB SSD, "Universe" - Windows 7, Drivers, updates, etc. are all installed here
1TB HDD, "Hercules" - for games, music etc
In the process of homework before buying parts etc i read stuff about partitioning. to my understanding, when you partition a drive, you effectively split it into two drives?
-----------------------------

QUESTION A:
(if that is the case) i was wondering-could i partition my External 1tb HDD, named "Mirror", to split into 100GB & 900GB, and then backup:
120GB SSD onto 100GB partition,
&
1TB HDD onto 900GB partition.

QUESTION B:
alternatively i could backup "Universe" SSD onto "Hercules" HDD and then backup to the external.
it would look like this:
(internal) 120GB SSD "Universe" = operating system etc
(internal) 1TB HDD "Hercules" = games, music & "universe" backup
(external) 1TB HDD "Mirror" = "Hercules" backup (which contains "universe" backup)

-----------------------
if both can be done easily, which option would you advise?
i hope i made this as simple to read as possible!
or if neither are possible, what should i do? thanks in advance,
Joe
 
Solution
SuperSoph_WD


Hi again!

To answer your first question, Yes.
If you backup your SSD to the Hercules HDD, you will be able to use the remaining space however you want.

A backup is the routine of copying files/data onto another device/cloud/platform, so that they will be preserved in case of failure on the primary...
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ss202sl

Glorious
May 23, 2012
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A couple of things. For the OS, you want to take an image of the drive. It can be a compressed image, and a 120 GB drive should fit a 100GB partition, but since you will just have the image file, partitioning the backup drive won't matter.

backups are good, but you may leaving yourself open to a catastrophic failure. If the system burns up in a fire, or gets flooded, you may lose all your data drives plus your backup drive(if it's in the same place). The better solution(question B) is to backup to an external drive, and then keep it off-site except for the times you're updating the backup. Some people get 2 external drives, and swap them out so one is always of-site.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there, Joe!

When you partition a drive, you split it in 2 logical drives, but it's still one and the same physical drive.
So if it fails, you wouldn't be able to save either one of the partitions.

I'd go with Option B, because I like the idea of having a back up of the back up.
That's how you are going to be sure that you are extra-secured when it comes to your data.
I'd make the system image and the system repair disc on the "Mirror" as well, that way if your SSD fails, you will be able to restore OS data.
I really like what you've done with the names of the drives. :)

Hope I was able to help.
Feel free to ask if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Boston Stump

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Firstly thank you both for the quick and helpful replies,
And maybe I should have mentioned I'm fairly new to all this stuff :)

So, if I backup a full 120GB Universe onto an empty 1TB Hercules, will I be able to use the remaining 880GB of Hercules space to carry on storing future music and games as normal?

What's the difference between backup, system image, system repair disk?

All hard drives deserve names :)
Thanks!
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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Hi again!

To answer your first question, Yes.
If you backup your SSD to the Hercules HDD, you will be able to use the remaining space however you want.

A backup is the routine of copying files/data onto another device/cloud/platform, so that they will be preserved in case of failure on the primary storage. You have the exact same files on a different location. A lot of users neglect the importance of a backup, until they lose all their data.

A system image is a backup of your operating system. It includes settings, programs and system files. It is a type of backup, that packs your entire OS into one large file, which can be restored in case your primary drive fails.

So basically here the difference is that with a regular backup, you can for example restore a document you accidentally deleted, while with the system image you will restore everything because it is an exact copy of your entire drive in one big file.
Here's a link that might explain it even better:
http://www.andyrathbone.com/2010/02/19/system-image-vs-regular-backup-in-windows-7/

A system repair disk is an option present in all Windows OS. It basically saves you when your OS is not running properly. So instead of re-installing the OS to its original condition, this system repair disk gives you several options when you insert it into the computer:
Startup repair - it repairs any missing or damaged files that are preventing Windows from starting
System restore - it restores your computer to an earlier point of time (it gives you dates when there were significant changes made to the computer, that may have damaged it). It won't affect your files/data.
System image recovery - this is where the created system image takes its toll. It saves your life, it will return your computer to the condition it was when you last made the System image backup.
Windows Memory Diagnostic tool - this is a feature that examines any hardware problems and your memory for errors.
Command prompt - it gives you access to the command prompt where you can type commands to examine/scan/test problems that may have occurred.

Hope I explained it clearly and was able to answer your questions!
SuperSoph_WD
 
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Boston Stump

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A system repair disk is an option present in all Windows OS. It basically saves you when your OS is not running properly. So instead of re-installing the OS to its original condition, this system repair disk gives you several options when you insert it into the computer:
Startup repair - it repairs any missing or damaged files that are preventing Windows from starting
System restore - it restores your computer to an earlier point of time (it gives you dates when there were significant changes made to the computer, that may have damaged it). It won't affect your files/data.
System image recovery - this is where the created system image takes its toll. It saves your life, it will return your computer to the condition it was when you last made the System image backup.
Windows Memory Diagnostic tool - this is a feature that examines any hardware problems and your memory for errors.
Command prompt - it gives you access to the command prompt where you can type commands to examine/scan/test problems that may have occurred.

Hope I explained it clearly and was able to answer your questions!
SuperSoph_WD
Click to expand...
great! - that definitely helped understand exactly what the differences are.
- So a backup isn't much more than a Copy>Paste of files i really don't want to loose
- And a System Image is like a time machine that does a MASSIVE "Undo" back to how Windows 7 works now.

I will make a system image of UniverseC: onto HerculesB:
I will then have Mirror as an exact duplicate of HerculesB: and also use it to move my photographs and files between computers.

Thankyou! :)
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
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Hey there again, Boston Stump!

That's right! I'm glad I was able to help you!
Really awesome storage solution for your PC build!
Happy computing and best of luck! :bounce:
SuperSoph_WD
 
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