Re: Backup Software rcommendation

"Bill in Co." <not_really_here@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:OXZWQ9YjIHA.5208@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Brian A. wrote:
"Bill in Co." <not_really_here@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OGOvRLWjIHA.944@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anna wrote:
"Brian A." <gonefish'n@afarawaylake> wrote in message
news:uiJoDrRjIHA.3740@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As I mentioned previously, disk failure can be caused by any number of
reasons, that would include software corruption. Perhaps I should have
used: a disk that fails to properly boot the system which could be caused
by any number of reasons. I still see no purpose, reason or otherwise to
create a clone disk as a restore disk, that's what images are for, not
clones, especially if the clone is an external USB drive. IMO external
USB drives are problematic at best as backup media when it comes to crunch
time in get a system back up and running.

I wish anyone that chooses to do so good luck, it's still senseless IMO
to use a clone as a restore disk in that manner.

How is the user going to get that external USB so called "bootable disk"
to boot if the OS itself won't boot? Are they going to boot with a type
of recovery disk for the backup application with hopes of USB support
working?
Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/


Brian:
Over the years, using one or another disk-cloning program, primarily
Symantec's Ghost 2003, Acronis True Image, and more recently the Casper 4
program, I've probably undertaken or participated in thousands of
disk-cloning operations using those programs. I've done this, of course, for
personal use but more importantly for thousands of individual PC users and
hundreds of small to medium-sized businesses.

In countless instances the recipient of the clone, i.e., the "destination"
HDD, was a USB external HDD. (As an aside I might mention that we prefer to
work with removable HDDs and have encouraged desktop PC users to use that
hardware configuration whenever possible. But that's another subject that we
can leave for a later time.)

When the time came where the system needed to be restored because the user's
day-to-day working HDD became unbootable because of a corrupted OS or >>> was otherwise dysfunctional because of other reasons, and restoration of the
system was needed because there was no other viable means to correct the
situation, then the disk-cloning process was undertaken cloning the contents
of the USBEHD back to the internal HDD. Thus, the user would now have a
bootable functioning HDD once again.

That was one of my points, too. Wasn't it? (rhetorical)

IIRC according to one of your responses to me, no. You mentioned it was
another issue unless I'm agin mistaken.

I think what Anna was getting at above was that the cloned drive could be cloned back to the source drive to "restore" it. It's somewhat analogous to (i.e., gets the same result) "restoring" the source drive by using a backup image (if you were doing an image backup operation instead). Either way, the source drive is restored (I'm talking about potential software problems on the source drive, not failed hardware)


I understood fully well what Anna typed as well as your clone intentions.


--


Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375


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