Backup to external HDD

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rs_cosworth330

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I want to basicly clone my internal disk C: to an external USB hdd. I don't want it to be bootable but I do need to have access to every file. I've tried Win10 cloning but then you only get a big "clone file".

Is there any other good software or solutions out there? I guess if I copy/paste C: to the external drive there are loads of system files that are in use that can not be transfered.

Appreciate all the help :)
 
Solution
USAFRet
"all my files' and "including system files" is two different things.

Yes, most of the current imaging tools will make a full drive image. Casper, Macrium Reflect, Acronis, etc.
But accessing individual files within those images is doable but not necessarily 'easy'.

Macrium, for instance, allows browsing an Image file just like a regular drive letter. A bit slow, however.
But this requires the Macrium client to be installed on whatever machine you are trying to access it from.

There are a couple of file/folder copy applications that will copy designated folders off to a different drive on demand or on a schedule.
FreeFileSync and SyncBackFree, for instance.
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ArtPog

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If you clone your boot drive to a USB external drive (HDD or SSD) generally speaking the clone ("destination" drive) will not be bootable as a USB external drive. Now if you later install the externally-cloned HDD/SSD internally in your system it will be bootable if you boot to that drive upon powering-up the PC. It's simply a matter of choice.

The reason I state it's "generally speaking..." it is possible for the USB-connected external drive to be bootable AS A USB EXTERNAL DEVICE depending on the disk-cloning program and the cloned system.

But it's hard for me to understand your overall reluctance. What does it really matter if the recipient of the clone is a USB external drive and is potentially bootable. Why should that be a negative for you?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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As noted above, what exactly are you wanting to accomplish?
"have access to every file" is not what one would call a "backup". Yes, there are tools that will somewhat do this, but I think you're coming at this from the wrong direction.
 
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rs_cosworth330

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Thank you for the answer. Maybe I was not clear in what I wanted to accomplish. First of all, it doesnt really matter if the destination drive becomes bootable or not. I am not going to use it to replace my internal drive in the future. I'd rather do a clean install when it comes to that.

What I wanted was just a plain backup of all my files that I have on the system [C:]. The reason I want all of the files, including system files etc is because then I don't have to manually choose every single folder/file I want to copy/backup. I just want a copy of my whole drive on to an external USB hdd which I can carry with me and have access to every single folder/file.

The clone disk option in Windows just makes a huge single "clone-file". I want a "mirrored" external hdd with all my files.

Hope that was better explained. Sorry for any bad grammar, English is not my native language.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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"all my files' and "including system files" is two different things.

Yes, most of the current imaging tools will make a full drive image. Casper, Macrium Reflect, Acronis, etc.
But accessing individual files within those images is doable but not necessarily 'easy'.

Macrium, for instance, allows browsing an Image file just like a regular drive letter. A bit slow, however.
But this requires the Macrium client to be installed on whatever machine you are trying to access it from.

There are a couple of file/folder copy applications that will copy designated folders off to a different drive on demand or on a schedule.
FreeFileSync and SyncBackFree, for instance.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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In addition, an actual 'clone' brings permission issues into the mix.

A full clone of your C drive, bootable or not, is exactly that...a clone.
And the /User/ folders within have permissions to your user account on the source OC.
Try to access them from a different system, and you will get Access Denied. Worked around by "Take Ownership", but that may screw up the reclone/recopy you do tomorrow.
 
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gaius_iulius

gaius_iulius

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What you need is syncing of your private files, not a backup of your system drive/partition.

Google "rsync" for the tool you need.
It is open source (i.e. free as in free beer), and it can be set to sync the specified folders/files with a single click. Alternatively you can create a cron job do to automatic syncing at predetermined times.

Pay attention to the special rules which apply to syncing, as opposed to simple copying. (Meaning, read the manual first.)

Cheers,
Gaius
 
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ArtPog

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Please understand that when you use a disk-cloning program to CLONE the contents of your "source" drive - in your case the system's boot drive - the resultant clone on your "destination" drive - the USB external drive is an ACTUAL CLONE OF THE SOURCE DRIVE. For all practical purposes it is a bit-for-bit copy of your source drive; it is NOT a disk-image, "a single folder-file". It is, in effect a "mirror" of your source drive. All the files/folders on the destination drive are immediately accessible in precisely the same way they are with your boot drive. Capiche?
 
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rs_cosworth330

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Thank you all for your answers. Ok, I'm a bit slow and this in depth tech stuff is not my fortè but I think I understand a bit better now.
So doing a basic copy/paste of all the files on [C:] to an external drive will cause some issues regarding permissions etc and will not be readable in 'File explorer' in another PC.
If I do a clone, can that clone work in another PC or will that not work because of Windows license and permissions?

So the best thing for me then I think I just go in manually and choose the folders I need and copy them over to the external drive.
The only thing I need in the system folders is my apps/programs and Windows Mail. Anything else that is good to have backup of? (Except for my documents/pictures etc of course)
 
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ArtPog

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We'll give this one more shot...

When you clone the contents of your boot drive to another drive - say a USB external drive - the objective is that you have a comprehensive copy of your boot drive. This "exercise" is NOT designed for some other objective that involves the destination drive - the recipient of the clone - "work" in another PC. There are instances where it may - or may not. There's no way to tell. But do you not understand that this is not the basic objective of this disk-cloning process? It's specifically designed so you have at hand a complete comprehensive backup of your system so that in the event your source boot drive becomes defective or the system is dysfunctional because of a corrupted OS you have the means at hand to restore your system to a bootable, functional system once again.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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1. A full clone to an external drive will not simply boot up if attached to other hardware.
2. Your "apps/programs", copied to an external, also will not work from that location.
Some few small applications will work that way, but a LOT of them will simply fail to run.
 
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