Systems Image vs. Using Software To Backup Drive?

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Alexk492

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1. I bought a 4tb external hard drive and I was wondering if I should use the software that came with the drive to backup my whole system, or use a system image. I want to backup my whole system incase if my internal hard drive fails. Which one would be best if I wanted to save my data from being wiped? Or does it not matter?

2. Does system restore use the system image, or how is a system image used/opened?
 
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

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Creating an image of the entire system hard drive is my preferred method of ensuring that I can restore my system even in the event of hard drive failure. Only an entire HDD image can do that.

I use "paid for" imaging software (Active@ Disk Image) but there are free alternatives such as Clonezilla:
http://clonezilla.org/

System Restore cannot restore a system after HDD failure, for obvious reasons, as it wouldn't be available if the hard drive fails.

Can't comment on the backup software you got bundled with the drive since I've no idea what that software is.
 
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RolandJS

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Macrium Reflect, Image for Windows, AOMEI Backupper are just three more programs to look at. I make full images of my OS and Data partitions routinely onto external media. I have restored the OS partition a few times, so I am glad my data is always on separate partitions, separate full images.
 
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Alexk492

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The system image would be on an external hard drive. If my internal hard drive fails, how would I use the external hard drive's system image?

The software bundled with my drive is 'Western Digital Backup', I'm not a big fan of it as it gets stuck preparing to backup. I only need the backup for recovery if my internal hard drive fails, or if my computer gets messed up and can't turn on. Is it best to use system image for that purpose?
 
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

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Disk-Imaging software includes a utility to create a bootable CD (or USB pen drive, but I use CD). You use this to both create an image or to recover your system from an image you created earlier.

When you've installed a new hard drive for example, you boot your PC from the bootable CD & it runs the imaging software in DOS or WinPE so you can choose an image to restore from.

I don't use proprietary software to back up my data, I back it up manually (copy/paste or drag'n drop) to four external hard drives (same backups on each drive) - - I don't save any of my data on my PC's internal HDD, that's essential to avoid my HDD images getting ridiculously large & time-consuming in creation & recovery.
 
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RolandJS

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Phillip, are you leaving your external HD, your data HD, attached to the computer? If so, you might consider a backup of your backup which is then unattached and stored elsewhere. Or, did I misunderstand your informative post? By the way, like you, I also use usb and dvd boots during restores :)
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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My current backup routine:

Macrium Reflect
Each drive, across my 3 main systems, gets a Full image, and then Incrementals every night for 2 weeks.
This is written to the NAS box. 4 x 3TB drives, RAID 5 = 8TB effective space.
At the end of that 2 weeks, all those incrementals are rolled into a Full image, and then deleted.

The C drive in my main machine is approx 150GB used. A Macrium Reflect image, across the LAN to the NAS box, takes about 16 minutes to complete.

Weekly, that entire NAS volume gets backed up to a USB connected 8TB drive.
This does a compare, and only writes that which is new, changed, etc. So it doesn't take forever to do this.
This USB drive is powered off.

The only manual part of this process is to physically power up the 8TB USB drive the night before the weekly backup.
Everything else runs unattended on a schedule.
 
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

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I have my data on four external hard drives (same data on each of the four drives). If three backups isn't enough then I don't know what is!

None of my external hard drives is connected until I need to use them to access or copy data.

One of them (the portable one) is stored away safely in a drawer,

The other three are desktop models with a power-brick so I leave them in-situ but with USB leads disconnected from the hub, it would be impractical to store them away on a regular basis, not to mention totally unnecessary. It would probably do them more harm than good to keep carrying them to/from my computer.

Your the first one to question my backup arrangements, I see nothing wrong with it.
 
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RolandJS

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"...Your the first one to question my backup arrangements, I see nothing wrong with it..." I totally agree! You are way above my paygrade for backups! I thought I saw a tiny "hole", however, I was wrong :) I did not see that you had a NAS setup, which is very nice and thorough.
 
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Alexk492

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Alright, let me get this straight. To backup my whole system, I should use system image using backup and restore in the control panel, and put the system image on an external hard drive.
https://i.imgur.com/YAfbb5B.png

Then make a system repair disc. https://i.imgur.com/yeW4DPy.png

So if my internal hard drive fails, I can put in the recovery disc and run system image recovery after getting a new internal hard drive installed. After it finishes, my PC will look exactly the same as the day I made the system image backup, correct?

Is this all correct?
 
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