I've been getting pretty sloppy keeping backups of my files recently - I was wondering if there is a good, free program out there that I can use to automate backups of, for example, specific folders. I also have my Windows install on a 60 GB SSD. Is there an easy way to back this up on one of my other drives e.g. create a disk image? (I've never done this before so please excuse my ignorance).
I've used SyncBack SE (and also the free version, SyncBack) and they seem to do a good job. Not sure though if it can do the disk image though... Hope this helps
For general file backup (it does system images as well I think) I use Comodo Backup. It is a very in depth backup solution that is extremely customisable, it also compresses your backups if you wish to use less space and is brilliant to run on a schedule (I set mine to run every week). Give it a try it should suit your needs. The only problem I have is if I reinstall windows and restore my backup folders that go into the User folder are locked from me so I have to double click them to gain permission which will last forever, it's irritating and I've not looked into stopping it being required but whatever, it only takes a couple of minutes.
That's NTFS security. It's because the reimage causes a new SID to be generated, so it then doesn't match the SIDs of the users and you have to override using the administrator account(s). Perfectly normal mate.
Not to hijack the thread but do you know of a way to avoid having to do that every time I restore? If the OP decides to use it he may be interested or you can PM me (I'm away from home atm with no steam T_T)
Well.. I've never had that problem with Acronis. I have often restored from an image of my C: Drive and never once had a problem with accessing my folders. My advice would be make an image of the entire C: Drive, and if things go pear shaped, just restore the entire damned thing.
You'd probably be better served doing full image backups (which cover everything) rather than spending time tracking down which folders need to be copied (especially with saved games, which will likely be all over the place if you have a large collection). Look for the ability to create differential (or less desireably, incremental) backups, where only the changes since the last full backup are copied - this will greatly reduce the space needed to keep multiple backups. Two other key features are backup verification (checking that the backup was made successfully) and the ability to mount the backup image as a virtual disk (which then allows you to access and copy individual files and folders - great for recovered old data without having to do a full restore). Exactly what image software is intended for. My tool of choice is Drive Snapshot - very small, simple and fast - but you'll need to use Windows' Scheduled Tasks to automate it and it isn't free - check Macrium Free if you want a free tool. I would recommend you then restore that backup onto another disk for 2 reasons - first it familiarises you with the restore procedure (and you can check you've made the backup correctly) and second, it gives you an alternative way of starting your system if your main partition fails (you can boot from CD or flash disk also, but these will be slower and may not give you access to all your installed software). Your motherboard BIOS should give you the option to select a boot device - use this to test out the restore (Windows will likely ask you to reboot immediately since it will detect that it is now on a different disk - let it do so and use the BIOS again to select the restore, it should then work OK). Not used Commodo software myself but it may be worth checking this article beforehand.
I don't run my main desktop 24/7, but I have scheduled back ups at 9pm. It's almost always on at 9pm. If I miss it one day, it runs at next boot up anyway.
Take a one time system image using Clonezilla (free), then use Crashplan (also free) for automated set-and-forget backup to an external drive, second hard drive, or another computer on the LAN or internet. Simple, easy, cheap!
