Full backup C:\ (NTFS) to USB Flashdrive (FAT32)
I was backing up my C:\ to another hard drive. However, it appears that this "backup" drive has, or is, failing. I know this topic has been asked numerous times but I just have the time to try to find the answer(s) I am looking for. I have a 32gb USB flash drive (Kingston) and it is FAT32. There is approximately 20gb free space on the flash drive. My C:\ .. for backup .. is approximately 10-11gb to do a full backup. My question is ... can I do a full backup of my C:\ (NTFS) to my flash drive (FAT32)? Please advise soonest. Thanks.
There is nothing that prevents you from backing up an NTFS partition on a FAT32 disk. I am talking about a disk and partition image, not a clone.
From a space perspective, your situation looks like it should be working.
What prevents you from trying?
I seem to remember quite some time ago that I attempted to backup to the flash drive and it failed. I guess that I will try again shortly.
I just downloaded an update (build 7160) to Acronis TI Home 2010. So I will install this build first before I attempt another backup.
I thought about getting an external HD but never did get one.
I don't know why ... but ... for some reason, my computer is "eating" hard drives; particularly a second (extra) drive.
Oh well. Anyway, thanks for the response.
Michael:
If you're having multiple hard drives fail then check the temperature of your disks. If they get too hot they can fail prematurely. If needed, try an extra fan or a disk cooling fan assembly to keep the drive temperatures reasonably cool. I'd be uncomfortable if they ran hotter than about 60 degrees C.
Before you count on being able to successfully restore from the image on the flash drive, boot to the TI CD and make sure it can successfully validate the image. Flash drives can be tricky sometimes and what works in Windows doesn't always work in Linux.
I assume you know that the image will be split into 4GB files due to the FAT32 file size limit.
First off ... Mark ... I don't know if you mean 60-degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit. Typically, my HDs run an average temperature around 95-105 degrees Fahrenheit. I just checked the temp on my system drive and it is around 93-95 degrees Fahrenheit. I live in a tropical climate where the average humidity levels around 75 percent +- 10 percent. And, the average temperature is 85+ degrees Fahrenheit year-round. I use a small desktop fan blowing directly into the computer. I have both side panels to the case removed to help with eliminating some of the heat but it still gets hot sometimes. I cannot run any air conditioning as the cost of electricity is just too much! I will have to check the one hard drive checked and see if it is bad. It is still under warranty so getting it replaced such be fairly straight forward. I just got the drive replaced in November 2010 (250gb Seagate Barracuda 7200).
MudCrab ... I updated my copy of TI Home to v13.0.0.7160 last night. Then, I did a full backup to my flash drive ... successfully. So, guess I to reboot my computer with the TI Rescue CD that I made anew last night and see what happens. I would like to upgrade my Acronis TI but just can't afford it now. And anyway ... why upgrade if my current version is working okay?
Thanks to all that have responded thus far.
It's 60 degrees Celsius.
Michael:
Your drive temperatures are pretty reasonable at about 40 degrees C, so that doesn't explain the drive failures. The normal failure rate for hard disks is about 2% from data that I've read, meaning that 2% of a particular manufacturer's drives are returned under RMA for repair or replacement credit. Since some fail but are simply discarded and never reported to the manufacturer, the real failure rate is probably above 2%. Perhaps your recent experience is just bad luck.
Okay. Well ... let's see what transpires in the next few days.
I wanted to backup my computer before doing the MS updates and such and was having problems trying to
backup up my computer.
Right now, I am running on one 250gb system drive with about 220gb free space available, got my CD-RW
and have the flash drive. I guess I could partition the system drive to allow for Acronis backups. However,
the problem with that is ... if the drive fails everything is gone; backups included!
Oh well !!!