need a good backup method or program

"Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> Hi

>

> I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data since

> the

> last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can run

> at

> the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

>

> I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

> runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take over

> the

> PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up with

> Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

>

> All help appreciated

>

> regards

>

> Daniel

August 7, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the home

edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then again,

it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in the

Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

"Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> Hi

>

> I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data since

> the

> last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can run

> at

> the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

>

> I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

> runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take over

> the

> PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up with

> Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

>

> All help appreciated

>

> regards

>

> Daniel

August 7, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

Gary, thanks for the reply,

perhaps I can get the ATI edition, I'm not sure what it is, but how will a

command line interface help me?

thanks

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

> Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the home

> edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then again,

> it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in the

> Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

>

> I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

>

> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> > Hi

> >

> > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data since

> > the

> > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can run

> > at

> > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

> >

> > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

> > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take over

> > the

> > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up with

> > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

> >

> > All help appreciated

> >

> > regards

> >

> > Daniel

>

August 7, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

Acronis True image 10 will allow you to make scheduled backups, mine is set

for once a month, just be sure your destination has enough room for the

backup files to reside.

"Daniel - Sydney" wrote:

> Gary, thanks for the reply,

>

> perhaps I can get the ATI edition, I'm not sure what it is, but how will a

> command line interface help me?

>

> thanks

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

>

> > Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the home

> > edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then again,

> > it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in the

> > Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

> >

> > I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

> >

> > --

> > Gary S. Terhune

> > MS-MVP Shell/User

> > http://www.grystmill.com

> >

> > "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> > news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> > > Hi

> > >

> > > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data since

> > > the

> > > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can run

> > > at

> > > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

> > >

> > > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

> > > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take over

> > > the

> > > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up with

> > > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

> > >

> > > All help appreciated

> > >

> > > regards

> > >

> > > Daniel

> >

August 7, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

sgopus <sgopus@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Acronis True image 10 will allow you to make scheduled backups, mine is set

>for once a month

You might look to changing that: a lot can happen/change in a month.

I do a full backup - FULL BACKUP - of my system every night to a

second internal hard drive (I have three internal drives and one

external). It's completed automatically at a time that I'm unlikely to

be using the system.

I do a full backup to the external drive weekly, and do incremental

backups nightly - again, at a time when I'm unlikely to be using my

system.

My third internal hard drive? It's a clone of my system drive and I

clone that every Sunday morning when I leave for church.

AND... I use a program called Second Copy to keep my data updated on

that third, cloned drive.

I'm rarely more than a few hours away from restoring everything to

what I want/need.

August 7, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

"Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> Hi

>

> I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data since

> the

> last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can run

> at

> the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

>

> I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

> runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take over

> the

> PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up with

> Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

>

> All help appreciated

>

> regards

>

> Daniel

Daniel:

In addition to the Acronis True Image program that has been mentioned, you

might want to check out another comprehensive backup program to meet your

wife's needs. As a matter of fact it might even meet your needs!

I'm assuming you've had little or no experience with disk imaging/disk

cloning programs that are employed as comprehensive backup programs, so I'm

going to provide a substantial amount of background info as I describe this

particular program. The info I'm providing has been taken from a paper I

prepared for the members of a local computer re this program. So forgive me

if I'm including info that you're already familiar with re these types of

programs...

The program we've been working with over the past six months or so is the

Casper 4.0 disk cloning program. By & large we've been quite impressed with

this program and it's become our disk-cloning program of choice. Let me say

at the outset, however, that potential users should note that this is a

*disk cloning* program - not a disk imaging program - in the sense that the

program is designed to create (for all practical purposes) a bit-for-bit

copy of the HDD so that if the recipient of the "clone" is an internal HDD,

that cloned HDD will be bootable and its data immediately accessible, unlike

the situation where a disk image is created on the recipient HDD and a

recovery process is necessary to restore the image to a bootable,

data-accessible state.

Note, however, that should the recipient of the clone be a USB or Firewire

external HDD - since that device is not ordinarily bootable - its contents

(although accessible from the boot HDD) would need to be "cloned back" to an

internal HDD should the recovery/restore process be necessary to create a

bootable HDD. On the other hand, should the HDD encased in the USB enclosure

be removable, it could be installed as an internal HDD in the PC and thus

the user would once again have a bootable functioning HDD.

The Casper 4.0 program also has the happy capability of cloning individual

partitions on one HDD to another HDD, not merely creating a "disk image" of

the partition(s).

The significant advantage of the Casper 4.0 disk cloning program over other

disk cloning programs that we're familiar with, e.g., Acronis True Image or

Symantec's Norton Ghost, is its ability to create *incremental* disk clones

following the creation of the original (first) disk clone. Employing what

Casper calls its "SmartClone" technology the program can create subsequent

disk clones of the source HDD usually at a fraction of the time it takes to

create a "full" disk clone. This results in a decided incentive for users to

undertake frequent complete backups of their systems knowing that they can

create "incremental" disk clones in a relatively short period of time.

The Casper 4.0 program's capability in creating these incremental disk

clones results in a significant savings of time as compared to the usual

time it takes to create a cloned disk using other disk-cloning programs.

Knowing that this incremental disk cloning process will take only a

relatively short period of time provides the user with increased motivation

to back up their systems on a much more frequent & systematic basis than

they might otherwise do - a most desirable result as I think most PC users

would all agree. This feature, of course, would be particularly desirable

for someone like your wife who is interested in daily backups of the system.

And understand that when we're talking about "backups" in this context,

we're talking about a backup system that "backs up" the operating system,

all programs & applications, and all user-created data. What better backup

system can one have?

Also to be noted is that the Casper 4.0 program is capable of scheduling the

disk-cloning process on a daily, weekly, or other time period selected by

the user. So this would also be of particular interest to your wife.

Using the Casper program is simplicity itself. There's virtually no learning

curve in undertaking the disk cloning process as one navigates through the

few easy-to-understand screens with a final mouse-click on the button which

will trigger the disk-cloning process. After undertaking one or two

disk-cloning operations it should take the user no more than 20 seconds or

so to get to that point.

Here's a more-or-less typical example of using the program to manually clone

the contents of one HDD to another HDD (internal or external)...

1. Access the Casper 4.0 program by double-clicking on its Desktop icon.

Just what you wanted, right?

2. Click on the opening screen's "Copy Drive" icon.

3. Click on the Next button on the "Welcome..." window.

4. Select the "Copy an entire hard disk" option, then the Next button.

5. The next window will reflect the HDD to be copied, presumably your boot

drive. Click Next.

6. The next window will list the "destination" HDD, i.e., the drive that

will be the recipient of the cloned contents of the drive you're copying.

Highlight that drive listing and Click Next.

7. A warning screen will appear indicating the destination HDD is "currently

in use" and that "all data on that disk may be lost if you continue". It's

just a cautionary note so click Next.

8. Since you're cloning the entire contents of your source HDD to the

destination HDD, just click Next on the next screen to accomplish that.

9. Select the "Perform the copy now" option and click Next and then Next

again on the following screen.

The disk-cloning operation will proceed with a final screen indicating its

successful conclusion.

And as I've indicated above, daily cloning of the day-to-day working HDD

should take only a few minutes depending, of course, on the amount of data

being cloned. Because of Casper's SmartClone capability the process is

unusually fast as compared to other disk-cloning programs.

The program is not particularly inexpensive as disk cloning programs go.

Cost for a single-license is $49.95. AFAIK, the program is available for

download only from the developer at http://www.fssdev.com and this does not

include the "Casper Startup Disk" which sells for an additional $9.95. That

"Startup Disk" is a really essential piece of the program since in many

cases it would be the only way to effect a recovery of the system when the

installed Casper program could not be accessed from the Windows environment

because the program resides on a HDD that has failed or has become

unbootable. The usual scenario for using the Startup Disk is when the

recipient of the clone has been an external HDD - most likely a USB external

HDD - and the original source disk has become defective or dysfunctional

(unbootable) so that there is no opportunity to access the installed Casper

program. Since the USB external HDD containing the cloned contents of the

source drive is not bootable, one must use the Startup Disk in that

situation in order to clone the contents of the external HDD back to a

non-defective internal HDD in order to recover the system.

The developer does have a 30-day trial version available - see

http://www.fssdev.com/products/casper/trial/. The trial version is somewhat

crippled but should give one some reasonable insight as to how the program

works. However note that the trial version does not include the program to

create the "Startup Disk" described above.

Do take a look at this program before you make any final decision about

purchasing a disk-cloning program. And, of course, compare it with the

Acronis True Image program as well since a trial version of that program is

also available from that developer.

Anna

August 7, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

ATI is short for Acronis True Image. Check it out here:

http://www.acronis.com

Most people use the Home edition, but I use their Workstation version, which

is somewhat different. The reason I mention the command-line aspects is so

you can easily make a shortcut that starts the backup. Otherwise, you need

to open the program to start a manual backup. You can also avoid using ATI's

own scheduler and use Windows Scheduled Tasks, instead. Not that you're

likely to need it, but I found ATI's own scheduler to be deficient. Had to

write my own scripts to get the results I wanted.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

"Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:D10E9C51-FCA5-476A-97CA-EBF97ECE3534@microsoft.com...

> Gary, thanks for the reply,

>

> perhaps I can get the ATI edition, I'm not sure what it is, but how will a

> command line interface help me?

>

> thanks

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

>

>> Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the home

>> edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then

>> again,

>> it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in the

>> Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

>>

>> I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

>>

>> --

>> Gary S. Terhune

>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>

>> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

>> message

>> news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

>> > Hi

>> >

>> > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data

>> > since

>> > the

>> > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can

>> > run

>> > at

>> > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

>> >

>> > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

>> > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take

>> > over

>> > the

>> > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up

>> > with

>> > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

>> >

>> > All help appreciated

>> >

>> > regards

>> >

>> > Daniel

>>

August 7, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

On Tue, 7 Aug 2007 16:00:29 -0700, "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote:

> ATI is short for Acronis True Image. Check it out here:

> http://www.acronis.com

Careful, Gary. That might confuse people. Although that's what you

meant by ATI, most people thing of ATI as a video card manufacturer.

http://ati.amd.com/

> Most people use the Home edition, but I use their Workstation version, which

> is somewhat different. The reason I mention the command-line aspects is so

> you can easily make a shortcut that starts the backup. Otherwise, you need

> to open the program to start a manual backup. You can also avoid using ATI's

> own scheduler and use Windows Scheduled Tasks, instead. Not that you're

> likely to need it, but I found ATI's own scheduler to be deficient. Had to

> write my own scripts to get the results I wanted.

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

>

> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:D10E9C51-FCA5-476A-97CA-EBF97ECE3534@microsoft.com...

> > Gary, thanks for the reply,

> >

> > perhaps I can get the ATI edition, I'm not sure what it is, but how will a

> > command line interface help me?

> >

> > thanks

> >

> > "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

> >

> >> Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the home

> >> edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then

> >> again,

> >> it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in the

> >> Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

> >>

> >> I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

> >>

> >> --

> >> Gary S. Terhune

> >> MS-MVP Shell/User

> >> http://www.grystmill.com

> >>

> >> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

> >> message

> >> news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> >> > Hi

> >> >

> >> > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data

> >> > since

> >> > the

> >> > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can

> >> > run

> >> > at

> >> > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

> >> >

> >> > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

> >> > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take

> >> > over

> >> > the

> >> > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up

> >> > with

> >> > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

> >> >

> >> > All help appreciated

> >> >

> >> > regards

> >> >

> >> > Daniel

> >>

>

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User

Please Reply to the Newsgroup

August 7, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

I'm with you there;

Main hd mirrored, using a dedicated raid card, Acronis automatically

creating a clone every 2 days to a third hd, data & certain sys files backed

up every night offsite, and finally weekly data backup to an external

drive - backups done with seperate apps & all verified.

Its not the data recovery that takes the time, its the App

reinstallation/configeration, in the event of a total sys failure.

"Uncle Grumpy" <unclegrumpy@ameritech.net> wrote in message

news:verhb3p1u5npp98ve63emns593fat0fmvn@4ax.com...

> sgopus <sgopus@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>

>>Acronis True image 10 will allow you to make scheduled backups, mine is

>>set

>>for once a month

>

> You might look to changing that: a lot can happen/change in a month.

>

> I do a full backup - FULL BACKUP - of my system every night to a

> second internal hard drive (I have three internal drives and one

> external). It's completed automatically at a time that I'm unlikely to

> be using the system.

>

> I do a full backup to the external drive weekly, and do incremental

> backups nightly - again, at a time when I'm unlikely to be using my

> system.

>

> My third internal hard drive? It's a clone of my system drive and I

> clone that every Sunday morning when I leave for church.

>

> AND... I use a program called Second Copy to keep my data updated on

> that third, cloned drive.

>

> I'm rarely more than a few hours away from restoring everything to

> what I want/need.

August 8, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

Yeah, I realize that. I was referring to my previous usage. Should have

added some annotation, <s>.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

"Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in message

news:u4vhb39j8bc6er7rred6av9fdjuffg7b8d@4ax.com...

> On Tue, 7 Aug 2007 16:00:29 -0700, "Gary S. Terhune" <none> wrote:

>

>> ATI is short for Acronis True Image. Check it out here:

>> http://www.acronis.com

>

> Careful, Gary. That might confuse people. Although that's what you

> meant by ATI, most people thing of ATI as a video card manufacturer.

> http://ati.amd.com/

>

>> Most people use the Home edition, but I use their Workstation version,

>> which

>> is somewhat different. The reason I mention the command-line aspects is

>> so

>> you can easily make a shortcut that starts the backup. Otherwise, you

>> need

>> to open the program to start a manual backup. You can also avoid using

>> ATI's

>> own scheduler and use Windows Scheduled Tasks, instead. Not that you're

>> likely to need it, but I found ATI's own scheduler to be deficient. Had

>> to

>> write my own scripts to get the results I wanted.

>>

>> --

>> Gary S. Terhune

>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>

>> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

>> message

>> news:D10E9C51-FCA5-476A-97CA-EBF97ECE3534@microsoft.com...

>> > Gary, thanks for the reply,

>> >

>> > perhaps I can get the ATI edition, I'm not sure what it is, but how

>> > will a

>> > command line interface help me?

>> >

>> > thanks

>> >

>> > "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

>> >

>> >> Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the

>> >> home

>> >> edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then

>> >> again,

>> >> it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in

>> >> the

>> >> Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

>> >>

>> >> I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

>> >>

>> >> --

>> >> Gary S. Terhune

>> >> MS-MVP Shell/User

>> >> http://www.grystmill.com

>> >>

>> >> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

>> >> message

>> >> news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

>> >> > Hi

>> >> >

>> >> > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data

>> >> > since

>> >> > the

>> >> > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife

>> >> > can

>> >> > run

>> >> > at

>> >> > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

>> >> >

>> >> > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and

>> >> > it

>> >> > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take

>> >> > over

>> >> > the

>> >> > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up

>> >> > with

>> >> > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

>> >> >

>> >> > All help appreciated

>> >> >

>> >> > regards

>> >> >

>> >> > Daniel

>> >>

>>

>

> --

> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User

> Please Reply to the Newsgroup

August 8, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

Gary et Al

thasnks for your relies, I will look into it, I am a total novice with

command line except to run chkdsk etc, how do I use a command line to ruin a

back up, basically I do not understand how or what is required?

thanks and regards

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

> ATI is short for Acronis True Image. Check it out here:

> http://www.acronis.com

>

> Most people use the Home edition, but I use their Workstation version, which

> is somewhat different. The reason I mention the command-line aspects is so

> you can easily make a shortcut that starts the backup. Otherwise, you need

> to open the program to start a manual backup. You can also avoid using ATI's

> own scheduler and use Windows Scheduled Tasks, instead. Not that you're

> likely to need it, but I found ATI's own scheduler to be deficient. Had to

> write my own scripts to get the results I wanted.

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

>

> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:D10E9C51-FCA5-476A-97CA-EBF97ECE3534@microsoft.com...

> > Gary, thanks for the reply,

> >

> > perhaps I can get the ATI edition, I'm not sure what it is, but how will a

> > command line interface help me?

> >

> > thanks

> >

> > "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

> >

> >> Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the home

> >> edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then

> >> again,

> >> it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in the

> >> Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

> >>

> >> I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

> >>

> >> --

> >> Gary S. Terhune

> >> MS-MVP Shell/User

> >> http://www.grystmill.com

> >>

> >> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

> >> message

> >> news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> >> > Hi

> >> >

> >> > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data

> >> > since

> >> > the

> >> > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can

> >> > run

> >> > at

> >> > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

> >> >

> >> > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

> >> > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take

> >> > over

> >> > the

> >> > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up

> >> > with

> >> > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

> >> >

> >> > All help appreciated

> >> >

> >> > regards

> >> >

> >> > Daniel

> >>

>

August 8, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

The program's documentation tells you how to construct the command, what the

variable parameters are, so you can tell the app in detail what you want it

to do. You don't need to open a command prompt and type in the command, you

can use a command line in a shortcut, for instance, or in a script or batch

file. This is the command line I use to run my edition of Acronis on this

machine:

C:\progra~1\Acronis\TrueImageWorkstation\TrueImageCmd.exe /create

/filename:{varies} /incremental /compression:3 /partition:1-1,1-2,1-3,1-4

That command says to create an image file (with a name determined by the

script I use to launch the procedure), to make it incremental (though if

that filename doesn't already exist, then a full backup is done), to use

medium compression, and to include partitions 1, 2, 3, and 4 on disk 1.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

"Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:C8A43CA1-EBFA-491B-BBDE-758A028DF85C@microsoft.com...

> Gary et Al

>

> thasnks for your relies, I will look into it, I am a total novice with

> command line except to run chkdsk etc, how do I use a command line to ruin

> a

> back up, basically I do not understand how or what is required?

>

> thanks and regards

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

>

>> ATI is short for Acronis True Image. Check it out here:

>> http://www.acronis.com

>>

>> Most people use the Home edition, but I use their Workstation version,

>> which

>> is somewhat different. The reason I mention the command-line aspects is

>> so

>> you can easily make a shortcut that starts the backup. Otherwise, you

>> need

>> to open the program to start a manual backup. You can also avoid using

>> ATI's

>> own scheduler and use Windows Scheduled Tasks, instead. Not that you're

>> likely to need it, but I found ATI's own scheduler to be deficient. Had

>> to

>> write my own scripts to get the results I wanted.

>>

>> --

>> Gary S. Terhune

>> MS-MVP Shell/User

>>

>> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

>> message

>> news:D10E9C51-FCA5-476A-97CA-EBF97ECE3534@microsoft.com...

>> > Gary, thanks for the reply,

>> >

>> > perhaps I can get the ATI edition, I'm not sure what it is, but how

>> > will a

>> > command line interface help me?

>> >

>> > thanks

>> >

>> > "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

>> >

>> >> Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the

>> >> home

>> >> edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then

>> >> again,

>> >> it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in

>> >> the

>> >> Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

>> >>

>> >> I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

>> >>

>> >> --

>> >> Gary S. Terhune

>> >> MS-MVP Shell/User

>> >> http://www.grystmill.com

>> >>

>> >> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

>> >> message

>> >> news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

>> >> > Hi

>> >> >

>> >> > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data

>> >> > since

>> >> > the

>> >> > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife

>> >> > can

>> >> > run

>> >> > at

>> >> > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

>> >> >

>> >> > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and

>> >> > it

>> >> > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take

>> >> > over

>> >> > the

>> >> > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up

>> >> > with

>> >> > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

>> >> >

>> >> > All help appreciated

>> >> >

>> >> > regards

>> >> >

>> >> > Daniel

>> >>

>>

August 8, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

Gary

Thanks for taking the time to detail it for me, I will give it a go.

regards

Daniel

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

> The program's documentation tells you how to construct the command, what the

> variable parameters are, so you can tell the app in detail what you want it

> to do. You don't need to open a command prompt and type in the command, you

> can use a command line in a shortcut, for instance, or in a script or batch

> file. This is the command line I use to run my edition of Acronis on this

> machine:

> C:\progra~1\Acronis\TrueImageWorkstation\TrueImageCmd.exe /create

> /filename:{varies} /incremental /compression:3 /partition:1-1,1-2,1-3,1-4

>

> That command says to create an image file (with a name determined by the

> script I use to launch the procedure), to make it incremental (though if

> that filename doesn't already exist, then a full backup is done), to use

> medium compression, and to include partitions 1, 2, 3, and 4 on disk 1.

>

> --

> Gary S. Terhune

> MS-MVP Shell/User

>

> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:C8A43CA1-EBFA-491B-BBDE-758A028DF85C@microsoft.com...

> > Gary et Al

> >

> > thasnks for your relies, I will look into it, I am a total novice with

> > command line except to run chkdsk etc, how do I use a command line to ruin

> > a

> > back up, basically I do not understand how or what is required?

> >

> > thanks and regards

> >

> > "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

> >

> >> ATI is short for Acronis True Image. Check it out here:

> >> http://www.acronis.com

> >>

> >> Most people use the Home edition, but I use their Workstation version,

> >> which

> >> is somewhat different. The reason I mention the command-line aspects is

> >> so

> >> you can easily make a shortcut that starts the backup. Otherwise, you

> >> need

> >> to open the program to start a manual backup. You can also avoid using

> >> ATI's

> >> own scheduler and use Windows Scheduled Tasks, instead. Not that you're

> >> likely to need it, but I found ATI's own scheduler to be deficient. Had

> >> to

> >> write my own scripts to get the results I wanted.

> >>

> >> --

> >> Gary S. Terhune

> >> MS-MVP Shell/User

> >> http://www.grystmill.com

> >>

> >> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

> >> message

> >> news:D10E9C51-FCA5-476A-97CA-EBF97ECE3534@microsoft.com...

> >> > Gary, thanks for the reply,

> >> >

> >> > perhaps I can get the ATI edition, I'm not sure what it is, but how

> >> > will a

> >> > command line interface help me?

> >> >

> >> > thanks

> >> >

> >> > "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

> >> >

> >> >> Hmmm... I should have mentioned that I use ATI workstation, not the

> >> >> home

> >> >> edition. Home edition *might* not have a command-line interface. Then

> >> >> again,

> >> >> it just might not be mentioned in the Home edition's manual. It's in

> >> >> the

> >> >> Workstation edition manual, which I can't find on their site.

> >> >>

> >> >> I think I'll back away slowly, <s>. Good luck.

> >> >>

> >> >> --

> >> >> Gary S. Terhune

> >> >> MS-MVP Shell/User

> >> >> http://www.grystmill.com

> >> >>

> >> >> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

> >> >> message

> >> >> news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> >> >> > Hi

> >> >> >

> >> >> > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data

> >> >> > since

> >> >> > the

> >> >> > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife

> >> >> > can

> >> >> > run

> >> >> > at

> >> >> > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

> >> >> >

> >> >> > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and

> >> >> > it

> >> >> > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take

> >> >> > over

> >> >> > the

> >> >> > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up

> >> >> > with

> >> >> > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

> >> >> >

> >> >> > All help appreciated

> >> >> >

> >> >> > regards

> >> >> >

> >> >> > Daniel

> >> >>

> >>

>

August 8, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

Hi Anna

nice to hear from you again, of course you know why I am here in the first

place,

and thanks for your detailed advice.

The Casper 4.0 looks to be exactly what I am looking for, especially with

the boot disk as I want to back up to an external USB drive.

I'll have a close look at it and let you know.

regards

Daniel

"Anna" wrote:

>

> "Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:6B9AC41C-D329-4C17-AB1B-7E0FBB1E3607@microsoft.com...

> > Hi

> >

> > I have XP Pro, having just survived a major crash, and losing data since

> > the

> > last backup, 5 days, I need to set up a daily backup that my wife can run

> > at

> > the end of each day, she takes care of the business end of things,

> >

> > I need to have an icon on the desktop that can be double clicked and it

> > runs, is there a program out there that can do this that won't take over

> > the

> > PC and load a lot of stuff I don't want, I tried to set something up with

> > Windows backup but it does not run automatically for some reason.

> >

> > All help appreciated

> >

> > regards

> >

> > Daniel

>

> Daniel:

> In addition to the Acronis True Image program that has been mentioned, you

> might want to check out another comprehensive backup program to meet your

> wife's needs. As a matter of fact it might even meet your needs!

>

> I'm assuming you've had little or no experience with disk imaging/disk

> cloning programs that are employed as comprehensive backup programs, so I'm

> going to provide a substantial amount of background info as I describe this

> particular program. The info I'm providing has been taken from a paper I

> prepared for the members of a local computer re this program. So forgive me

> if I'm including info that you're already familiar with re these types of

> programs...

>

> The program we've been working with over the past six months or so is the

> Casper 4.0 disk cloning program. By & large we've been quite impressed with

> this program and it's become our disk-cloning program of choice. Let me say

> at the outset, however, that potential users should note that this is a

> *disk cloning* program - not a disk imaging program - in the sense that the

> program is designed to create (for all practical purposes) a bit-for-bit

> copy of the HDD so that if the recipient of the "clone" is an internal HDD,

> that cloned HDD will be bootable and its data immediately accessible, unlike

> the situation where a disk image is created on the recipient HDD and a

> recovery process is necessary to restore the image to a bootable,

> data-accessible state.

>

> Note, however, that should the recipient of the clone be a USB or Firewire

> external HDD - since that device is not ordinarily bootable - its contents

> (although accessible from the boot HDD) would need to be "cloned back" to an

> internal HDD should the recovery/restore process be necessary to create a

> bootable HDD. On the other hand, should the HDD encased in the USB enclosure

> be removable, it could be installed as an internal HDD in the PC and thus

> the user would once again have a bootable functioning HDD.

>

> The Casper 4.0 program also has the happy capability of cloning individual

> partitions on one HDD to another HDD, not merely creating a "disk image" of

> the partition(s).

>

> The significant advantage of the Casper 4.0 disk cloning program over other

> disk cloning programs that we're familiar with, e.g., Acronis True Image or

> Symantec's Norton Ghost, is its ability to create *incremental* disk clones

> following the creation of the original (first) disk clone. Employing what

> Casper calls its "SmartClone" technology the program can create subsequent

> disk clones of the source HDD usually at a fraction of the time it takes to

> create a "full" disk clone. This results in a decided incentive for users to

> undertake frequent complete backups of their systems knowing that they can

> create "incremental" disk clones in a relatively short period of time.

>

> The Casper 4.0 program's capability in creating these incremental disk

> clones results in a significant savings of time as compared to the usual

> time it takes to create a cloned disk using other disk-cloning programs.

> Knowing that this incremental disk cloning process will take only a

> relatively short period of time provides the user with increased motivation

> to back up their systems on a much more frequent & systematic basis than

> they might otherwise do - a most desirable result as I think most PC users

> would all agree. This feature, of course, would be particularly desirable

> for someone like your wife who is interested in daily backups of the system.

> And understand that when we're talking about "backups" in this context,

> we're talking about a backup system that "backs up" the operating system,

> all programs & applications, and all user-created data. What better backup

> system can one have?

>

> Also to be noted is that the Casper 4.0 program is capable of scheduling the

> disk-cloning process on a daily, weekly, or other time period selected by

> the user. So this would also be of particular interest to your wife.

>

> Using the Casper program is simplicity itself. There's virtually no learning

> curve in undertaking the disk cloning process as one navigates through the

> few easy-to-understand screens with a final mouse-click on the button which

> will trigger the disk-cloning process. After undertaking one or two

> disk-cloning operations it should take the user no more than 20 seconds or

> so to get to that point.

>

> Here's a more-or-less typical example of using the program to manually clone

> the contents of one HDD to another HDD (internal or external)...

> 1. Access the Casper 4.0 program by double-clicking on its Desktop icon.

> Just what you wanted, right?

> 2. Click on the opening screen's "Copy Drive" icon.

> 3. Click on the Next button on the "Welcome..." window.

> 4. Select the "Copy an entire hard disk" option, then the Next button.

> 5. The next window will reflect the HDD to be copied, presumably your boot

> drive. Click Next.

> 6. The next window will list the "destination" HDD, i.e., the drive that

> will be the recipient of the cloned contents of the drive you're copying.

> Highlight that drive listing and Click Next.

> 7. A warning screen will appear indicating the destination HDD is "currently

> in use" and that "all data on that disk may be lost if you continue". It's

> just a cautionary note so click Next.

> 8. Since you're cloning the entire contents of your source HDD to the

> destination HDD, just click Next on the next screen to accomplish that.

> 9. Select the "Perform the copy now" option and click Next and then Next

> again on the following screen.

>

> The disk-cloning operation will proceed with a final screen indicating its

> successful conclusion.

>

> And as I've indicated above, daily cloning of the day-to-day working HDD

> should take only a few minutes depending, of course, on the amount of data

> being cloned. Because of Casper's SmartClone capability the process is

> unusually fast as compared to other disk-cloning programs.

>

> The program is not particularly inexpensive as disk cloning programs go.

> Cost for a single-license is $49.95. AFAIK, the program is available for

> download only from the developer at http://www.fssdev.com and this does not

> include the "Casper Startup Disk" which sells for an additional $9.95. That

> "Startup Disk" is a really essential piece of the program since in many

> cases it would be the only way to effect a recovery of the system when the

> installed Casper program could not be accessed from the Windows environment

> because the program resides on a HDD that has failed or has become

> unbootable. The usual scenario for using the Startup Disk is when the

> recipient of the clone has been an external HDD - most likely a USB external

> HDD - and the original source disk has become defective or dysfunctional

> (unbootable) so that there is no opportunity to access the installed Casper

> program. Since the USB external HDD containing the cloned contents of the

> source drive is not bootable, one must use the Startup Disk in that

> situation in order to clone the contents of the external HDD back to a

> non-defective internal HDD in order to recover the system.

>

> The developer does have a 30-day trial version available - see

> http://www.fssdev.com/products/casper/trial/. The trial version is somewhat

> crippled but should give one some reasonable insight as to how the program

> works. However note that the trial version does not include the program to

> create the "Startup Disk" described above.

>

> Do take a look at this program before you make any final decision about

> purchasing a disk-cloning program. And, of course, compare it with the

> Acronis True Image program as well since a trial version of that program is

> also available from that developer.

> Anna

>

August 8, 2007

Re: need a good backup method or program

You're welcome. I don't know that you really need to be concerned with the

command-line aspects, and as I say, I don't see them mentioned in the Home

version's documentation. I'd have to experiment to find out if it's the same

as in the workstation version. Still, for backup you can't do much better

than Acronis, and you might find that the Home version makes it easy to

manually start a backup. Or maybe one of the many people here who use it

could tell you how it works.

--

Gary S. Terhune

MS-MVP Shell/User

"Daniel - Sydney" <DanielSydney@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:41DE99E2-DD26-408E-94D1-7F0CFC876918@microsoft.com...

> Gary

>

> Thanks for taking the time to detail it for me, I will give it a go.

>

> regards

>

> Daniel

>

> "Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

>

>> The program's documentation tells you how to construct the command, what

>> the

>> variable parameters are, so you can tell the app in detail what you want

>> it

>> to do. You don't need to open a command prompt and type in the command,

>> you

>> can use a command line in a shortcut, for instance, or in a script or

>> batch

>> file. This is the command line I use to run my edition of Acronis on this

>> machine:

>> C:\progra~1\Acronis\TrueImageWorkstation\TrueImageCmd.exe /create

>> /filename:{varies} /incremental /compression:3

>> /partition:1-1,1-2,1-3,1-4

>>

>> That command says to create an image file (with a name determined by the

>> script I use to launch the procedure), to make it incremental (though if

>> that filename doesn't already exist, then a full backup is done), to use

>> medium compression, and to include partitions 1, 2, 3, and 4 on disk 1.

>>

>> --

>> Gary S. Terhune

>> MS-MVP Shell/User