home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

I had problems with a drive with most my photos that that got screwed up (reformated) when i paid someone to put an 2 TB internal drive in the desktop. I forgot to do a local backup; But Backblaze had kept up and I got a external with all that was lost and have restored the missing files.

So now I am asking how should I back up to 2 local external drives. I could copy the both the c:drive with programs, office stuff and the e: drive with the photos to one set of external drives on week then to second set the next week. I wound reformat week old set after the new set looks right. But copying 2 TB of data takes at least 2 hours

there must be a better way. I also need a usb boot
any help is appreciated.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Well, my local full backup (of selected files, drives, and directories) to my USB external backup drive takes 3+ hours.
I use Carbonite also for disaster recovery.

Do you mean delete the week old set?
I delete old backup sets, usually keeping only three sets.
I don't backup "programs" as they have to be installed, not just copied.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Get a third external for backup that can hold (preferably two backup sets) the two working external drives plus the system drive.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

This might end up as a lot of words but it works well.

My backup system has been the same for decades. I used to use what was called "Microsoft SyncToy". I now use a more sophisticated sync software. The sync system has worked well through several computer changes. I didn't invent it, but only followed standard practices before there were online choices.

1. I divide what is on my computer between (a) installed programs and (b) data, including image files, that I create.

2. I have two separate USB connected drives dedicated to backups. As my image files have grown, those drives are 8 TB and called "Western Digital MyBook". They use wall power.

3. My computer has a 1TB drive and I use a single 5 TB USB portable external drive. Most of my active files are on the internal and I move them to the external when I need space. All, repeat all, of my created data files on the computer are in a single folder I call "Working Data". The programs are where they want to be, but never in "Working Data".

4. I use a program called "GoodSync". There is a limited free version but they have moved to a subscription system at $60 a year.

The first time you use GoodSync it puts an exact copy of what you want from the primary drive on the backup drive. That can take a few hours. Then, whenever I feel a need that something important needs backing up, I put GoodSync to work. It first compares the two drives and then makes them match. That process is quick.

I alternate between the two big backup drives. The result is that I always have three copies of everything important to me with little fussing.

When my computers have failed, it takes a day or so to re-install all my programs on the new machine. Then it is simple to copy the "Working Data" file from my most recent backup. A massive failure costs a little time, but is not catastrophic. I can be back at it with all my favorite stuff in a day or to.

Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

So If I understand you correctly, you only use GoodSync to backup all your data files and then you must manually re-install all of your programs yourself. Correct?

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Get backup software that will do it automatically as you work. That does the backup incrementally so you are always up to date. Have the software back up to one external drive. Every so often copy that to another external drive, then disconnect it and put it away somewhere. You want one of your drives offline so it won't be affected by line glitches.

I recommend software that will store versions. If you have a program or data you use frequently, there's no need to constantly back it up. But if you make a change it needs to be backed up so you have the most recent version. The software will take care of that. BUT if your file gets corrupted somehow, that's a change. If the software backs up the new file, overwriting the old file, you have lost your good backup. That's the reason to save versions. Software that does that will have 2 (or more) of the same file, with different dates. If something gets corrupted you will have an old file still in your backup so you can step back and the only thing you lose is any changes you made before the corruption but after the last backup. If your software backs up files within an hour of any changes, that problem is minimized.

I use CrashPlan. It compresses the files and saves them to the cloud. It backs up by taking files that have been changed and saving them as a new version. It does this about every 5 or 10 minutes. You can tell it which folders you want to back up so you don't have to keep everything. It will also write to a local disk so you have a local version of the cloud backup. I expect other software will do similar things and others will tell you their favorites.

Local backup is primary. Offsite backup (your second drive, stored away from your computer) is secondary, for use when the local drive gets hosed. Cloud backup is for disasters when all your local backup is gone. Local backup is maintained by amateurs. Cloud backup is maintained by professionals. Local is cheap, cloud costs. So it all depends on how much you value your data. Your secondary (off-site) backup is probably fairly close, for convenience in synchronization. Cloud backup is distributed across countries, if not continents, so regional disasters are not a problem. Local backup is convenient and allows for high bandwidth restoration. Cloud backup is bandwidth limited. Many cloud providers will rent you a disk with your data to speed up restoration, but it takes a few days to get the disk to you.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I've been using Acronis software for backup for 20+ years. It's easy to learn and their support has always been excellent. I do redundant backups of 6 internal drives to external drives. Many others on UHH use a variety of software for backing up files including Back Blaze and Carbonite.

https://www.acronis.com/en-us/

Good luck!
Mark

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

Always have 2 back-ups. Years ago I had 1 external hard drive back-up and it failed. Lost all. Now I have 2 hard drives and install as taken. the process them and put them on another 2. Have 4 back-ups, and it's an over kill. maybe, but I feel safe.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Yes. When we still used DOS, you could copy programs. With the development of Windows, programs have tenacles reaching into various parts of the computer. There can even be passwords and connections to accounts to prevent piracy. I think that the only way to ensure software works on a new computer is by installing them.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

The Registry is the formidable one....
It contains details (inserted upon program installation) about the installed programs.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I've recovered my entire "C" drive, including programs, with my Acronis backup. I'm not disagreeing, just commenting.
Mark

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I have 2 drives installed in my XPS8700, one platter (d:) and the other an SSD (c:j. The platter is data and general storage only, and gets periodically backed up with the old Microsoft Sync-Toy. The SSD has the OS and all applications. The same program backs up the data files from the SSD. Also, every couple months I create a backup image of the c: drive since if needed, I can recreate the c: without having to individually reinstall all applications. Also, I have a small 2tb drive connected 24/7 via usb that Windows backs to as often as it wants.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Yes, that software does a comprehensive backup.
We're talking about not being able to simply copy the directories that contain the programs.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I like SyncBack. You can also use FreeFileSync, but it's less "elegant."

SyncBack is an actual backup program with free and paid versions. Once you get it set up, just right-click and select Run unattended.

FreeFileSyn lets you compare two folders and then move the files from one to the other.

https://freefilesync.org/

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Simple. You need 3 copies of your data - a working copy, a local backup and an off-site disaster recovery copy (which has already proven its worth in your case). Let me suggest that you keep you OS and applications and scratch space on one drive and your data on a second drive. In terms of your local backup and DR copy in Backblaze, the choice is yours - backup just the data, or backup the OS and Aps also. If you do the latter, just like the primary drive, I’d put them ona second backup drive or partition or a different “bucket” on Backblaze. The advantage of backing up the OS and APs is that if you have a bad crash, you don’t have to reload the OS and Aps, but it takes more space/time and often a reload of everything from scratch, while a pain, can definitely “clean up”/speed up a well used computer. Your choice.

Now, you’re correct that the initial copy of all your data to your local backup and the cloud will take awhile, BUT you only have to do it once. After that, your backup SW should be set to do incremental backups (just changes and new files) to BOTH your local backup and the cloud on a regular basis - at least nightly.