Dr. Love Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I'm looking for suggestions for what sort of backup scheme to implement for my home computer. I don't do anything too major on it, but I do have all of my Quicken data that I really need to protect (that file is relatively easy). However, there is a lot of stuff that I'd like to backup, if it were easy and cheap. I've got about 15 GB of music and all of downloaded programs that I use (including registration codes). Would something that burns an "image" be the best for these applications? I don't really know how those work, which is why I ask. Any input is appreciated. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I'm looking for suggestions for what sort of backup scheme to implement for my home computer. I don't do anything too major on it, but I do have all of my Quicken data that I really need to protect (that file is relatively easy). However, there is a lot of stuff that I'd like to backup, if it were easy and cheap. I've got about 15 GB of music and all of downloaded programs that I use (including registration codes). Would something that burns an "image" be the best for these applications? I don't really know how those work, which is why I ask. Any input is appreciated. Thanks. 1296373[/snapback] Quickest and easiest is good software and a DVD burner. It should take about 4-5 DVDs to back off all your data. The other "easy" way to handle it is to get another hard drive and have a script that executes each day copy your data over to the second hard drive (a cheap man's RAID) There are other more complex and expensive schemes that can be used, but most are overkill for what your trying to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Quickest and easiest is good software and a DVD burner. It should take about 4-5 DVDs to back off all your data. The other "easy" way to handle it is to get another hard drive and have a script that executes each day copy your data over to the second hard drive (a cheap man's RAID) There are other more complex and expensive schemes that can be used, but most are overkill for what your trying to do. 1296382[/snapback] Why a DVD burner and not a CD burner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 (edited) You have so many options these days, here are a few: 1. USB pen drive, up to a few gig. These cost around $100, plug right into your usb port, and you can just copy and paste into it. 2. External hard drive. Same as above. 3. Backup scripts. I have one that I can send you. It backs up everything in "My Documents", MS Outlook, and your Favorites. 4. CD/DVD burners. Edited January 30, 2006 by Cherni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Quickest and easiest is good software and a DVD burner. It should take about 4-5 DVDs to back off all your data. The other "easy" way to handle it is to get another hard drive and have a script that executes each day copy your data over to the second hard drive (a cheap man's RAID) There are other more complex and expensive schemes that can be used, but most are overkill for what your trying to do. 1296382[/snapback] You might want to elaborate if you use a term like RAID Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Why a DVD burner and not a CD burner? 1296385[/snapback] He said 15 GIG of data. Takes a lot of CDs to capture that. For smaller data requirements CD burners are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 You might want to elaborate if you use a term like RAID 1296390[/snapback] Feh. If they want to know they can Google it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Feh. If they want to know they can Google it. 1296395[/snapback] LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Why a DVD burner and not a CD burner? 1296385[/snapback] Size. CDs carry ~650 megabytes, DVDs carry ~4 gigabytes. It means less disk shuffling and less of them to have around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 (edited) He said 15 GIG of data. Takes a lot of CDs to capture that. For smaller data requirements CD burners are fine. 1296394[/snapback] Ahhh. I see. What's the difference in data capacity between a DVD and a CD? I know I could look it up but I'm quite sure you know this off the top of your head. Edit: Thanks Ursa. Now that's service. Your questions get answered before you ask them. GB the tailgate. Edited January 30, 2006 by Hugh 0ne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Ahhh. I see. What's the difference in data capacity between a DVD and a CD? I know I could look it up but I'm quite sure you know this off the top of your head. 1296399[/snapback] DVD's = 4.7 GB CDR's = 800 MB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Love Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks guys. I do know what a RAID is. I'd rather not have to burn 5 DVD's every time I back up, if that's possible. Would something that makes an "image" that can be burned on to one DVD work, or am I SOL and stuck with burning several DVD's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Ahhh. I see. What's the difference in data capacity between a DVD and a CD? I know I could look it up but I'm quite sure you know this off the top of your head. 1296399[/snapback] Ursa mentioned it above. 650-700 MB per CD approx 4 GIG per DVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 2. External hard drive. Same as above. 3. Backup scripts. I have one that I can send you. It backs up everything in "My Documents", MS Outlook, and your Favorites. 1296387[/snapback] That's the best option as far as I'm concerned. My kid bought a 250GB external for ~$130 a couple weeks ago. Backup scripts can be got from the Internet, or simply use xcopy with a few switches and schedule it to run every night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks guys. I do know what a RAID is. I'd rather not have to burn 5 DVD's every time I back up, if that's possible. Would something that makes an "image" that can be burned on to one DVD work, or am I SOL and stuck with burning several DVD's? 1296402[/snapback] Spend $100 and get a 150 GB USB external hard drive. Best bang for your buck and it's extremely easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks guys. I do know what a RAID is. I'd rather not have to burn 5 DVD's every time I back up, if that's possible. Would something that makes an "image" that can be burned on to one DVD work, or am I SOL and stuck with burning several DVD's? 1296402[/snapback] If you need to back up 15 GB of data for the first time, you'll need 5 DVDs, an external HD, or a USB thumb drive. Once you've done the initial backup, you only need to add files that have been added or changed and a script or xcopy can sort that out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks guys. I do know what a RAID is. I'd rather not have to burn 5 DVD's every time I back up, if that's possible. Would something that makes an "image" that can be burned on to one DVD work, or am I SOL and stuck with burning several DVD's? 1296402[/snapback] Something that makes an image will take a byte by byte picture of your hard drive and then compress it. While there is some space savings, you'll still need multiple DVDs to get your whole image backed off. The exact number depends on the size of the Hard drive and the amount of data on it. I've used Ghost extensively and it works great for creating a baseline image of a computer. It is not so good for backup. It works much better in a networked environment or a multiple HD configuration than it does on a standalone PC with a single hard drive. Also, you'll need special software to look at any of the files on the DVDs because they are compressed. The bottom line is that you can do it, but this is not an efficient use of the software unless you want to learn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I'd rather not have to burn 5 DVD's every time I back up, Then don't backup the same 15GB of MP3's each. DVD Burner is best, this way you can also take a backup offsite. One DVD holds about 6 CD's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Then don't backup the same 15GB of MP3's each. DVD Burner is best, this way you can also take a backup offsite. One DVD holds about 6 CD's. 1296413[/snapback] This is a home pc, not Morgan Stanley. I'm sure offsite storage of the backup isn't necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Thanks guys. I do know what a RAID is. I'd rather not have to burn 5 DVD's every time I back up, if that's possible. Would something that makes an "image" that can be burned on to one DVD work, or am I SOL and stuck with burning several DVD's? 1296402[/snapback] You know what RAID is, but can't figure out how to backup 15 GB of data? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I'm sure offsite storage of the backup isn't necessary. Until a theif steals the home machine and external drive. Or fire. Or hurricane. If its not important, then why backup at all? I am sure his quicken data isn't important. Anything else to add douchebreath? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 (edited) Lots of good advice here. I would have said DVD burner right away as well. An external HD does have its appeal as well. If you went with an imaging program like Ghost, I wonder what that image would compress down to. Ghost used to come with Ghost Explorer that you could use to look through .gho files. I think getting an external HD and running a script is a slick and extremely simple way to do it. I run a RAID 5 on my server and back up my %username% data files to the server via script. I can almost remember the days when I could image my machine and send to a 2GB Jazz drive and it would fit with room to spare. Edited January 30, 2006 by Seattle LawDawg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 (edited) Until a theif steals the home machine and external drive. Or fire. Or hurricane. If its not important, then why backup at all? I am sure his quicken data isn't important. Anything else to add douchebreath? 1296429[/snapback] First of all, take it easy. Now that we got that out of the way, I was just saying that offsite backup isn't normally necessary for home users and their MP3's. While you're at it, why don't you draw up a disaster recovery plan for him? You need to chill the F out man. Edited January 30, 2006 by Cherni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 :pulls up chair and bowl of popcorn: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cherni Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 :pulls up chair and bowl of popcorn: 1296438[/snapback] LOL. It's not going that far Hugh. It's not worth my time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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