Need some computer help

[Robert Zambelli]

Auto backup.   
Can anyone reccommend a good program for automatic file backup.
I've heard that there are programs that will backup/save and store your files, photos, whatever.
Thanks for any help,


                          Bob Z.

[Bob Reeves]

Buy a bunch of USB thumb drives and just copy the stuff you want backed up. You can get crazy about it and sigh up with one of the Cloud services but thumb drives work and keeps your stuff within your control.

Just be careful when you buy the thumb drives, do not get them off eBay, buy name brands from Wal-Mart or Best Buy. Several eBay sellers are selling fake USB drives, they have figured out how to make the computer see an 8 gig drive as a 32 gig drive. They sell them as 32 gig but they will only hold 8 gig before they scramble the files you thought were safe on a thumb drive.

[peabody]

Or copy the stuff you want to a DVD...or several

[Randy Cuberly]

Or copy the stuff you want to a DVD...or several

Yeah, I agree with Peabody.  DVD's are probably the safest and least expensive way to go.

I've been doing it that way for several years and it seems to work just fine.

You do have to be a little astute about it but if you have outlook or one of the similar programs it's simple to have the computer remind you.

Randy Cuberly

[RknRusty]

Bob I use Acronis True Image Home to make a complete image of my computer on an external hard drive every Sunday night.
Call me one day next week and I'll tell you about it.
Rusty

http://www.acronis.com/en-us/promo/cyber/

[Bob Reeves]

Bob I use Acronis True Image Home to make a complete image of my computer on an external hard drive every Sunday night.
Call me one day next week and I'll tell you about it.
Rusty

http://www.acronis.com/en-us/promo/cyber/

And if you know the manufacture of your hard drive you can probably get it for free. Both Western Digital and Seagate have free versions of Acronis True Image available for download. The free versions require the computer have at least one of the manufacture's drive's in it other than that it's the full version. You can also use it to create a boot thumb drive with your hard drive image on it and do a full restore directly from the thumb drive.

[pipemakermike]

I have been using a free program called ABAKT.  I use it all the time and have a process where I do a full copy about once a week and an incremental (new and changed files only) every day when I am working on the design of the Baldwin locomotive.  The program is superb and, although now unsupported, is still available.

Abakt 0.9.5 - Build 333 is a program to create backups from your system. You can select which folders and files to backup, applying filters and sorting the files saved on those folders. You can apply filters to add or exclude files from your backups. You can archive the selected files using Zip or 7Zip, moving or copying those files.
You can set the program to take different actions according to the file´s attributes. You can choose to process empty files and folders or not. By choosing "Execute the Profile" you will perform all the selected actions you´ve chosen, with the settings and filters you specified. When the program finishes performing the requested actions, it will display a window with the resume of the process. You will be able to gain access to every step of the procedure by using the Menu Bar or the tabs in the interface. The program will be able to restore the backuped files and folders to their original state, even from zipped files. You will be able to create and edit backup templates.

[Bob Matiska]

I use the backup feature in Norton Utilities, which is provided by my ISP, utilizing those USB thumb drives as the backup medium. When my laptop went Tango Uniform a few months ago, however, I found out that the backup program had generated one large file that I couldn't get into to find my crucial aeromodeling files, among others. I had to remove the hard drive and install it in an external hard drive case (not difficult or expensive to do) in  order to access the files. I'm not sure if this is the way other backups mentioned here work. With my new laptop, I still use the Norton backup, since it would still be useful to restore the hard drive if necessary, but I also copy certain folders to a USB drive separately. Folders labeled Aeromodeling, Docs, Pictures, Cars, among others, are copied as they are, so I can access them easily if necessary.

I've used name-brand USB "Thumb" drives for years and never had a failure of the media (yet). This week's circulars for the Staples and OfficeMax/Office Depot in our area show a 16Gb Sandisk for just $6.99 and a 32 gigger for $12.99 at the former and Lexar drives of the same capacity for $7.99 and $19.99 at the latter. Those are very good prices; you should grab one or two and try them if you don't have any.

Respectfully,

Bob in NEPA

[RknRusty]

 

And if you know the manufacture of your hard drive you can probably get it for free. Both Western Digital and Seagate have free versions of Acronis True Image available for download. The free versions require the computer have at least one of the manufacture's drive's in it other than that it's the full version. You can also use it to create a boot thumb drive with your hard drive image on it and do a full restore directly from the thumb drive.

Yes,I do have a clearly marked thumb drive containing the Acronis rescue program with a keychain tag with the instructions attached. I have had to use it and it was quite painless.
Rusty

[Will Hinton]

I use a thumb drive for all my novel backups, and the only failure I have had was dropping my laptop and having it land on the Lexar!  Can't call that a failure of the Lexar, can I.
I backup every 15 minutes or at the end of every page, dependiong on my mood, and at the end of any session, regardless of how long or short, I take the drive from my laptop to my PC and transfer it there as well.  That way I have three copies, and they are all in my possesion.

[Ronald_Hook]

Bob,

I have been using Carbonite for several years and love it. It backs up everything on your computer automatically. As fast as you create a document, load a picture, etc. it is in the process of being backed up. You do not have to think about backing up, it is done for you. You can also tell if something is backed because Carbonite puts a very tiny colored circle next to every document, photo, etc. to let you know that it is backed up. Yearly cost is $59.99 for the basic program which includes unlimited storage space. See www.carbonite. com for complete information.

Ron Hook