Would like some opinions re: best backup software/external hard drives for windows xp and windows 7

Recently tried to restore a corrupted hard drive with a Toshiba canvio hard drive with NTI Backup Now EZ I purchased in 2010.  Was only able to restore a few files, had a very hard time working with the software, even contacted NTI, still not much luck.  Am unhappy with the NTI software, and want to know what external hard drives and what software the community has used and would recommend for Windows XP and Windows 7?  Thank you so much in advance for your time and opinions.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

It doesn't matter which external drive you use.
Let's talk about backing up the entire drive. Be sure to burn the disc that enables you to restore.
Windows XP does not have a decent image backup built-in. I understand this free one works well.
   EaseUS Todo Backup Free
Windows 7 has a decent one.
   Learn more about system image backup
Windows 8 contains the same backup. Open "Windows 7 File Recovery" (sdclt.exe).
-Jerry

Similar Messages

  • Best external hard drive for Macbook pro and Aperture

    Hi, any recomendations for an external hard drive for the macbook pro and aperture. I was looking for approx 300Gb !
    Many thanks
    macphi

    Personally I have had poor luck with LaCie Big Disk peformance and support and don't recommend LaCie. However I do recognize that my sample of one is statistically insignificant.
    The eSATA concept is interesting, but bleeding tech edge at the moment. For a solid solution that works now I recommend FW800 (forget USB) and RAID 0 technology. I have had great success with OWC and just bought their least expensive (in $ per GB) 640 GB FW800 US$370 RAID O drive setup: <http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/ME8R7640GB16/>.
    Just this week OWC introduced RAID 0 +1 drives that have RAID 0 speeds but also provide mirror backups. Perhaps the very best solution but pricey.
    EDIT: If you bought a 15" MBP instead of the 17" you forever lack FW 800. Go for a FW 800 or an eSATA Express Card solution when available. You could buy an OWC drive now and jusr run it FW 400 until you get an Express Card FW800 port. The OWC drive came with ports and cables for both FW 800 and FW 400.
    -Allen Wicks

  • What is the best pre-installed external hard drive for my macbook pro?

    I need advise on what kind of pre-enstalled external hard drive which supports both usb and firewire to get for my new macbook pro?  I would like to stay in the $100. range but am willing to go higher .

    giftshopgurl wrote:
    pre-enstalled external hard drive
    Pre-installed with what?
    Your best bet is to always format a new hard drive,  so there are no surprises.
    If you buy an external HD specifying  ready for Mac ( or some such) it will cost you more for nothing.

  • Best 1 tb external hard drive for imac intel?

    Hi, any recommendations for an external hard drive that is really compatible with the imac? I'm considering the Western Digital My Book. Many thanks.

    Most external hard drives should be compatible with your iMac however you may need to reformat the drive if it comes pre-formatted for Windows(which is easy enough to do). Also know that some drives are designed with auto power features where the drive does not have a power switch and is just supposed to power on/off automatically with your computer. However these are the drives that most people have complaints about. My recommendation is to get one that has a power switch instead of the auto power feature. I would also get a FireWire drive over a USB only drive. The Mercury Elite drives from OWC are of excellent quality and are designed primarily for Mac users: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/400+USB2/
    George

  • Can I backup an External Hard Drive using Time Machine and Time Capsule?

    I have a Powerbook G4 with Mac OS X 10.5.2 and use an external hard drive *all the time*. I'd like to use Time Machine and my new 500GB Time Capsule to back it up along with the internal hard drive. Can I do this? Thanks for your help.

    I believe so; this thread indicates how. Hope this helps.

  • Partitioning 1.2T External Hard Drive for Time Machine and PC backup?

    We have a 1.2T Seagate external hard drive. I partitioned it so that I could use part of it for my Time Machine backups and want to be able to use the rest of it for the PCs in the house. I formatted the rest of the space using the Disc Utility and the MS-DOS option. Was this the wrong choice? I can't use the PC space on the hard drive on my PC. It says there are 0 bytes available.
    Help?

    Fred Elmendorf wrote:
    We have a 1.2T Seagate external hard drive. I partitioned it so that I could use part of it for my Time Machine backups and want to be able to use the rest of it for the PCs in the house. I formatted the rest of the space using the Disc Utility and the MS-DOS option. Was this the wrong choice?
    no, that was the right choice. I don't know what's going on there. you just might need to reformat the whole drive. also check the partition scheme for the drive. it should be GUID. if it's not GUID repartition the drive with GUID partition scheme.
    I can't use the PC space on the hard drive on my PC. It says there are 0 bytes available.
    Help?

  • Can anyone suggest best 500 GB external hard drive for MAC PRO?

    Genius Bar rep told me to back up hard drive before delving into whirring tower... Any suggestions for a 500 GB automatic external hard drive? I've researched several, but they all seem to have drawbacks. Reliability and a quiet fan are priorities. Thanks.

    Thanks so much for sharing that. Just talked to Apple support .... MAC PRO apparently has 4 slots for drives, and they would be covered under the Apple Protection Plan. With Leopard, they could be set to back up automatically. Thx again!

  • How do I Access purple backups from external hard drive for Time Machine

    My hard drive crashed and I installed a new one.
    Did internet recovery and upgraded to my previous OS.
    I am trying to get my data but the backup is purple that I need and I cannot access it.
    How do I do this.
    Also if I did something wrong, how do I setup Time machine to restore my whole system and set it up so the backups are accessible instead of purple.
    Thanks in advance.
    I am using Mavericks
    External hd connected with USB

    donavonknight 
    Very impressive that it is that easy but trying to get my data is a pain.
    Time Machine is a  backup of your computer SYSTEM,  not idealized as a data archive.
    Consider other options for the future  >
    Data Storage Platforms; their Drawbacks & Advantages
    #1. Time Machine / Time Capsule
    Drawbacks:
    1. Time Machine is not bootable, if your internal drive fails, you cannot access files or boot from TM directly from the dead computer.
    2. Time machine is controlled by complex software, and while you can delve into the TM backup database for specific file(s) extraction, this is not ideal or desirable.
    3. Time machine can and does have the potential for many error codes in which data corruption can occur and your important backup files may not be saved correctly, at all, or even damaged. This extra link of failure in placing software between your data and its recovery is a point of risk and failure. A HD clone is not subject to these errors.
    4. Time machine mirrors your internal HD, in which cases of data corruption, this corruption can immediately spread to the backup as the two are linked. TM is perpetually connected (or often) to your computer, and corruption spread to corruption, without isolation, which TM lacks (usually), migrating errors or corruption is either automatic or extremely easy to unwittingly do.
    5. Time Machine does not keep endless copies of changed or deleted data, and you are often not notified when it deletes them; likewise you may accidently delete files off your computer and this accident is mirrored on TM.
    6. Restoring from TM is quite time intensive.
    7. TM is a backup and not a data archive, and therefore by definition a low-level security of vital/important data.
    8. TM working premise is a “black box” backup of OS, APPS, settings, and vital data that nearly 100% of users never verify until an emergency hits or their computers internal SSD or HD that is corrupt or dead and this is an extremely bad working premise on vital data.
    9. Given that data created and stored is growing exponentially, the fact that TM operates as a “store-it-all” backup nexus makes TM inherently incapable to easily backup massive amounts of data, nor is doing so a good idea.
    10. TM working premise is a backup of a users system and active working data, and NOT massive amounts of static data, yet most users never take this into consideration, making TM a high-risk locus of data “bloat”.
    11. TM like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
    12. *Level-1 security of your vital data.
    Advantages:
    1. TM is very easy to use either in automatic mode or in 1-click backups.
    2. TM is a perfect novice level simplex backup single-layer security save against internal HD failure or corruption.
    3. TM can easily provide a seamless no-gap policy of active data that is often not easily capable in HD clones or HD archives (only if the user is lazy is making data saves).
    #2. HD archives
    Drawbacks:
    1. Like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
    2. Unless the user ritually copies working active data to HD external archives, then there is a time-gap of potential missing data; as such users must be proactive in archiving data that is being worked on or recently saved or created.
    Advantages:
    1. Fills the gap left in a week or 2-week-old HD clone, as an example.
    2. Simplex no-software data storage that is isolated and autonomous from the computer (in most cases).
    3. HD archives are the best idealized storage source for storing huge and multi-terabytes of data.
    4. Best-idealized 1st platform redundancy for data protection.
    5. *Perfect primary tier and level-2 security of your vital data.
    #3. HD clones (see below for full advantages / drawbacks)
    Drawbacks:
    1. HD clones can be incrementally updated to hourly or daily, however this is time consuming and HD clones are, often, a week or more old, in which case data between today and the most fresh HD clone can and would be lost (however this gap is filled by use of HD archives listed above or by a TM backup).
    2. Like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.
    Advantages:
    1. HD clones are the best, quickest way to get back to 100% full operation in mere seconds.
    2. Once a HD clone is created, the creation software (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper) is no longer needed whatsoever, and unlike TM, which requires complex software for its operational transference of data, a HD clone is its own bootable entity.
    3. HD clones are unconnected and isolated from recent corruption.
    4. HD clones allow a “portable copy” of your computer that you can likewise connect to another same Mac and have all your APPS and data at hand, which is extremely useful.
    5. Rather than, as many users do, thinking of a HD clone as a “complimentary backup” to the use of TM, a HD clone is superior to TM both in ease of returning to 100% quickly, and its autonomous nature; while each has its place, TM can and does fill the gap in, say, a 2 week old clone. As an analogy, the HD clone itself is the brick wall of protection, whereas TM can be thought of as the mortar, which will fill any cracks in data on a week, 2-week, or 1-month old HD clone.
    6. Best-idealized 2nd platform redundancy for data protection, and 1st level for system restore of your computers internal HD. (Time machine being 2nd level for system restore of the computer’s internal HD).
    7. *Level-2 security of your vital data.
    #4. Online archives
    Drawbacks:
    1. Subject to server failure or due to non-payment of your hosting account, it can be suspended.
    2. Subject, due to lack of security on your part, to being attacked and hacked/erased.
    Advantages:
    1. In case of house fire, etc. your data is safe.
    2. In travels, and propagating files to friends and likewise, a mere link by email is all that is needed and no large media needs to be sent across the net.
    3. Online archives are the perfect and best-idealized 3rd platform redundancy for data protection.
    4. Supremely useful in data isolation from backups and local archives in being online and offsite for long-distance security in isolation.
    5. *Level-1.5 security of your vital data.
    #5. DVD professional archival media
    Drawbacks:
    1. DVD single-layer disks are limited to 4.7Gigabytes of data.
    2. DVD media are, given rough handling, prone to scratches and light-degradation if not stored correctly.
    Advantages:
    1. Archival DVD professional blank media is rated for in excess of 100+ years.
    2. DVD is not subject to mechanical breakdown.
    3. DVD archival media is not subject to ferromagnetic degradation.
    4. DVD archival media correctly sleeved and stored is currently a supreme storage method of archiving vital data.
    5. DVD media is once written and therefore free of data corruption if the write is correct.
    6. DVD media is the perfect ideal for “freezing” and isolating old copies of data for reference in case newer generations of data become corrupted and an older copy is needed to revert to.
    7. Best-idealized 4th platform redundancy for data protection.
    8. *Level-3 (highest) security of your vital data. 
    [*Level-4 data security under development as once-written metallic plates and synthetic sapphire and likewise ultra-long-term data storage]

  • Would I be able to use the same external hard drive for Windows and OSX?

    I plan to get an external HD to put a lot of my multimedia files on and for backups but I don't know if I'll need an individual one for each operating system. I am going to be running a MacBook Pro with both Windows and OSX through Boot Camp.

    jengwall,
    No, you won't need more than a single drive. There are several options to meet your needs.
    OS X can partition your external, and the formats for the various volumes can be HFS+ (the native Mac format) or FAT-32 (Windows format). While OS X cannot create NTFS volumes, and it cannot write to them, it can read them. Any FAT-32 volumes created in OS X can be converted to NTFS by Windows, if and when you like.
    Windows cannot natively read HFS+ volumes, and only the FAT-32 format will be both read and write for both Windows and OS X. However, there are some third-party solutions.
    "Macdrive" is a Windows utility that allows it to access HFS+ volumes as read/write. On the Mac side, there is "MacFuse," which gives OS X the ability to not just read, but write to NTFS volumes.
    Scott

  • I have been using my newly purchased Iphone for Iphonagraphy (Iphone photography).  I would like to sync my Iphone to my external hard drive so I can move photos in and out of my Iphone, to make use of the apps I have exclusively on my phone.

    I want to sync my Iphone with the external hard drive so I can move photos from my phone to the hard drive AND BACK!  I'm using a Windows OS

    You have several options:
    Connect the phone using a cable to your computer. Use the camera and scanner wizard to import the photos from the Camera Roll, then organize them and sync them back to the Photos app (see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4083). the Camera Roll is intended for temporary storage only.
    Save the images to your Dropbox account. It's free, http://www.dropbox.com. There's a Dropbox app for the iPhone, and also for Windows, Mac and Linux. Dropbox can also be accessed using a web browser. Dropbox (and similar services) provide cloud-based storage that can be accessed from anywhere.
    Use Photo Stream
    Email or text (MMS) the images to yourself
    Create a Picasa or Shutterfly account, save the images to it, then download to your computer
    I'm sure there are others.

  • Best External Hard Drives for MacBook

    I have been doing some research on the External Hard Drives for the MacBook and have been getting mixed advise about the best one for the Macbook. I'm wondering if anyone with actual experience and knowledge with External Hard Drives and the MacBook could offer any advice on one I should look into.

    You are going to get a bazillion answers and little agreement so be prepared.
    An external drive is two components, case and drive. If you buy a generic no-name you have no clue about what's in the case or what the drive is. Even if you buy a name brand like Western Digital or Seagate you still can't be totally sure. Would WD put a Toshiba drive in their external case? Probably not but you still don't necessarily know which model WD you are getting.
    I approach it two ways. For archival backups I build my own buying the case and drive to meet my needs. OWC is my usual source. For expansion and usage I tend to buy name brand externals. At the moment I have several Seagate FreeAgent drives. What I don't do is make drive purchases based on price - that's a great way to buy a drive that will fail just when you need it.

  • Using an external hard drive for both TM backups

    I would like to use an external hard drive for both TM and as the main hard drive storage for my Macbook which is now approaching being full...how do I do this ??? or should I have 2 separate devices....want to free up space on Macbook

    Now that I've partitioned my I Terabyte external drive to two partitions using the disk utility with one partition for Time Machine and one partition as my new "hard drive"...my internal drive on the MacBook almost filled....I wanted to move...pix, movies, music..etc to the new drive and have all future storage pointed to that drive not the internal drive....need to have space available on the original drive on the MacBook....How do I move existing stored data and point ongoining saved music..files...etc to the new drive...???
    Thank you...Bob

  • I Mini with an i7 processor. I would like to use Boot Camp to install windows based CAD software on my MAC. Would it be better to use a plugin external hard drive to load my software on and if so what hard drive would you recommend?

    I Mini with an i7 processor. I would like to use Boot Camp to install windows based CAD software on my MAC. Would it be better to use a plugin external hard drive to load my software on and if so what hard drive would you recommend?

    Thank you for your quick response. I can then use a ZIP drive for data storage. I want to keep as much of my hard drive free of data as possible.

  • What is the best external hard drive for backup on powerbook g4 17-inch?

    i need to get a good external hard drive for backing up my files on my 2004 powerbook g4 17-inch. up till now ive been using thumbdrives, but i have way too much to backup now. i was thinking of getting the time capsule, but i don't have leopard version with time machine.
    what would be an advisable backup to get without buying a new mactop yet?
    please include model # if possible.
    thanks in advance for anyone's input!

    What I've done is buy the case and drive separately. The case I use is similar to this one: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEFW91UAL1K/ (looks like they don't offer this case with Firewire 800 anymore), and the hard drive is a Western Digital 3.5" Parallel ATA 320GB which Newegg carries at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136109. The reason I like a combination like this is that the enclosure uses the Oxford 911 chipset, and Oxford chipsets have a good track record working with our macs. The Western Digital drive comes with a 3 year warranty (many pre-packaged hard drives only have a one year warranty). It is very easy to install the drive ... you plug in the power and data connectors to the hard drive, and screw the hard drive to the case.
    Whatever external hard drive you get, recommend one with a Firewire connection. Our Powerbooks can boot from a Firewire connection, however, cannot boot from a USB-only connection. Also, be aware that for a USB-only connection, if the external hard drive relies on power from it there may be a problem. This is due to the Powerbook putting minimal power out on USB. There are many people who have found that they've had to either get a dual USB cable, a USB powered hub, or an external power supply for their USB-powered external hard drive. The case I mentioned above has it's own external power supply. Firewire-powered drives don't have this problem.

  • Trying to copy iPhoto Library to external hard drive for backup.  Error message:  The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" can't be read or written (Error code -36).

    Trying to copy iPhoto Library to external hard drive for backup.  Error message:  The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in "iPhoto Library" can't be read or written (Error code -36).

    That code is
    -36
    ioErr
    I/O error (bummers)
    Make sure the EHD is formatted OS X Extended (journaled) and run Disk Utilty on the EHD and repair the disk.  If that fails to help I'd try the following:
    Using iPhoto Library Manager  to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
    Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
    Click on the Add Library button,                         
    navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
    Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the Library ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
    In the next  window name the new library and select the external HD as the location of the newly rebild library.
    Click on the Create button.
    Note 1: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost.
    Note 2:  Your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
    OT

Maybe you are looking for