How Many DVDs are needed?
I just ran a one click TrueImage on a laptop that I "thought" was fairly small. Turns out it took 9 DVDs and hooouuuurrrrss to run.
Any way to find out in advance the requirements?
This was my first Image job so bear with me.
tia...Bob
I just ran a one click TrueImage on a laptop that I "thought" was fairly small. Turns out it took 9 DVDs and hooouuuurrrrss to run.
Any way to find out in advance the requirements?
This was my first Image job so bear with me.
tia...Bob
Right click on the drive or partition you want to back up and select properties and see how much disk space is used. Lets say it is the whole disk which will have your system and data on it and lets say it says you have 10GB used. Depending on the amount of memory you have then some of this space will be taken up by the page file, pagefile.sys, and can be discounted cos it won't be backed up. So if you have 1GB of memory it is likely you will have a page file of roughly one and a half of that which would be 1.5GB. You may also have hibernation enabled and there will be a hiberfil.sys which will be the same size as the memory you have. This will not be backed up either. so thats another 1 GB less.
Then you can compress the drive using TI so say you choose normal compression it is likely you can reduce the total by another third. So 10GB gets reduced to 7.5GB without the page and hiber files and then down to about 5GB with compression. Each DVD can take 4.7 GB normally so its two DVD's worth in this scenario.
You mean I have to do math? <whine>
Or do it the easy way and just backup onto an external hard drive....they are going pretty cheap these days :)
I just ran a one click TrueImage on a laptop that I "thought" was fairly small. Turns out it took 9 DVDs and hooouuuurrrrss to run.
Any way to find out in advance the requirements?
This was my first Image job so bear with me.
tia...Bob
Estimate the total backup size to be 60% to 70% of the used space on the hard drive using the default compression settings i.e. Normal. But however many DVDs it is going to take, just wait till you need to restore from those 9 discs. You'll be in for a rude awakening. Start saving up for an external hard drive right away.
Thanks for the feedback. Seems clear that I'll be using hard drives, either USB or internal 2nd drive, depending. The Acronis Secure Zone looks promising.
...Bob
It seems to me that there have several posts about problems with the Secure Zone. I chose not to create it after following the forum for several weeks before installation. I purchased an external USB HD and use the rescue CD exclusively to make and restore FULL images. I’ve been using the software for several months and have had no issues. The 2nd HD recommendation is a good one. If you purchase one, consider formatting it in NTFS as this will allow ATI to create one single .tib file. FAT32 disks will store your backup in several files. You might ask others about using Secure Zone and what their experience has been.
I agree,
Secure zone should only be used by someone who has no other option but to back up to one hard drive.
The best, easiest and safest way is to use a second internal drive or even better, an external usb drive. That way you can unplug it when not in use and you know your back up or files are safe. Have a look for one of Mud Crabs posts on this forum, he has a link to his website after his posts and it has access to a program that reminds you to plug your hard drive in before your sheduled back up starts. Very handy indeed. It's software that he created I think.
What Waz says is worth considering.
1. If all you have is a "C" drive and it crashes, so does your secure zone. You will have to use the bootable rescue CD to boot your computer.
2. External HD's are cheap. I got a 500GB Western Digital USB 2.0 for about $70.00.
3. Boot with the rescue CD to make your backup image, save it to your external HD, and validate it. I do a FULL backup once a week (no incrementals or differentials - fewer files cause fewer problems). Unplug the HD, get it out of the house and bring it back for the next backup.
4. I use Karen's Replicator to back up my changed DATA to another external HD in between FULL backups.
4. Additionally, I bought another internal drive, installed it, and did a practice restore with the help of other knowledgeable forum members. All went well and It assures me that the rescue CD will work if I need it.
5. There are additional features are included in ATI (SZ, T&D, etc.) to compete with other products. I don't use them so can't comment 100% on their performance. I simply use the rescue CD to Backup to an external HD, validate, and restore. These features seem to work without a hitch.
I agree with all that both of you said. Before TI I was simply making a copy of all partitions on a regular basis. That's pretty much what I'll continue to do but using TI instead of PartitionMagic or Acronis DD.
I will continue to "clone" the system to a second internal drive as I have always done. By replugging the drives I immediately have a new bootable drive.
TI seemed to offer some interesting features and possibilities but I have been disappointed in the execution of them. I've deleted the secure zone, it did not do what I thought it might.
Thanks for all the comments and help... Bob