Best software for doing full backups to ext. hard disk to to be used to restore system

As a new PC owner I wanted to find out what the best software for doing full backups to external hard disk,  to to be used to restore the system if primary primary disk crashes. Im aware that Windows, Acronis and Paragon all have software that doing varying degress of back and resore functions.

lasvideo,
My favorites are ShadowProtect to do an "image backup" of boot drive and Beyond Compare for backing up files for all other "data" arrays. ShadowProtect does not seem to have much market share compared with Ghost and Acronis, but I really love it.
What I like about ShadowProtect:
- Extremely fast (complete image backup for 61GB of files on my boot SSD RAID 0 array to a RAID data array takes less than 3 minutes)
- Can do image backups across a LAN; restores from boot CDROM and USB device
- Allows for backups from one controller and restore of OS on a different controller and/or RAID configuration (has HAL tools; Hardware ? Layer I think)
- Can "mount" an image backup as a drive letter and see (and copy) all directories, files, etc. that are contained in the archive
What I like about Beyond Compare:
- Can choose what to backup and what to ignore very easily (for example you can set it to ignore certain files or directory names to ignore and then save how you set things up as a "session")
- Only needs to copy over files that are new or have changed since your last backup
- Makes it very easy to selectively delete files from your backup
Regards,
Jim

Similar Messages

  • Best software for fitting full length movies on to DVD?

    I have Toast 6 Titanium, which i find is a great program for all my burning needs. However, recently i've been wanting to burn a few movies i have downloaded. The problem seems to be that full length movies rarely fit on to DVD. I don't really understand it as most DVD's say they can hold around 4GB of data and the movies i download are rarely over 1GB. It's just that burning them as a DVD Movie disk seems to take up an awful lot of room.
    I heard there was software out there designed to compress it all down and squeeze the whole thing on to one disk and i was just wondering if that is true and which software applications out there are best for this?
    Many thanks,
    Steve.

    I got Toast 10 just to check out that feature. Unfortunately 'Fit To DVD' is not under the DVD-Video burning section of Toast. Fit To DVD is only available as a function for copying pre-existing DVD's, I'm trying to burn a DVD from an AVI file i've downloaded from the net. I can't believe no one out there seems to know of a program that could help me out here.

  • Time Machine repeatedly does full backups, including FileVault while logged in

    So let me preface this - for months I'd hoped for a way that Time Machine could backup my FileVault encrypted account without logging out.  Last night Snow Leopard spontaneously started doing this.  I know many may think that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth, but read further and hopefully someone can help me make sense of this.
    Last night I attached my external 1TB USB hard drove to my 15" MBP (spring 2010 model) running OS X 10.6.7.  It started doing a Time Machine backup automatically, as usual.  Since I was logged into my account that uses FileVault (a massive home folder - 220GB) I expected a fast backup of things only outside my home folder.  As i looked at the details, however, i quickly realized that it was backing up all 270GB of data on my hard drive - including my FileVault account while still logged in! 
    At first i thought i just got lucky - i'd been craving this feature for years and it just happened to me without even doing anything.  Curious guy that i am, i logged out of my acct with my USB drive still attached to see what would happen.  After FileVault cleared out space in my home folder, it did _another_ backup, that took about 10 minutes to complete.  This seemed strange so i logged back in and started another backup manually.  To my utter shock, it started doing the whole 270GB over again! 
    I even cleared out my TM drive, erased, reformatted, checked permissions, etc etc and did the same on my system drive, hoping that it was just a matter of broken permissions.  No change.
    So there's two things going on here and i'm pretty concerned about both:
    1) Why is TM backing up my entire encrypted home folder while i'm still logged in??? Apple has clearly designed TM and FV to NOT work this way for data integrity reasons and the fact that it's happening has me freaked out a bit over the reliability of my backups.
    2) Why is TM doing full backups after each time i login to my account?  If i stay logged in, it appears to only do incremental (normal) backups but if i logout, then re-login and allow the hour to pass and let a backup start on its own, it starts the whole 270GB again.
    I'm getting to the point of wiping the system and starting from scratch but since i presently live in a country with no Apple store and extremely poor internet access, that prospect horrifies me
    any ideas?
    many thanks,
    -Tim

    Thanks for the input Pondini -
    I tried deleting the file as mentioned in #A4 and it still had the problem.  Last weekend i finally got a brand new hard drive and reinstalled OSX 10.6.3 from scratch, then promptly applied the 10.6.7 combo update.  I purposely chose to NOT import my old user from backup and instead set up everything again manually (royal pain, but the only way i could be sure that i wouldn't bring the problem with me).  Today i whipped out my TimeMachine drive and set it up for backups.  I crossed my fingers and it AGAIN started backing up all 250+GB of my system from within my FileVault protected account. 
    My wife's MBP is still running 10.6.4 and i'm beginning to wonder if his is an issue with 10.6.7 since i'm relatively certain i didn't experience this before that upgrade. 
    I've checked my wife's exclusions under Options and her home folder is NOT in that list, yet her TM is not attempting to backup everything until she logs out of her FV acct.
    In response to Linc Davis, _yes_ it was backing up my info into a sparsebundle file, not just the raw unencrypted data, which is extremely strange.
    If i DO add my home folder to the exclude list, will it still be backed up when i log out?
    At this point, i'm thinking my next steps are:
    1) try a different TM backup drive, even though i've wiped and checked my current drive numerous times
    2) downgrade to an older version of Snow Leopard to see if 10.6.7 is the culprit
    Any other ideas?

  • Best software for mac book pro

    I am a new mac user and having trouble finding the best software for mac.  Windows for mac and parallels desktop have been recommended to me.  There is such a significant price difference between the two, is there a difference in what they offer? Are there any other software options for mac that I should be looking into?

    new2mac0312 wrote:
    I am a new mac user and having trouble finding the best software for mac.
    http://bestmacsoftware.org/
    http://www.macupdate.com/
    Windows for mac and parallels desktop have been recommended to me. 
    There is such a significant price difference between the two, is there a difference in what they offer?
    Windows is a operating system from Microsoft, that costs more money.
    OS X is the operating system on your Mac, it came free with the Mac you bought.
    Parallels and VMFusion are paid virtual machine software that can run other operating systems like a programs inside other operating systems, there is a performance penalty, but it's easier for new users and those who don't need the full power of the hardware.
    There is also VirtualBox, it's free virtual machine software with less features, but doesn't suffer from forcing you to upgrade for more money like the commercial versions do.
    Virtual Machine software has the ability to run other operating systems and a large portion of their software, which makes it attractive.
    There is Apple's BootCamp, it's also free, which allows one to section their boot drive space (called a partition) and install Windows 7 (only) there, this way one can directly boot a Mac into Windows 7 for better performance for 3D games and other heavy CPU uses. Although it's easy, it can be a lot more problematic if there is a problem.
    So you have those choices to run plenty of software, from Windows based programs, to Mac ones to Linux ones too.
    Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine?

  • Best Practises for doing Master Scheduling using SNP

    Hello Gurus ,
                         Can you please suggest the best practises for doing Master Scheduling using SNP . Which engine to use , what would that mean etc
    Regards,
    Nick

    APC Back-UPS XS 1300.  $169.99 at Best Buy.
    Our power outages here are usually only a few seconds; this should give my server about 20 or 25 minutes run-time.
    I'm setting up the PowerChute software now to shut down the computer when 5 minutes of power is left.  The load with the monitor sleeping is 171 watts.
    This has surge protection and other nice features as well.
    -Noel

  • Hi - was looking to buy a macbook air soon but wanted to get it with lion software....anyone know when that is available and second question is what is best software for personal money management that works with lion.....use quicken now   thanks

    Hi - was looking to buy a macbook air soon but wanted to get it with lion software....anyone know when that is available and second question is what is best software for personal money management that works with lion.....use quicken now   thanks

    quicken should work with lion.
    Quicken Essentials will work with Lion.  Most people that have used Quicken for a while (i.e. Quicken 2007) have found that Quicken Essentials isn't much better than a basic spreadsheet.  It is a significant step down from previous versions and does not offer many of the features previously offered.  Right now, it seems like the two most common options are iBank and MoneyDance.
    Frankly... this is a major opportunity for these companies.  The largest commercial distributor of this type of product has been Intuit (Quicken).  That makes it hard for any other company to get any of that market as so many people were already using Quicken and may have had years of data stored in it.  Now, with Quicken effectively out of the picture, it's a great chance for another company.  Just imagine if iPhones were suddenly off the market.  That would give other manufacturers a tremendous opportunity since they wouldn't have to fight an up hill battle against a market giant.

  • What is the best software for home office for mac pro ?

    What is the best software for home office for mac pro ?

    Mac-HaBu X 12.2.0.3.841
    Gnucash 2.4.11
    QuickBooks Pro 2013 14.0.3 R4
    MoneyWorks Gold 6.1r5
    MoneyWorks Express 6.1.r1

  • Whats the best software for photo editing and creating product catalogues that can be saved as PDF's

    Whats the best software for photo editing and creating product catalogues that can be saved as PDF's

    You are asking two different questiions:
    1. What's a good photo editor? Answer to that here is probably obvious.
    2. What's a good desktop publishing/page layout program for creating PDF files for production? Answer, not PSE. It's a photo editor, not a page layout program.

  • Best software for animated video

    What would be the best software for animated video similar to this:
    youtu.be/e9_vszxZGB4
    Thanks...

    Hi Mathew,
    You can go with Adobe Edge Animate.
    Its an premier HTML software with integrated tools for creating compliant cross-browser animation and other content.
    For more info please refer http://html.adobe.com/edge/animate/faq.html
    Let me know if you need more info.
    Thanks!
    Eshant

  • What's the best software for removing suspected bots on a Mac Pro?

    What's the best software for removing suspected bots on a Mac Pro?

    A reasonable answer to your excessivley broad query, unless you can provide much more context, would take a small book.
    Luckily, Thomas A. Reed has written one:
    http://www.reedcorner.net/mmg/

  • What is the best software for burning a large slideshow with 500 photos and music to DVD?

    What is the best software for burning a large slideshow with 500 photos and music to DVD?

    Are you talking about strictly burning an already put-together slideshow or composing one and then burning it?
    My all time favorite slide show maker is Photo to Movie; you can then burn it from there or get it into iMovie and/or iDVD for the "finishing" touch. My favorite burn software is Toast, although you can use iMovie, iDVD, and Finder as well.
    http://www.lqgraphics.com/software/phototomovie.php
    http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/titanium/

  • Time machine not doing incremental backups - instead doing full backups

    hi,
    Time machine does a complete full backup, and then instead of doing incremental backups, it wants to keep doing full backups.
    help.

    why do you think it's doing full backups?
    install TimeMachineBuddy widget and see exactly what it says. also install TimeTracker and see what exactly is being backed up every time
    http://www.charlessoft.com/
    but first, verify both the internal and TM drive with disk utility. verify disk, not permissions. if it reports any errors repair both drives. you'll need to boot from the snow leopard DVD to repair the main startup drive.
    also, see Pondini's troubleshooting tips at the top of the TM forum.
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2057525
    Message was edited by: V.K.

  • I have an apple emac powerpc G4 which is running 10.3.9 software. I downloaded the 10.5 leopard software. Does anyone know how to install the 10.5 without using the dvd installer? In dummy terms please?

    If any one could help me with this. i'd be enternally grateful as i'm getting nowhere on my own!
    I have an apple emac powerpc G4 which is running 10.3.9 software. I downloaded the 10.5 leopard software. Does anyone know how to install the 10.5 without using the dvd installer? In dummy terms please

    The only way to get 10.5 is to purchase it on CD. Such as http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Leopard-10-5-10-51/dp/B0012RAVRC where is being sold for $179.99.
    If your optical drive is broken, you will either need to replace it or get an external. There is no other way.
    Why do wish to upgrade? As you can see it is going to be expensive, probably more the Mac is worth.
    Allan

  • What is the best method for saving files off of the hard drive?

    I would like to save music files and photos somewhere other than my hard drive (eg. CDs, DVDs, zip disks). What is the best method for doing this?

    It rather depends on how paranoid you are
    External hard drives protect you from hard disk trouble on your machine.
    Optical media (CD's, DVD's) protect you from trouble with magnetic disks - such as external hard drives and the HD in your machine. Optical disks are thought to be more reliable that magnetic disks for long term storage.
    Off site back-ups will protect you from fire or theft at your home or office.
    How paranoid are you? Personally everything is backed up across three diferent external HD's. And maybe twice a year I burn a copy of my photos onto DVDs and they go to a relative's house across town.
    Regards
    TD

  • Currently have 30K pics on PC Win. 7 laptop using  PSE 8, corrected issues and did full backup on portable hard drive plus saved (Extensive) Keyword tags to file.  Installed PSE 13 on PC Win 8.1 laptop.  Will attach same portable Hard drive to new laptop.

    Currently have 30K pics on PC Win. 7 laptop using  PSE 8, corrected issues and did full backup on portable hard drive plus saved (Extensive) Keyword tags to file.  Installed PSE 13 on PC Win 8.1 laptop.  Will attach same portable Hard drive to new laptop. How do I import prev Keyword Tags from file and Restore catalog from port. HD to new PC and in what order?  I have not opened PSE 13 on new PC yet. Would like to do it right the first time!

    No importing needed.
    See these instructions: Use Backup, Restore to move catalog | Organizer | Elements 6 or later

Maybe you are looking for

  • IPhoto freezes (instant beach ball) upon opening

    Hi All, Can somebody help me with this question?  I've searched the forums but to no avail.  I've tried holding option + command and rebuilding the library using the bottom 3 options about 3 times now.  Each time, iPhoto works initially until I begin

  • I have to re-enable Mail 2 - 3 times a day - why

    I have 2 mail accounts, one through AOL and the other on .me.com. Periodically one or both stops working. I have to go to preferences->advanced->and re-check "enable this account". What is going on?? It un-checks itself from time to time. Thanks, aeh

  • Block asset for purchase order (TS ME21N)

    Hi, The company where I work need that if an asset is capitalized it will not be able to receive new assigment from the purchase order (by TS ME21N); but this is only for some users, so some specifics users can post a purchase order with an asset whi

  • Prompt password when to open a PDF file

    Using Acroform, I am able to create a PDF file that prompt for a password when someone open the file (double click) Does it possible to create such functionality using LiveCycle Designer ES Thanks in advance, Meyke

  • Snow Leopard & Photoshop CS4...

    Hi: I am running Snow Leopard 10.6.1 with Photoshop CS4 on a Mac Pro Dual 2.8 Quad Core Intel Xeon. The video card I have is this: ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT: Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 2600 Type: GPU Bus: PCIe Slot: Slot-1 PCIe Lane Width: x16 VRAM (To