Hi all
Backing up computers and data these days is something we need MORE and more -- I'm surprised that a lot of people (including PRO's) don't do it -- I can't think of any shooter who goes out on a gig without a spare camera and some backup gear - but get back to the studio and sit behind a computer - the Brain seems to get switched off.

Anyway (I have NO interests or commercial associations with this company) but this one offers a FREE decent backup program that also works on Windows 7 (and 64 bit as well).

I used to use Acronis True Image but there are still some issues with Windows 7. I don't like to work without EVER having reliable backup possibilies.

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-express/download.html

I suggest you have a look at this as it would address most backup requirements without creating too much hassle -- we are shooters first, not computer gurus.

Cheers
-K

Kyle:

Thanks for the advice! I too have been looking for a good, easy backup program, have not found one yet. It takes a lot of time doing it the way I've been doing it. I need something that casn look at the main drive and the backup drive and onlt write new files to it and not waste time wrtting everything. Does this do that?
Thanks!

Hi there
I'm just testing this at the moment
The process is called INCREMENTAL backup.
Seems to work but read the documentation.

I'm using Windows 7 Professional X-64 (64 bit version - since Photoshop CS4 really flies with the 64 bit version),


However every so often you should do a FULL backup.

To restore from Incremental backups you just restore as far back as you need to go.

In the event of complete disaster / recover you restore the LAST COMPLETE backup and then the incremental ones.

Cheers
-K

Hopefully this isn't considered thread jacking, but for the Mac users, Super Duper, http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/ is decent for free, and has some nifty features added when you pay for the unlocked version.

Great helpful thread Kyle, thank you.

shrimpone wrote:

Thanks for the advice! I too have been looking for a good, easy backup program, have not found one yet. It takes a lot of time doing it the way I've been doing it. I need something that casn look at the main drive and the backup drive and onlt write new files to it and not waste time wrtting everything. Does this do that?
Thanks!

Take a look at Syncback http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/sbse-features.html
There is a free version on the downloads page. The drawback to the free version is that it will not backup open files.

renpho wrote:
shrimpone wrote:

Thanks for the advice! I too have been looking for a good, easy backup program, have not found one yet. It takes a lot of time doing it the way I've been doing it. I need something that casn look at the main drive and the backup drive and onlt write new files to it and not waste time wrtting everything. Does this do that?
Thanks!

Take a look at Syncback http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/sbse-features.html
There is a free version on the downloads page. The drawback to the free version is that it will not backup open files.



Hi there
The free version looks so basic I wouldn't bother - even the built in backup on Windows 7 is better --if you can't span disks, have "incremental" backups or back up to removable media then IMO its no good.

Just also noticed it's not even VISTA 64 bit compatable (the free version) so certainly won't work with Windows 7 x-64.

A Pro these days can have several TB (1 TB = 1000* 1GB) of photographic data which needs to be backed up -- without incremental backups you'd have to back up severa TB every week or so.

Also this program doesn't seem to give you the option to create bootable media so you can'tdo a "bare metal" recovery or clone a disk if you want to change / add extra disks on to your system / network or even move / copy your data to a different machine.

Also you can't run it from external media like a usb drive so if your machine is hosed up you haven't got any way of running the program -- so doubly a 100% waste of space.

I use acronis -- 49 USD and it's really good -- well suited to pro photographers -- backs up Disc / partitions images as well and really fast. A Windows 7 50GB partition around 12 - 14 mins.

http://www.acronis.com

However do use SOMETHING and the paragon program whilst slower is free and has all the sensible features you'd need.

The DATA on my machines is far more valuable than the hardware -- amd just think of the cost of messing up an important gig --what's 49 USD in comparison to that -- probably cheaper than replacing a Lens cap on a decent Lens.

(I'm still amazed at how many people NEVER back up their stuff --you might have been lucky so far but eventually DATA does got lost / made inacessible and if you haven't got a recovery strategy you can be royally screwed up).

Cheers
-K

I'm using Cobian Backup, free, pretty customiseable backups and very easy to use.

Hi there
another good REally Cheap (19 GBP / 20 EUR) one is Macrium -- http://www.macrium.com/features.asp.

I still prefer Acronis myself for paid sofyware but I've heard good reports about macrium

Cheers


-K

Just had my first total disk crash ever. So now I've been looking at D & R solutions.

I replaced the crashed disk and in the process upgraded to Win7/64/Pro. So far the best free solution I've found is.

1. Free version of Acronis Trueimage called Maxblast 5 that you can get at the Seagate/Maxtor website if you have a Maxtor or Seagate disk in your box. I use this to duplicate the systemdisk to another disk and also make an image of the current system and put it on the same HD. I have bought an external HD (SATA) adaptor that connects to the PC with eihter USB 2.0 or ESATA. I use the second option. this gives me the ability to be up and running in a matter of minutes, if the systemdisk crashes or get corrupted. I just have to insert the backup systemdisk and change boot disk in bios. There is some cost involved to buy an extra disk and the adaptor though. But very low.

2. Then I downloaded Synctoy 2.1 64bit from Microsoft (Free). That will sync your files to another location (read disk) in a number of ways. You can choose method by preference. The pro of this approach is that you don't need a dedicated backup software to read back your files. With the above mentioned adapter I'll phase out my external HD's and replace them with "regular" SATA HD's. Cheaper to buy and probably more durable plus no extra poweradaptors, no cords to attach and smaller formfactor for storage/transport. And the transferspeeds will be better with ESATA than the FW400 I used for the old external disks. The graphical interface is fairly simple to understand and works well and you can schedule backupjobs by windows scheduler. (I guess the same could be accomplished by a robocopy script if you are into windows scripting. But there you don't get any fancy graphical interface.) This will cover my needs for the immediate future.

Off topic:
I've also started to look into buying a small NAS as well, for offsite storage. LG has released an interesting product. A small NAS with a Blueray recorder built in. The unit doesn't cost much more than what you would normally pay for a blurayburner. The version I checked can support two disks, have a blurayburner and a cardreader plus the ability to connect additional usb storage. The thing with a bluray burner is that you could actually do a fullbackup on a relatively small amount of discs as opposed to DVD. A dual layer BD will take approx 50GB. And you can use rewritable disks for monthlybackups.

Novastor - $50.00 version 11 - works nice plus it's quick and easy. Off site storage options also availible. Used it over a year and it works GREAT!

Download free trial if you want.

Good luck

www.Novastor.com