Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage (
More info?)
"JC" <Jhayi22@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1125244551.501025.78830@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> Hi folks,
>
> There are various methods of backing up via operating systems , using
> "ghost software" to hdd-hdd backup or using "partition magic software".
>
> Appreciate if you can share your experiences what are the methods that
> was used and the pro and cons !
>
>
> thanks in advance
> JC
>
Hi JC
I use Drive Image 7. Its saved the day on a few occasions! (Its now sold as
Symantec Ghost 9 that may have other issues I'm not aware of since I havent
used it).
DI7 The pros:
I can be sure that everything on the drive is saved and not have to worry
about forgetting anything ie files that may have been saved in the wrong
folder.
Its reliable. I have scheduled backups that run every Thursday night. Then
on Friday morning I burn the image segments to DVD-RW.
Its very fast. On my system it takes 40 mins to create and verify an image
of an 18Gb partition to another partition reserved for saving images to. I
once used Nero backup to do the same and it took over 9hrs and I couldnt use
my PC!!! Of course the amount of time it takes will depend on the speed of
your drives and processor and what level of compression is used.
You can save an image of an active system ie the very same drive than DI and
Windows are running from! (Though you should be aware that some files wont
save properly if the files are open eg Outlook Express Message Folders so
its best to close OE before imaging the drive OE messages are saved on.)
You can restore individual files/folders or the whole partition to any
location.
You can password protect the images.
You can browse the contents of the images just like using windows explorer
on an HDD.
The only cons I can think of...
You need to have sufficient drive space to save the images to. I use a
second drive for that very purpose. I wouldnt bother saving directly to DVD
or CD as it takes too long and if the disk write fails you lose the whole
thing so it could be a waste of time. I write to HDD first then use Nero to
copy to DVD later. Thats the only pain but it works. Once in a while I copy
the image segments to hispeed DVD-R and make several copies to store in
different locations.
YMMV but thats my take on it and throughly recommend it.
Guess it depends on how much data you need to backup.
HTH
Ian
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