Re: External Hard Drive used for System Backup.

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"Frog" <frog@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23o8NDZVeIHA.4140@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I am using an external USB connected hard drive for my system backups
(making of backups are not scheduled). My question now is...should the
external hard drive be plugged into the system at all times or just when
it is in use? My concern has to do with the potential for my backup
information of the external hard drive becoming corrupt due to the
invasion of a virus at some future date. I would appreciate any thoughts
you might have on the pros/cons on the on-and- off of this device.

RELATED NOTE - to all those who helped me in an earlier backup software
thread:
I decided to use Caspar 4.0 software for making my backups. I have found
it, as Anna said it would be in her messages...easy to use. I have a
500GB internal hard drive (2 partitions- drive C and E) and one 500GB
external USB connected hard drive. The initial making of the first backup
took about 18 minutes to complete, and the external hard drive was given
two drive letters...G drive that has the C drive information on it and H
drive that has the E drive information on it. The first update (one week
after making the initial backup) took a grand total of 1 minute to
complete. Of course, my computer is new and as such it is not loaded down
with large quantities of software/folders/files and the like. I can
access the information on the external drives G and H in like manner of
accessing information on the internal C and E drive. Thus, I could copy
any folder/file on the external drive to the internal drive without any
problem. I then used the startup disk to see that it worked...it did.
The startup disk takes a couple of minutes to boot and then the window
looks exactly like the one I access from Program Files. If you want to
reload a backup back to your hard drive, it is simply copy G/H to C/E. I
haven't determined whether I can copy only G or H individually back to the
system as of yet...I haven't looked at that possibility, and guidance here
would be helpful. Well, there you have the results of your help in the
earlier thread. I just thought I should report back about my software
decision and that all is well with my computer...at least for the moment.

Frog

Frog:
As you have heard from nearly all those who have responded to the first part
of your query re connecting/disconnecting your USB external HDD...

Since you're using that USBEHD primarily, if not exclusively, for backup
purposes in connection with your Casper 4 disk-to-disk cloning program,
there is really little reason to have it connected (powered on) except for
those relatively infrequent times when you're engaged in a disk-cloning
operation. There's certainly no harm in having its USB data cable connected
to your PC - just ensure the device is powered off.

Now as to your query re the cloning of partitions...

When you originally cloned your "source" HDD containing two partitions
designated C: & E: (I assume your optical drive is the D: drive) over to
your USBEHD and then connected the external device to your computer while
the system booted, the system designated the two cloned partitions on your
USBEHD as G: & H: (I assume there's an F: drive somewhere in your system -
possibly a flash drive or even a memory slot on your printer).

There's no problem in cloning one or both of the partitions on your USBEHD
back to your source disk (presumably for recovery purposes). Just as you can
clone individual partitions from the "source" to the "destination" drive,
the reverse is true as well.

Incidentally you mentioned in your post that after you performed the initial
backup of your system using the Casper 4 disk-cloning process, "the first
update (one week after making the initial backup) took a grand total of 1
minute to complete."

I hope other users will take note of your comment. As I have tried to point
out in my previous posts re the Casper 4 program - that factor, i.e.,
"incremental disk cloning" is probably the chief advantage of Casper - the
extroardinary capability of the program to complete subsequent disk-cloning
operations (for routine comprehensive backups of one's system) in a fraction
of a time it takes other disk-cloning programs (at least the ones I'm
familiar with). Thus there's a strong incentive for users to backup up their
systems much more frequently than they might otherwise do, knowing that the
time to complete the current disk-cloning process won't be particularly
onerous and/or time-consuming.

But I am a bit puzzled by your comment that the Casper CD Startup Disk took
only "a couple of minutes to boot". That has not been our experience and
we've worked with a large variety of systems. I can't recall a single
instance where it took less than 6 minutes to reach the stage where one
could begin the disk-cloning process. And I would guess that on the average
it takes about 8 to 9 minutes to reach that point. In our experience booting
up with the "Startup Disk" is not particularly quick, to say the least. Are
you certain about that boot-time?

(Potential users of this Casper 4 program should note that the "Startup
Disk" CD) is used for recovery purposes. For example, let's say that, like
"Frog", one is using his/her USBEHD as the "destination" drive, i.e., the
recipient of the cloned contents of the one's internal day-to-day working
HDD. Now that latter drive becomes dysfunctional and unable to boot. So the
user would have no way of accessing the Casper program on that defunct drive
to perform the disk-cloning operation from the USBEHD back to the internal
HDD. That's where the "Startup Disk" comes in. The user would use that CD to
boot to the Casper program on the CD and undertake the disk-cloning
operation from the USBEHD back to an internal HDD. So (hopefully!) it would
be on infrequent occasions where the recovery process would have to be
employed).
Anna


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Relevant Pages

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