Need opinions on backup software

[PeteKoch]

Last Friday, my computer died. It was an old eMachines that I had for 8 years, was running XP, but the power on button was literally shaky. At that point, I was already thinking new desktop (I have a netbook running Win 7 Starter). A storm rolled through here around dinner time on Friday, we caught some lightning, and the PC would no longer power up. Never thought twice about trying to get it repaired. Time for a new one.

I had most of my data on external drives, but to be sure I had everything I wanted, I borrowed a PC from my neighbor Sam, plugged in both my internal hard drives, and recaptured what I didn't already have. Then I ran KILLDISK on the drives. When I rebooted Sam's PC, Windows no longer knew the drives were installed. I guess that's an endorsement for KILLDISK, in case you're going to toss a hard drive and are worried about personal info on it. BTW, it was the free version. I then used another bootable utility CD to reformat them and 'voila', Windows spotted them.

That's my tale of woe. Now to the point. On the old machine, I had used a shareware program called File Stager to do incremental backups of my user files. It installs on Win7, but won't entirely work. This program goes back to 1998-2003, at which point the author called it quits on support and new versions. My new machine is 64-bit, so I was prepared that a few of my oldies programs would not work.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a similar utility (FREE is best) or does Windows backup get it done? Danke...

BTW, Win7 installed File Stager in Program Files (x86). Would reinstalling into Program Files make a difference ?

[PeteKoch]

Originally Posted by PeteKoch

BTW, Win7 installed File Stager in Program Files (x86). Would reinstalling into Program Files make a difference ?

A little reading told me that the 'x86' folder is for 32-bit programs. I'm pretty sure File Stager is not a 16-bit pgm (have one of those, too).

[NoDayJob]

http://www.google.com/search?q=free+...ient=firefox-a

[Dick Schmidt]

Couple of thoughts: first off, Win 7 comes with good backup software as part of the OS. It will make a drive image of your hard disk and thus you can always completely erase your disk and install the backup good as new. I am using 64 bit Win 7.

A very similar program I use is EASEUS Todo Backup. It also makes a drive image.

If you want to backup specific files and have them saved in the same format as your hard disk, try TrueSafe. It builds a backup in the same file structure you are used to seeing on your hard drive and is excellent for restoring just one or two files if you have a problem. Both these programs are free.

Remember to backup at least once a week, more often if you do a lot of critical work on your machine. All backup programs take a while to run, but you don't have to sit there and watch them. Be sure to run your anti-malwarebetween cuddlingthey can't programs before the backup, as you don't want to backup a virus or tracking cookie.

Dick


There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

[PeteKoch]

I tried True Safe -- not for me. Enter a password to do a backup from my PC to a local external drive ? Nah.

I opted for Bart:
http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/bart/

Very easy to use. Download it, move it to the folder where you want to run from and launch. That's it! No install. I'm running Win 7 on a 64-bit HP.

Simple interface. Did all I need to do by creating just 3 scenarios (Bart calls them 'Profiles'). True incremental backups with great reporting. A weakness is that you can only enter one copy per Profile. But you can copy from anywhere, e.g., Program Files folder, etc.

Because it doesn't install, you can try it and, if it's not to your liking, simply delete it. No crap to get left in the registry. Nice product.

[Dick Schmidt]

Pete,

I'll take a look at BART, as I'm a fanatic about backups and always looking for a better one. BTW, I have never had to enter a password in TrueSafe, either the free version or the paid for version. I'm using the most current update, so I'm not sure why it asked for a password.

Dick


Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

[PeteKoch]

Originally Posted by Dick Schmidt

Pete,

...as I'm a fanatic about backups

That's two of us. I create a new system image about every 2 - 4 weeks, depending on changes. I do incrementals every night or more often, if needed.

When I tried Bart, I had downloaded a few other Backup Utilities to try. Bart was so simple and suitable to my needs, I just deleted the rest.