External HD for Backup

[Turbo91Bird]

I have been looking for a backup device for the phone server here at work but I am a little curious on what to get and what not to get. I would like something like this in the link below but I am also curious about the software. Is it just a basic copy and paste or does it copy everything as in an image of the HD so if the internal HD was to ever crash, I could replace it and just hit the restore on my external and it would install everything from my system files, OS, basic files, and program. Any help would be appreciated. Any personal experiences (good and bad) would help also. Thank you. :)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16822151025

[EzyStvy]

1. the included software doesn't do images

2. it's not designed to have the drive yanked out and converted to an internal drive.

Can get a regular drive and an external enclosure and Norton Ghost to make images.

[Turbo91Bird]

I wasn't saying making the external drive into an internal one, I meant if I could make it a ghost of the internal one and if the external one was ever to fail, that I could replace the internal one and use the ghost image from the external to put on the new internal drive.

[glc]

http://www.apricorn.com/product_details.php?ID=332

Add your own IDE hard drive of choice, the bundled software is a rebranded version of Acronis True Image, it can do images or clone drives. Restore is as simple as connecting the drive and booting with a CD.

[Turbo91Bird]

So I just purchase any size IDE hard drive I want, I imagine the hard drive goes inside that case I buy from the site you posted and I can plug it into any USB port (1.1 or 2.0), load the software and it will make a clone or image of the HD? Thats pretty sweet. Thanks a ton glc!

[glc]

You clone (Clone EZ) by booting with the CD that comes with the case, to make images (Image EZ) you install the software from the CD in Windows and make a boot CD with it (it will prompt you during installation) - and you make the image in Windows. The boot CD is needed to restore an image. The documentation on the CD is excellent. I'd do images - that way you can store images of multiple machines on one big drive.

[Turbo91Bird]

So what is the box for if I just use the CD's and the software to make images? How much space is on it? I guess I am a little confused now.

[EzyStvy]

The box is to hold the hard drive where you'll copy the images too.

[glc]

The "box" is an external housing to hold an IDE hard drive. You provide your own IDE hard drive of whatever capacity you want. You are paying the $49 for the "box" with power adapter and USB cable, and the software. It will recognize drives up to 300gb. The software is usable with anything, you don't HAVE to use it with the "box", look at it as a USB hard drive housing kit with "value added" software. I use mine all the time to clone and image drives connected in various ways. I'm just thinking that for you, being able to keep a clone or images on a device locked up in a cabinet somewhere would be a plus, and creation/restoration through USB would be very convenient. I don't see where a phone server would have that much data on it, you may even be able to image it to a bootable DVD if you prefer, or use the "box" to image several machines in your office. You have several possibilities with this kit, it's both hardware and software.

[Turbo91Bird]

Alright cool. So the IDE hard drive that goes in the box is where I would keep all my images of different computers in my office? So I just have to buy this box, and then a hard drive to put in it and then I can start creating images of different machines in the office by way of USB?

[glc]

You got it. Just bear in mind that USB 1.1 is gonna be pretty slow. Install the software on each machine you want to image.

[jldodge]

In process of building an external hard drive. Would like to use a Seagate or Maxtor 500GB drive in an Apricorn case (420). Earlier in this post was the comment that the max capacity is 300GB. How do I determine if the 500GB will work in the Apricorn case? Do I have to partition into two drives? I really need to go with the 500GB drive as a single drive if possible. So any help/advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance ...

[glc]

I'd call or e-mail Apricorn, their support is very responsive and friendly. I see they offer 400gb prebuilt versions now, so 500 may work. I'm guessing it depends on the firmware on the IDE converter card inside it.