How do I backup my HD?

[GhostRecon]

I am buying a new computer and I wanted to know how I can backup my HD to the one on my new computer. How Can I back it up and make sure that it finishes the task overnight?

How can I use the backup if my computer does crash?

[doctorgonzo]

Do you want to simply backup your HD or do you want to transfer everything on your current HD to the new one as is, OS and all?

If you want to do the latter, use a program like Ghost. It will create an exact copy of your current HD, and it doesn't take very long.

[GhostRecon]

Actually I don't want to transfer all the data to another hard drive. I want to backup the my old comp's HD so if it does crash I can restore most of the data.

I don't want to use Norton Ghost, I want to directly connect it in my computer and make a backup copy of the HD.

[doctorgonzo]

Do you want a usable backup or do you simply want to copy the files over? If you just want a copy, why not drag and drop the files from the old drive to the new drive after you install the old drive in the new PC? That would get most of them, except perhaps for some of the files in use by Windows. You can also combine this with a program like WinRAR or WinZIP to compress the files. This is what I do for my data; it works simply enough so I don't need another backup program.

I still think Ghost is the best tool to use, though. You can make an image of the HD and store the image on the new drive.

[GhostRecon]

I want a way so I can backup the HD and if the old comp crashes, wipe the HD and restore the information with BackUp.

[morriswindgate]

Drive Image 2002

[doctorgonzo]

Originally posted by GhostRecon I want a way so I can backup the HD and if the old comp crashes, wipe the HD and restore the information with BackUp.

Ghost will let you do exactly that, as will Drive Image. They both do pretty much the same thing.

[Confused]

Maybe my reasoning is wrong and someone will point out the error of my ways.

But here goes. I have never seen the logic in making a image of a drive or backing up a entire drive in the event my HD fails. I mean that is all very well and good if the backup is only, say a day or two old, but the way I use my PC that would require that I ghost the drive every day.

I just backup data on a regular basis. If something goes wrong I reload the OS, application programs and restore the data. Granted it will take longer than just swapping out a ghosted drive, but if that ghost is very old I will spend a lot of time figuring out which application and its data need updating. With data backups I know from creation date what may require updating in the event of a restore.
Chas

[GhostRecon]

Well, I'm not going to ghost my HD everyday, I just want to insure that I can backup my HD if something does go wrong. I have Norton Ghost 2003, but I never even used it yet. How can I use so I don't ruin my HD ? Can I Ghost my HD with 2 Hard drives. Such as 1 HD for the Ghost Image to Go, and The Other HD to ghost.

[DragonNOA1]

I'm with Confused, I backup my files and data as often as I can to another drive. And it would be a hassle to update the image everyday for the changes I make to my computer. Remember, any good tech will tell you the most expensive part of a computer is the data! So as long as you back it up, you're in good shape.

[GhostRecon]

Well how can I do this? Can I connect 2 HDs to my computer and use 1 HD for the ghost iso and one HD to hold the Ghost iso?

[Confused]

Originally posted by GhostRecon Well how can I do this? Can I connect 2 HDs to my computer and use 1 HD for the ghost iso and one HD to hold the Ghost iso?

Get a second HD that is equal or greater in size than the one you want to back up. Numerous ways it can be installed, so I will list one.

Your current OS will probably be on IDE1 as Master and will probably be "C". Put your new HD on IDE 2 as either Master or Slave depending on what is on IDE 2. Install Ghost and run it. It will walk your thru creating a boot disk for copying drives, or if it is a recent version I believe it can run from Windows. Follow instructions to Ghost your "C" to your new drive.
Chas

[not important]

Like others have mentioned, I back up my data with Ghost whenever I make several changes. ie: installing new hardware or new software. It has saved me many hours.

[GhostRecon]

IS there anything I should avoid doing? I remember reading something about someone who ruined his HD using Ghost.

[Confused]

I don't understand how someone ruins a HD running Ghost to backup. The only thing you are doing is reading from one drive and writing to another. The only problem I can see is if someone gets his drives mixed up and wipes out his production drive. That won't ruin the drive, it will destroy his system and he will have to reload, but it won't ruin the drive.

Maybe it can be done, I'm not a big Ghost user. I've used Ghost, but as stated earlier I concern myself with making sure that I have current data backups. I can always reload my system and applications if something goes wrong.

Keep in mind that if you go the Ghost route, for it to be any good as a backup it has to be done on a regular basis.
Chas

[bailey]

burnning it to a dvdrw is the best way to save a dailey system or do a full back-up that will restore fine
the really best way would be to use a second drive and have it be a mirror of the first drive and then you would have two drives the same.
thata a raid setup I think