[NA]Backups[NA]

[Let'sgoflying!]

I was so proud of my new backup system, but I think I need to reevaluate it.
I bought a larger HD (for another computer) and it came with an enclosure and software to transfer OS, data, everything as a full mirror image of the original to the new HD. http://www.cmsproducts.com/products/hard_drive_upgrades/default.asp

So I have been using the software, enclosure to make a mirror image of my HD to the spare HD.

Smart, huh? If my HD fails, I just pop in the backup and keep going.

BUT.

What if this Toshiba laptop becomes toast for some other reason?

Can I pop the HD into a completely other laptop such as a Dell or IBM etc? Will it fire up? If not, will it work in only another Toshiba? What models??

 

[denverpilot]

Tpically no. What kind of images does this software make? It the external drive a true mirror image of the internal, or is there some big image "file" on it.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

What kind of images does this software make? It the external drive a true mirror image of the internal, or is there some big image "file" on it.

It makes an EXACT replica of the original HD. Something I'd been seeking for years, and was told did not exist.

You can pop the backed-up HD into the laptop and it is EXACTLY like the old one.
I suspect the average user, like me, would not know they are working from a different HD. I have tried it twice now.

 

[denverpilot]

Cool. Ok yes, there are some tools like that. In that case it's unlikely that it'd boot "perfectly" in another laptop. Different CPU, motherboard, chipsets, etc. It's about a 50/50 shot. But you can certainly get the data off of it with another working laptop.

Not trying to sound Apple fanboy here but this is one techie benefit of Macs. Pop in the install DVD for MacOS, plug in a backup made with the built in Time Machine (or have it already on the Time Capsule) and tell it to restore, walk away for a while and come back to an identical desktop on new hardware. There's a benefit to the OS maker having full control of the hardware.

 

[mikea]

I just set up the highly recommended Crashplan on 3 computers. You can back up from computer to computer or a friend's computer off-site for free! I have two backups running across my home LAN simultaneously that will only take 2-3 hours each.

Being that I'll have another 2TB drive Monday bringing me to 10.8TB of space I can do some backups. The NAS host is an old Mac Mini. Clients are a Windows 7 laptop and my Macbook Pro.

I have Carbonite on my main Macbook but I'll probably change to Crashplan's family plan when my year is up.

Set it up and let me know and we can trade off-site backups.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

But you can certainly get the data off of it with another working laptop.

OK...............so I hope I am not misreading you but you might be saying my backup, (as described above) really could be sound, as is.

 

[HowardGMac]

If your backup is an exact copy of your main hard-drive then chances are pretty good that should your main hard-drive fail you can:

1. Replace the bad main hard-drive with one comparable to the one you have in it or BIGGER.
2. Boot your machine from your backup hard-drive. Most newer laptops have a boot menu option so you can change your startup hard-drive temporarily.
3. Fire up your backup software and have it copy from your backup hard-drive to the new main hard-drive.

I use Casper Backup for my backups. Once your backup has been made the first time it only has to copy changes from that point forward so your backup time after the initial backup is usually 5-10 minutes at the most. It can also copy the entire hard-drive so if your laptop maker puts the software recovery partition on your hard-drive you still have it on your backup too.

 

[denverpilot]

I just set up the highly recommended Crashplan on 3 computers. You can back up from computer to computer or a friend's computer off-site for free! I have two backups running across my home LAN simultaneously that will only take 2-3 hours each.

Interesting concept. I see they're offering pretty low 128-bit [insert unknown algorithm here] encryption on the free version. (They say AES for the over-the-wire encryption, but don't say for the filesystem itself.)

I never trust anything I haven't attempted a full bare-metal restore from, but that's just me... too many years as a sysadmin prior to the current job... telco... where no one seems to back up anything.