On 4/2/2015 3:32 PM, bj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Well, this has been an education, and I'm not sure I'm happy with the
result.
Using Novastore, I backed up both drives in my computer to a third
drive.
The process seemed stable, and I was desperate to get a backup done
before more data was lost.
It has just finished, after 185 hours 2 minutes = 7.7 days.
And now I find that the data is not all that readily accessible. I
"may" try the
considerable learning curve, but I'm also sure there are simpler
systems
which yield a very accessible copy of the saved drive(s)
How do you do it? Find a proprietary system you have to pay for that
takes forever?
Several of us have many times recommended SyncBack for this purpose. I
believe most of us use the free version, a couple the least expensive
paid version. I myself use the free version all the time, for various
back-up and copying purposes. I have never had it fail me. It would be
approximately infinitely faster that what you have - unless you have a
faulty drive.
What I need after the main, initial, backup, is periodic backups of
additional data only,
Exactly one of the things SyncBack is perfect for! That's how I back up
my image HD to an identical one kept in a different place. I KNOW you
have recently been exposed to this product and its use, as Chuck and I
recently discussed the advantages and disadvantages of back-up vs.
syncing for this purpose on the List.
Since you will undoubtedly want to know what that means ... Back-up does
what you describe above "... periodic backups of additional data only
..." That means anything you delete on the primary drive remains forever
on the back-up. If you move files to a different folder, they are backed
up again, and the old folder and contents also remain in the back-up.
Syncing means both copying all new material to the back-up HD, AND
deleting anything there that is no longer on the primary.
I do the former, Chuck does the latter. He claims the ability to get his
primary drive just perfect before syncing. I don't trust myself to do
that perfectly every time. It is exactly those files that I delete in
error that I want to be able to recover. While mostly sharp, I have my
foolish moments, and want back-up for dummies.
all in a very accessible form.
SyncBack (and many other back-up solutions) simply makes a copy of
files, in the exact same directory structure as the original. Any file
browser, including Windoze Explorer, has full, simple access to all the
backed-up files. In a browser, the back-up looks like the original.
Not all that easy to obtain, it seems.
Why not pay attention here? And if you have not, just ask!!
This list is full of people who have already dealt with all the photo
related computer issues you encounter. They are far more tech savvy than
you, have researched and tested - and are happy to hand you the results
of that time and effort for free.
So here's a strong suggestion. Go here, download and install SyncBack
Free. <http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/freeware-hub.html>
If there's room on your new drive, create a new full back-up with
Sync-Back. Once you have confirmed that it is what you want, simply
delete the NovaStor back-up.
Keep the back-up HD in a different, at least safe-ish, place when not in
use. Get in the habit of running back-ups, with it set to only copy new
files (the default), regularly.
Live happy and safe!
Wake Up and Back Up Moose