2nd HD - mirroring

[bill]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

OS - Windows XP Home SP2
Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD

this is my idea:

buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some guidance.

Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?

I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products - UNLESS -
those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this purpose.

Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
I think Windows should pick it up ok.

Any/all suggestions appreciated

TIA
Bill

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

You would be better off using an external drive for backups.

Examples:

Maxtor OneTouch II
http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.ba88f6d7cf664718376049b291346068/?channelpath=/en_us/Products/External%20Hard%20Drives/OneTouch%20II%20Family/Maxtor%20OneTouch%20II%20FireWire%20and%20USB

Western Digital Dual-Option Media Center
http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=77

Where to Buy
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=414

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Bill" wrote:

| OS - Windows XP Home SP2
| Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD
|
| this is my idea:
|
| buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
| Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some guidance.
|
| Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?
|
| I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products - UNLESS -
| those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this purpose.
|
| Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
| I think Windows should pick it up ok.
|
| Any/all suggestions appreciated
|
| TIA
| Bill

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Yes Acronis TrueImage will work very well for backing up to a second drive.

check here http://compreviews.about.com/od/tutorials/ss/DIYSecHD.htm

When partitioning and formatting you should partition as a Logical drive not
a Primary drive and make certain the drive is formatted as NTFS. You need
NTFS as FAT32 can't handle files larger than 4GB and full system backup
often exceen 4GBs.

--

Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"Bill" <smile@here.com> wrote in message
news:ehmTvcXqFHA.3424@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> OS - Windows XP Home SP2
> Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD
>
> this is my idea:
>
> buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
> Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some guidance.
>
> Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?
>
> I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products - UNLESS -
> those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this
> purpose.
>
> Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
> I think Windows should pick it up ok.
>
> Any/all suggestions appreciated
>
> TIA
> Bill
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Bill" <smile@here.com> wrote in message
news:ehmTvcXqFHA.3424@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> OS - Windows XP Home SP2
> Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD
>
> this is my idea:
>
> buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
> Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some guidance.
>
> Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?
>
> I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products - UNLESS -
> those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this
> purpose.
>
> Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
> I think Windows should pick it up ok.
>
> Any/all suggestions appreciated
>

Acronis TI works great. I have used both and prefer TI. Other's like Ghost
better. You have your terminology mixed up a little. Mirroring (RAID 1) is a
real time duplication of data on two drives. If one quits the other will
take over. It is not a backup method. TI and Ghost do disk imaging and
cloning. They are better for backups because you can use external media like
USB drives, CD/DVD drives, etc. This allows you to have multiple copies of
your backups and also keep the backups somewhere other than on the computer.
If you use an internal drive for a backup you should also have an external
method. What happens in case of fire, theft, power supply melt down etc. You
loose your backup if it is internal.

Kerry

 

[anna]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

> "Bill" <smile@here.com> wrote in message
> news:ehmTvcXqFHA.3424@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>> OS - Windows XP Home SP2
>> Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD
>>
>> this is my idea:
>>
>> buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
>> Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some guidance.
>>
>> Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?
>>
>> I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products - UNLESS -
>> those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this
>> purpose.
>>
>> Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
>> I think Windows should pick it up ok.
>>
>> Any/all suggestions appreciated
>>
>> TIA
>> Bill



"Default User" <harry---@webtree.ca> wrote in message
news:eLaog0XqFHA.3352@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> Yes Acronis TrueImage will work very well for backing up to a second
> drive.
>
> check here http://compreviews.about.com/od/tutorials/ss/DIYSecHD.htm
>
> When partitioning and formatting you should partition as a Logical drive
> not a Primary drive and make certain the drive is formatted as NTFS. You
> need NTFS as FAT32 can't handle files larger than 4GB and full system
> backup often exceen 4GBs.
> --
> Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
> www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


Harry:
As you and Kerry Brown (in another posting to this thread) have pointed out,
Acronis True Image is a fine product for the OP to use in cloning the
contents of his working drive to a second drive for backup purposes;
however, I'm puzzled by your comment that the user should format his second
(the destination) drive NTFS (rather than FAT32) because his backup will
undoubtedly exceed 4 GB and FAT32 will not be able to cope with that because
of its 4 GB limitation.

When the user undertakes the disk-to-disk cloning process with ATI, the file
system of his source disk (the Raptor) will be incorporated in the resulting
clone. There is no need to partition/format the second (destination) drive
in this situation. Presumably the OP's source disk is NTFS-formatted, as in
most cases it should be. But should the OP's source disk be formatted FAT32
(for whatever reason), that file system (regardless of size) would remain
intact when the user clones the drive to his second (destination) drive.
Anna

 

[bill]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Thank you all for the replies. I am going to look at the different options
suggested and do what appears to meet my needs best.

Thanks Again,

Bill





"Bill" <smile@here.com> wrote in message
news:ehmTvcXqFHA.3424@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
OS - Windows XP Home SP2
Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD

this is my idea:

buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some guidance.

Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?

I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products - UNLESS -
those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this purpose.

Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
I think Windows should pick it up ok.

Any/all suggestions appreciated

TIA
Bill

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Bill wrote:
> OS - Windows XP Home SP2
> Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD
>
> this is my idea:
>
> buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
> Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some
> guidance.

Do you just want the drive explicitly for mirroring/backup? If so, I'd
recommend getting a hardware IDE raid card. They are quite cheap now.

>
> Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?

Never used it.

>
> I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products -
> UNLESS - those in the know tell me it is better than other software
> for this purpose.

I use Ghost a lot, for disk-to-disk cloning, and it works great.

>
> Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
> I think Windows should pick it up ok.

If you use a hardware IDE Raid card, you won't see the second hard disk in
Windows. All the mirroring is done at a hardware level.

>
> Any/all suggestions appreciated

I'd go with hardware Raid.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Well, let's get some more things out in the open if possible. The HD you're
talking about is of SCSI variety to begin with.
Mirroring is a RAID 0 function involving two hard drives. This can be done
with hardware RAID controller, or with software. Whether your onboard SCSI
controller had onboard hardware RAID or not, check with Dell. RAID is
invisible to the user once established.

Cloning is something else, requires user interaction.
Imaging is something else again, requires user interaction.
Scheduling of cloning or imaging routines requires user interaction.
Most imaging programs (TI/Ghost for instance) are capable of cloning hard
drives. None can mirror.

"Bill" <smile@here.com> wrote in message
news:ehmTvcXqFHA.3424@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> OS - Windows XP Home SP2
> Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD
>
> this is my idea:
>
> buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
> Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some guidance.
>
> Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?
>
> I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products - UNLESS -
> those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this
purpose.
>
> Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
> I think Windows should pick it up ok.
>
> Any/all suggestions appreciated
>
> TIA
> Bill
>
>

 

[bill]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Dave,

You are correct - my use of mirroring was wrong - I learned that yesterday.
I installed a 2nd HD (G) and use True Image to create an image or clone of
my main HD (C)
all in all I learned a lot yesterday.................................it was
a very good day.

Bill


"Lil' Dave" <spamyourself@virus.net> wrote in message
news:eOXznijqFHA.3644@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
Well, let's get some more things out in the open if possible. The HD you're
talking about is of SCSI variety to begin with.
Mirroring is a RAID 0 function involving two hard drives. This can be done
with hardware RAID controller, or with software. Whether your onboard SCSI
controller had onboard hardware RAID or not, check with Dell. RAID is
invisible to the user once established.

Cloning is something else, requires user interaction.
Imaging is something else again, requires user interaction.
Scheduling of cloning or imaging routines requires user interaction.
Most imaging programs (TI/Ghost for instance) are capable of cloning hard
drives. None can mirror.

"Bill" <smile@here.com> wrote in message
news:ehmTvcXqFHA.3424@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> OS - Windows XP Home SP2
> Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD
>
> this is my idea:
>
> buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
> Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some guidance.
>
> Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?
>
> I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products - UNLESS -
> those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this
purpose.
>
> Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
> I think Windows should pick it up ok.
>
> Any/all suggestions appreciated
>
> TIA
> Bill
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

If available, hardware RAID, RAID 0 is the way to go. Totally invisible and
requires no user intervention once established. Those SCSI drives ain't
cheap, put 'em to work.
"Bill" <smile@here.com> wrote in message
news:uWXo9xnqFHA.2696@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
> Dave,
>
> You are correct - my use of mirroring was wrong - I learned that
yesterday.
> I installed a 2nd HD (G) and use True Image to create an image or clone of
> my main HD (C)
> all in all I learned a lot yesterday.................................it
was
> a very good day.
>
> Bill
>
>
> "Lil' Dave" <spamyourself@virus.net> wrote in message
> news:eOXznijqFHA.3644@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> Well, let's get some more things out in the open if possible. The HD
you're
> talking about is of SCSI variety to begin with.
> Mirroring is a RAID 0 function involving two hard drives. This can be
done
> with hardware RAID controller, or with software. Whether your onboard
SCSI
> controller had onboard hardware RAID or not, check with Dell. RAID is
> invisible to the user once established.
>
> Cloning is something else, requires user interaction.
> Imaging is something else again, requires user interaction.
> Scheduling of cloning or imaging routines requires user interaction.
> Most imaging programs (TI/Ghost for instance) are capable of cloning hard
> drives. None can mirror.
>
> "Bill" <smile@here.com> wrote in message
> news:ehmTvcXqFHA.3424@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> > OS - Windows XP Home SP2
> > Machine - Dell XPS Gen 5 w/Raptor 74GB, 10K HD
> >
> > this is my idea:
> >
> > buy another Raptor HD to install for ''mirroring''/backup purposes.
> > Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for some
guidance.
> >
> > Is True Image by Aconis a good software buy for this application?
> >
> > I know Norton has GHOST, but I am not a fan of Norton products -
UNLESS -
> > those in the know tell me it is better than other software for this
> purpose.
> >
> > Any things I should be aware of when installing the HD?
> > I think Windows should pick it up ok.
> >
> > Any/all suggestions appreciated
> >
> > TIA
> > Bill
> >
> >
>
>
>