Problem setting up backup in Windows 7

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Recently Fred Langa published an article in Windows Secrets outlining steps for setting up a Backup on a computer employing Windows 7. I liked this and I put the wheels in motion to setup such a system. I purchased a Western Digital Passport external hard drive and plugged it into my computer, not realizing that the hard drive contained WD Smartware, the software for WD’s own backup solution. I could never get the two programs to tolerate each other and uninstalled the WD SmartWare software. However, the WD drive locks up (to protect data) and the schedule I set for backup does not start. Later, when I go to Windows Backup I am informed that the backup was unsuccessful. I can unlock the WD drive and manually perform a backup but this is not satisfactory.

I am thinking that the best thing for me is to wipe all data off the external HD and use Fred’s article to set my computer up. I imagine this would mean reformatting the HD to NTFS. Am I correct in this? If so, could someone guide me through this process? I have not done this before.

Any guidance for solving problem will be appreciated.

Bob P

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The Win 7 Backup and Restore, although it seems to work well for some, is less than full featured enough for many of us. There are many discussions in this forum on alternatives that work very well. Acronis True Image Home (my choice) and Macrium Reflect (free and paid options) are 2 of the most discussed. I would seriously check them out as well. Your thought to use Imaging is a VERY wise choice. I play with my system a lot and rely on Up To Date Images to save my bacon. When I say Up To Date, I create a new Image whenever I make a change in my system, i.e. add or remove apps, repartition or install updates, etc. I also use the old copy and paste for data, but since my data requirements are minimal compared to many this works fine for me. Both the Imaging apps I mentioned also work well for incremental backups of data.

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However, the WD drive locks up (to protect data) and the schedule I set for backup does not start. Later, when I go to Windows Backup I am informed that the backup was unsuccessful. I can unlock the WD drive and manually perform a backup but this is not satisfactory.

I am thinking that the best thing for me is to wipe all data off the external HD and use Fred’s article to set my computer up. I imagine this would mean reformatting the HD to NTFS. Am I correct in this? If so, could someone guide me through this process? I have not done this before.

With all due respects, Ted, how do i address this problem which I will have even if I download Macrium or Acronis?

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If so, could someone guide me through this process? I have not done this before.

how do i address this problem which I will have even if I download Macrium or Acronis?

“BeeMan”

Hello…. Yes this is the way i would proceed… Acronis is “Pay For” and i would not bother with the new releases 2011 or 2012… I use 2010 V-7046 and it works …and has many features that you do not need at this point. Macrium Reflect Free …will do the job for you …doing a full backup Image …You could also use the Windows flavor “Backup and Restore” function.. Your choice. I would use Macrium Reflect Free …for several reasons …

1. Search and remove anything related to WD, Program files, etc.( Don’t know if WD installs anything on C: ) Also…Check in “Disk Management” that WD is not on some small partition of it’s own.. After removal of files (might have to use a program Unlocker, or take ownership) or partition deletion, if necessary. Do a complete Image Backup. Then “Mount” it (to look at it if using Macrium) Also do a “Verify”. Make sure that you “Burn” the recovery disk and try booting from it. You may have to set your BIOS to boot from the CD …But that’s why your trying this…just don’t pull the trigger. Store (the Image) someplace safe …2nd internal HD or Ext HD or even Disks ….Just as long as it’s off your C: This way you will be safe no matter what happens…

2. Download a Partition Manager .. Like ..Gparted Free(Burn the .iso) and boot from it before you try this …get familiar with it.

3 Once your confident with the boot disks (Macrium and Gparted) …Load the partition Manager and “Wipe the WD HD” and format it to NTFS….

4. Re-boot . Run “Disk Management” and assign a drive letter of choice to the WD HD

If all goes well .You now will have an “WD free Image” and a new HD to do what you want …and some great Free program’s:cheers: Regards Fred

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Fred, when I go to Computer, it lists Hard Disk Drives (2). One of these, of course is the C: Drive. The other is My Passport K: which is the WD External Hard Drive. It shows 229 GB free of 298 GB.

Then it shows Devices with Removable Storage (7). The first one is DVD RW Drive D:. The second one shows CD Drive E: WD Unlocker. The remaining drives are “Removable Disks” F thru J. I access the unlocker for unlocking the WD External Disk through this Drive E. It shows 0 bytes free of 24.3 MB.

As you mentioned, Fred, this appears to me to be a Partition. If you agree, should I delete this Drive E:? I have removed all WD files I could find from the C: drive by going to Uninstall. I have deleted all files I could from Drive K: This leaves 69 GB on this drive which I feel is one or more Disk Images. I have been unable to remove this.

Your comments please.

Since the free version does not have Incremental, Differential nor File and Folder backups I presume that the primary effect would be the potential loss of a few files in that instead of constantly backing up, the backup would be done on a schedule so that the exposure to loss of data would be from one scheduled backup to the next scheduled backup. Am I understanding this correctly?

What would you do next, download Macrium Reflect Free?

Bob P

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Fred, when I go to Computer, it lists Hard Disk Drives (2). One of these, of course is the C: Drive. The other is My Passport K: which is the WD External Hard Drive. It shows 229 GB free of 298 GB.

As you mentioned, Fred, this appears to me to be a Partition. If you agree, should I delete this Drive E:? I have removed all WD files I could find from the C: drive by going to Uninstall.
Your comments please.

Bob,
Hello,
There is a caveat to all this …Is once you try to format the WD drive it may be “Toast” due to some internal protection.. Not having ever done this procedure with this type of “WD” drive ..all i can tell you is what i would do in your case…. Doing a “Full Image Backup” is always a good thing to do before trying something new. Make one ..and save it to DVD’s if you can’t find a flash drive, or someplace other than C: Remember if you toast C: and the image is there …It’s gone.

1. I would Download Gparted partition manager first and burn the .iso disk (post back if your not sure how)

2. Do a “full image backup” of your C: partition … you can use Macrium or Windows …Just make sure that you burn a recovery disk , so you can boot from it in the event something goes wrong.. (post back if your not sure how)

3.Once you have the partition manager in hand ( and the Image)…load it and re-boot..The reason is If the “E” partition has some kind of protection , it won’t let you format it once it’s up and running. (protects itself ) So… you boot into the Partition Manager before it can “load up”

4. One “Gparted” is up and running ..identify the “E” WD drive partition …it most likely have been assigned a different letter than Windows gave it… use the “size” as a “Tell”

5. Click on it and follow the prompts delete , expand , format, etc. Try to do a format (NTFS) and see if it will let you, If you are successful you then should be able to format the entire WD hard Drive … At this point It’s not working for you …so you don’t have much to loose.

Post back if you have more questions … maybe that someone who has tried this will post … :cheers: Regards Fred

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Fred, here is where I am with my problem. I downloaded Macrium Reflex Free. I brought out an 80 gb. external hard drive that I had, did a Quick Format to NTFS and, using Macrium, did a full image backup of my c: drive. I then attempted to burn a Recovery Disk. It started the process and immediately locked up. I had to do a ctrl-alt-delete and close Macrium. Thinking I might have a corrupted Macrium download, I deleted the program and downloaded it again. Once more I attempted to burn a Recovery Disk. The results were the same.

I then did a Quick Format of my new 300 Gb WD External Disk. Next, I did a full image backup of my c: drive using Macrium. Once more I attempted to burn a Recovery Disk using Macrium with the same results as before. At that point I had a full image backup on each of these external hard drives but no Recovery Disk. Also, I still had the lock/unlock partition on the HD.

Then I decided to try Windows Backup and Recovery to get a Recovery Disk. It apparently worked because at the end I was told that it was successful.

On the Lock/Unlock E: partition I tried to Format and could not do it.

As you suggested, I downloaded Gparted and burned a disk. I tried booting from this by setting the bios to boot from the CD/DVD drive but it did not work. After further research on the Internet I found that I needed an ISO burner to burn one. I downloaded FreeISOBurner.exe and used it to burn another CD. I tried booting from this and again it did not work. In both cases I wound up with a full boot. Apparently I am doing something wrong but just what? I’m almost to the point of throwing up my hands.
Any suggestions?

Bob P

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I then attempted to burn a Recovery Disk. It started the process and immediately locked up. I had to do a ctrl-alt-delete and close Macrium. Once more I attempted to burn a Recovery Disk. The results were the same.

I’m almost to the point of throwing up my hands.
Any suggestions?

Hi Bob,
Wow sounds like you’ve got your hands full…( i have “thrown up my hands also …many times..Just need to step back a while) Lets take this one step at a time..

1. Recovery Disk… You have a choice which to “burn” You should use the “Linux” option

2. Gparted… Yes you need to burn the .iso try this free program ImageBurn Free I have used this program with success many times .

3. As far as setting up up your “BIOS”.. You set the boot order so it will boot from CD ROM Group first… some BIOS even have a setting for “floppies” Make sure in disk management that the CD DVD RW has a drive letter associated with it and you can see it using windows explorer .

Post back with any questions:cheers: Regards Fred

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Fred, let me restate my objective and give you a status report. (Assuming you have not lost interest in my project) My objective has been to setup a backup system employing an External Hard Drive that I could schedule to automatically make a disk image of my c: drive on a weekly basis. Low maintenance if you will. My WD external hard drive has to be manually unlocked so until I can remove this feature it cannot automatically make a disk image.

As you suggested, I downloaded Gparted partition manager. I downloaded IMGBurn Free (which I like) and burned Gparted to a CD. I finally figured out how to make my BIOS boot from CD. I successfully booted to Gparted. It did not show any drive but the C: drive. It showed the three partitions below.

1 Dev/SDA 1 PQService 13GB 3.95GB free Flag Diag.

1 Dev/SDA2 System Reserved 100mb 66.42mb free Flag Boot

1 Dev/SDA3 E machines 685Gb 628.74Gb free

So the hope of being able to Format Drive E (The Unlocker) did not materialize.

Any suggestions on how to get Gparted to recognize “E” partition?

Also, even though Macrium Reflect Free supposedly allows for scheduling disk imaging, I have been unable to figure out how to schedule with it. The documentation for Macrium seems to show only screen prints of the regular version. It does a good job of manually doing a disk. However, I had to go to windows to burn a recovery disk. I guess I need to go ahead and try to boot from the recovery disk to prove that it is good.

If you haven’t lost interest, I would appreciate any comments you care to make.

Bob

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As you suggested, I downloaded Gparted partition manager. I downloaded IMGBurn Free (which I like) and burned Gparted to a CD. I finally figured out how to make my BIOS boot from CD. I successfully booted to Gparted. It did not show any drive but the C: drive. It showed the three partitions below.

Also, even though Macrium Reflect Free supposedly allows for scheduling disk imaging, I have been unable to figure out how to schedule with it.

If you haven’t lost interest, I would appreciate any comments you care to make.

Bob,
Hello… I have been a technician of one type or another for my whole 30+ year career, and enjoy trying to help people with problems… PC wise. I can relate to how frustrating it is getting something figured out .. (at your prompting, still trying to get a “BartPE” Disk built..so far no go) Now on to the task at hand…Lets solve the most important one first ( getting a backup to run on schedule)

I posted some screen shots to help you along with Macrium … basically
1. Select which HD partition you want to Image…
2. Click through the first screens ..you can change the backup name and location,etc.
3. After you click “Finish” you have the option to save this backup as “Task” XML …do so
4. After running the image and “verifying it” you can then “mount” it just to have a look..
5. If all is OK, then you go and select “XML Definition Files”…. The “Scheduled Backups”…. Follow Prompts

As to the next problem Post back when you have worked out the Imaging thing..

PS: When your running “Gparted” you need to (if you didn’t already) click on the “Drop Down Arrow” (upper right corner)..to see all the drives present.:cheers: Regards Fred

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Hi Fred. I’m back!

I opened Macrium Reflect Free and did an image of my C: drive again. I then verified the image, mounted it and checked it out. Everything appeared good. I then scheduled a backup once a week. I did not find a way to maintain the backups at so many, say five backups, by deleting the oldest one each time. Maybe it would be necessary to do this manually although backups would not be automatic. Or perhaps Macrium Reflex Free will automatically delete the oldest one once the capacity of the disk is reached.

I put the recovery disk I had made using Windows into the CD/DVD drive and booted with this. Everything appeared normal until I got down to finding the drive which contained the image. I could not find it because it was locked. Every time the computer goes into sleep mode or the computer is shut down the WD External drive locks and I have to unlock it before anything can be done with it. However, when booting from the rescue disk I cannot get to it to turn it on. Oh, such frustration!!! Perhaps this problem could be handled by tweeking the Registry but I really don’t have the expertise for this.

Any other ideas?

Bob

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I put the recovery disk I had made using Windows into the CD/DVD drive and booted with this. Everything appeared normal until I got down to finding the drive which contained the image.

Hi Bob,
Yes your making progress !…. You need to burn the Macrium Reflect (Linux) recovery disk …you can’t recover an Image made by Windows …using Macrium …Also you now see the reason that i suggested running Gparted from a boot disk …

1. Burn ( macrium Reflect) and check (Try booting from it) the Linux version recovery disk… If this is OK …step two

2. Run Gparted and look for the WD drive “Tick” the drop down upper right corner of the Gparted screen to show and select what drive that you want to see … will only display “default” C: initially

Post back with your results :cheers: regards Fred….”gotta” go and do some real work…ugh!

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Seems like it is always two steps forward and one step backwards–or is it vice versa?

I finally was able to burn a Linux Version Rescue Disk using Macrium. In order to do so I had to set it to Create ISO Image File and then burn the disk using IMGBurn Free. I then booted from this CD. Everything appeared normal until I got down to finding the drive which contained the image. I could not find it because it was locked. Every time the computer goes into sleep mode or the computer is shut down the WD External drive locks and I have to unlock it before anything can be done with it. However, when booting from the rescue disk I cannot get to it to turn it on. Oh, such frustration!!! I tried doing what you said in 2 above but clicking the drop down arrow did not show anything. The WD disk is locked so GParted does not see it. (At least that is my theory.)

Bob

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Seems like it is always two steps forward and one step backwards

Bob,
Indeed ! OK first i want to apologize for not being clear…Let me restate

1. You do not need to burn the Macrium recovery disk using ImageBurn… You just put a CD in your tray and point Macrium to it and let it “do it’s thing”..

2. As of now you do not want to place your Image on the WD drive ….Cause it’s “Locked up” when you re-boot….so will be of no value …if and when you need it…

3. Make an Image and save it some place off your C: OS. ( and not to the WD)

4. Boot from the Macrium disk…. and make sure that Macrium loads up and you can see the Image … ( wherever you put it)

5. That done, at least you now have a “Rescue plan” in the event that something goes wrong.

Now on to the next problem… Unlock the WD Hard drive …. Open Windows “Disk Manager” and find the WD drive.

Post back as to what you see ( or do a Screen Shot…. Better) EX : what format is the WD? Size, Partitions, etc.

:cheers: don’t feel bad .. as many will learn and benefit from reading this thread… (including myself) Regards Fred

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Fred, re your comment in #1, I tried a number of times to burn a rescue disk in Macrium by simply pointing it to my CD/DVD drive. In each case it would start to burn and immediately lock up. But I do have a good Macrium Rescue Disk by creating an ISO file and then burning with IMGBurn.

I had saved a Macrium disk image to an 80GB external HD earlier this week. I connected this drive to my computer and then booted using the Macrium Rescue Disk. I located the HD with its images in the window and it appeared that it would work OK. I was a little fearful about proceeding further for fear of going too far. I have every reason to think that I’m covered in case something happens.

Here is Screen Shot of Disk Manager showing the Drive E Unlocker.

Drive L is the 80Gb External disk that I have a disk image on.

Bob

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Here is Screen Shot of Disk Manager showing the Drive E Unlocker.

Drive L is the 80Gb External disk that I have a disk image on.

Bob,
Hello… Now we are getting somewhere …UDF (Universal Disk Format ) There is a “Free Tool” that can do the job …I have never used it …as i do not have any “UDF’s” UDF wiper tool Read through the website’s notes …Download and give it a try :cheers: Regards Fred

PS: Give a read before at this site as well UDF Info

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I read the link UDF Info two or three times and it seems to describe my situation very well.

I have downloaded and installed HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool Vs. 2.1.8 Rev A. However, double clicking the program window brings up a window that says “Permission Denied. The Administrator Rights are required to run this tool.” Looks like I am stymied again. (I am set up as Administrator on my computer.)

Bob

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Never mind, Fred. I found a solution to this problem, online. I will try to use the program. I will let you know the results.

Bob

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Fred, perhaps I have made some headway. I ran the HP USB Disk Format Tool and used it to format Drive K: which is the WD External HD. The E: drive partition which contained the Unlocker did not show up in the list of drives. (In order to use this program I had to right click on the desktop shortcut and click Run as Administrator.) The backup image I had on WD Passport was deleted as expected.

Last night at the scheduled time Macrium ran a Disk Image. When viewed in Macrium, Passport, which is nominally a 300 GB drive, shows a total of 298.6 GB with 45.377GB used. (the one image)

Macrium, of course, does not show the E: partition.

When I go to Disk Management I find the E: partition and it shows 24.3 Mb all of which is in use. No free space.

From all this I really do not know if the problem partition is gone or not. In time I will know if after the computer has gone into sleep mode Macrium will awaken the computer and run the backup.

What do you think about all this, Fred?

Bob

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When I go to Disk Management I find the E: partition and it shows 24.3 Mb all of which is in use. No free space.

What do you think about all this?

Hi Bob,

Sounds like you did not format the “E” partition but the “K” you need to “wipe delete” the “E” (using the “Tool”) and re-format the entire WD drive to NTFS, as one drive … Then when you look at it using Disk Manager …you should only see one continuous HD … :cheers: Regards Fred

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I agree with you, Fred. The problem is “how”.

Attached, is a screen print of the “Tool” showing the drop down selection window. As you can see, the “E” drive is just not there.

Bob

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I agree with you, Fred. The problem is “how”.

Attached, is a screen print of the “Tool” showing the drop down selection window. As you can see, the “E” drive is just not there.

Bob

Bob,
Hello… Your Attachment is a no show …Maybe you have to Unlock it first before you run the program?… Don’t Know as i have not used that software…:cheers: Regards Fred

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No, it was “pilot” error.

Maybe this time.

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Bob,
OK …
1. Did you unlock the drive before you ran the program (as admin) ?

2. Can you after running the program.. Format the drive “E” using Windows Disk Management?

3. After running the program does “E” still show as “UDF”

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Bob,
OK …
1. Did you unlock the drive before you ran the program (as admin) ? Yes

2. Can you after running the program.. Format the drive “E” using Windows Disk Management? No

3. After running the program does “E” still show as “UDF” Yes

Bob

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Bob, Sounds like the WD software is still active..are you sure that you removed all of the WD “Smartware “? see this link remove smartware Regards Fred

PS: Newer version of the HP tool HP Tool

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Fred, this is the way I uninstalled the software the first time. Later, I formatted the drive which wiped it clean. There was nothing on the K: drive. However the Virtual CD, Drive E: is another story. There is where the problem lies. Below is a link to the WD website where they have instructions on how to disable it–not remove it but hide it or disable it. Please read it and let me know if, in your opinion, following this procedure will solve the problem. I would not miss the small amount of space I would lose on the drive.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3835/session/L2F2LzEvc25vLzEvdGltZS8xMzE3Njk1MjMxL3NpZC9KYzdjS0dGaw%3D%3D

Bob

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Below is a link to the WD website where they have instructions on how to disable it–not remove it but hide it or disable it. Please read it and let me know if, in your opinion, following this procedure will solve the problem. I would not miss the small amount of space I would lose on the drive.

http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3835/session/L2F2LzEvc25vLzEvdGltZS8xMzE3Njk1MjMxL3NpZC9KYzdjS0dGaw%3D%3D

Bob,
Seems that we both found the link to that page ..and as of now that’s your only option (hide or disable) From what i have read on “smartware” is that it can’t be removed… some links say differently, but looks like it’s there to stay. I would proceed with the “Disable ” option and if that works you could then “hide” the small partition… personally if it were mine…. i would set it up on my backyard dirt pile, and expose it to some “Good ole NE Tennessee 62grain .223 FMJ therapy” … would make me feel a whole lot better. As for now….. I’m out of ideas….:cheers: Regards Fred

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Fred, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate your efforts in this matter. I have learned a lot from you during this experience (besides learning to be super careful about buying another Western Digital Hard Drive again). I have become comfortable with working with my BIOS, Formatting a hard drive, setting up and using backup programs, Burning ISO Disks, Burning Recovery Disks and going through the recovery process (at least partially) and so much more. So, you see, at least for me, it has not been a waste of time. As a matter of fact it has been an invaluable experience. I will try disabling the VCD and let you know if I am successful.

Bob

Incidentally, it appears that you might be a deer hunter. :rolleyes:

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Bob,
Glad that i could provide some assistance with your problem … Seems that we both learned a few things .. I hope that you will continue with the “Lounge” and now you will be able to pass along things that you have learned and be of help to others ….

PS: I’m not a hunter …but live literally in the mountains of NE Tennessee..surrounded by forest… Sometimes the things that live in the “Woods” decide to come out …..:flee: Best…. Fred

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I join in a little late. Here is my 2 cents:
If you want to use a USB drive as plain hard drive, I advise skip the recent WD USB drives. They usually contain software that is hard to remove. The software is called Smartware. The software is great for security and encryption. But it presents a problem for simple access, and/or for simple storage.
Smartware encrypts the entire drive. You need a password to get access to it. Then Smartware creates a virtual CD drive. In this CD drive, it puts in a self-start (autorun) software to run the password request program, asking you to enter the password, for accessing the entire drive.

Without the password, you cannot access the drive. If you lose/forget the password, your drive is a coaster, per WD info.
For security it is good. For plain storage and plain access, it is a nightmare.

Seems Smartware, for security reasons, is ‘burned’ into the boot sector or secured area of the hard drive, or its electronic memory. What that means is you may not be able to remove it. Not even a full format can remove Smartware. Can you get rid of Smartware and getting back a plain hard drive? I’m told no. But some in the web say yes.

My advise: Try other brands of hard drives. Skip WD hard drives with Smartware. If you want secured and encrypted USB drive, then go for the WD drive with Smartware.

My take: I pay for it. Why would I not allowed to use it the way I want (say, reformat it to xFat, for Mac PC, etc.).
Besides, not many ordinary consumers have 1TB, 2TB, of privacy files and data.

Again, if you want a hard drive for backup storage, and to have less headache, then skip the WD drives with Smartware.

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One more thing re WD drive with Smartware.
As time goes by, Smartware maybe obsoleted. 5-10 years later, maybe none of the operating systems, PCs, tablets can run Smartware. That means the whole drive, your data in it, is inaccessible.

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Thanks Scaisson. Unfortunately, I have found this out the hard way.

Looks like I will be looking around for a replacement. I’m going to give WD a chance to take this back and exchange it for an External Hard Drive without the Smartware. If they don’t, I will mark them off my list and will be looking at a competitors product. Seagate perhaps?

Bob P

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I do a windows scheduled windows 7 backup daily to a Hitachi 2 TB external drive with no problems, I got this drive from Amazon for less than 100.00 dollars new.

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Fred, I told you I would give you a report concerning disabling the VCD. Here is one final report I thought you, and possibly others following the thread, might be interested in.

I continued working on this problem backing up my computer using the Western Digital My Passport Essential external hard drive and finally came up with what I feel is a solution. I found out from Western Digital that I could “permanently unlock” the Smartware Software on this drive. This required opening the program and clicking “Security” on the “Drive Settings” screen which displayed the “Your Drive is Secure” dialog. I then typed in my password and clicked on “Remove Security” option. Next, I clicked “Update Security Settings” to remove password protection from the drive and redisplay the “Set Security” screen.

Sunday night the Macrium Reflect Free program was set to produce an image of my c: drive. Checking My Computer the next morning showed that an image had, indeed, been made.

To assure myself that the image could be accessed in case of disaster, I put the Macrium Rescue Disk in my CD/DVD drive and booted from it. I readily found the image that was run the night before and followed the wizard to the last screen where I could have clicked “Finish” to complete the procedure.

From this experience, it appears that I have solved my backup problem. The VCD of course is still on the drive but does not take up much space.

I know you are not interested in all the details but perhaps someone else with this same problem may benefit from this information.

I have one question for you pertaining to Macrium. When this drive is full of images will it automatically delete the oldest one or just quit imaging? I could not find a way to set deleting the oldest image as a preference.

Again thanks for your help.

Bob

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Fred, I told you I would give you a report concerning disabling the VCD. Here is one final report I thought you, and possibly others following the thread, might be interested in.

I have one question for you pertaining to Macrium. When this drive is full of images will it automatically delete the oldest one or just quit imaging? I could not find a way to set deleting the oldest image as a preference.

Hi Bob,
Wow… it’s been a long thread, glad to hear that you have sorted it out and posted back …I’m sure your work will not be wasted, and save many a lot of time. As far as Macrium Reflect.. I have tried there new release V 5. and the recovery disk will not work on my system… The old one (linux) does. The new just loads and gives me a “GRUB” prompt.. have no idea of what to do with it? For now I’m switching back to the old version and can use Acronis for my “Cloning chores”.. See this Macrium for feature comparison with Macrium…The “Free”… doesn’t appear to let you “manage disk space” :cheers: Regards Fred

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This is an absolute mess of a process.

I also own a WD Password Essential USB external drive with so called “WD Smartware” but I have to tell you that the Smartware should be renamed Dumbware. It is unreliable sometimes backing up all incremental changes and other times skipping standard files that have changed since the last backup. Worse, i’ve been on the phone for hours with WD support and they are unable to solve problems although to their credit they are responsive.

Worst of all, they told me to never password protect my backup because the password file could become corrupt preventing access to the data. Based on this suggestion I wonder if they drives have a repultation for corrupting files.

THere must be a simpler solution than this convoluted Macrium process described above and the totally unreliable WD Dumbware. Does anyone else have a simple, reliable solution?

Thanks.

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This is an absolute mess of a process.

THere must be a simpler solution than this convoluted Macrium process described above and the totally unreliable WD Dumbware. Does anyone else have a simple, reliable solution?

PC,
Hello… I have used Windows Backup, Macrium, Paragon, Acronis. EASEUS, And they are all about the same in user friendliness.. I suggest that you pick one and “slug it out” until your comfortable with all the in’s and out’s of the program …they are not all that bad to learn…and the time is well spent learning one (or all) My advice is to get a “Plain Jane” Hard Drive with no “added features” and do what you wish to it , without any complaints from it.:cheers: Regards Fred

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Does anyone else have a simple, reliable solution?

If one is just backing up data, skip the imaging programs, no matter what they say about file and folder backup capabilities. I think the two processes should be kept separate ( the image programs haven’t specialized in file and folder backups long enough to be really good at it).
Imaging is a process that only needs to be done before and after (if successful) major change to a system. I’ve been using Syncback Free for years now, automatically does it job every day in the background, keeps hundreds of gigs of data synchronized to a couple locations on a network and the only problem I have is remembering to do a spot check on the process to make sure its still doing it’s job. I forgot once for nearly 6 months! It was still working just fine.

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Does Synchback Free do only incremental backups or does it back up all data files everytime?

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If one is just backing up data, skip the imaging programs

“Ifc”

Hello… I have to disagree.. If your like me. ( somewhat of a PC newbie ).. always “fooling” with (to learn about) or who likes and loves to experiment with your OS… You would be making a huge mistake , not doing a “Full Image ” backup of your OS, and Data. Can’t tell you how many “Recoveries” i have done…Has got to be around a hundred or so by now ..i have lost count. For others who use PC’s for some business reason, or those (like yourself) who have lots of experience …It’s not such a big deal… Backing up (OS Data) is the most important thing that a PC user can do.Even if it costs you a few $$..”Just say-in” :cheers: Regards Fred

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I couldn’t agree more, Fred. As another person who likes to “play around” and try things, my images have saved me countless times. In my case, using Macrium Reflect (paid version), and having a separate partition for my data and for my OS (W7 Home Premium), it takes me 3 minutes and 30 secs. on average to back up my data; and almost 8 minutes to do my OS partition.

I’m slightly anal, so I do these every day. I run them when I’m having breakfast, so there’s no inconvenience to my usage for other things.
Dick

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I have three hard disk drives. My desire is to back up personal data files primarily. While performing an image would be useful, i think it would take to long to perform on a daily basis. I’m more interested in incremental backups of data files that occurs whenever i plug in my external drive. This is what WD Smartware is supposed to do but fails to do most of the time.

I wonder if the topic of backup utilities could be addressed in more detail in a future newsletter.

Thanks.

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I’m more interested in incremental backups of data files that occurs whenever i plug in my external drive. This is what WD Smartware is supposed to do but fails to do most of the time.

PC,
I wouldn’t waste my time doing “Incremental s” …Too much opportunity for something to go wrong… A full image backup is easy and quick, and can setup to run on a “auto basis” ( name them by Date & Time ) Keeping track of incremental backups can become a “Nightmare”. With Most imaging Programs you can adjust the amount of “compression” use ..so they are not as large as the original… :cheers: Regards Fred

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I have 700 GB of drives – it takes a long time to image each.

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I have 700 GB of drives – it takes a long time to image each.

“PC”

Hello… I have TB’s of drives, and you only Image the “Data” contained in each…not the whole HD …Although you can do a “sector by sector” Image if you wish…. Or are you saying that you have 700GB of Data? Regards Fred

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I have about 350GB of data

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“PC”

Hello… My advice is “just do it” (Full Image) even if it’s once a week , and delete the previous if space is an issue .. Even with a 1TB storage drive (external) you could keep two weeks worth… If your need’s are different …then do whatever you have to …”Just Image” whatever works for you.I’m just a simple PC Hobby user …research, E-Mail, on line purchases , etc.. For me incremental Images would keep me up at night. Regards Fred

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Thanks for the help.

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Syncback SE does file versioning, incremental and differential backups. Syncback Free will only perform the various forms of synchronization. Only the initial run copies all of the data to the destination location (and data back to the source if true synchronization is used), after that its only the files that change and with a ton of data like you and I have, it takes much longer to actually cross check files in order to determine the changes that have occurred than it does to actually copy over the files that have changed, but its still much quicker than it would be to try and image hundreds of gigs of data over and over.
Also data verification is immediate, 1 to 1 and if true synchronization is used, one can use either data source at any time for program input (though two people should not be working on the same files in both locations at the same time) because whatever changes are made are reconciled with the other database on the next synchronization run. In fact its more difficult to delete data with true synchronization; it must be deleted in all locations or it will repopulate on the next backup run. File versioning however is not something that’s accomplished using this method…better get the previous version from the other source or it is replaced by the latest version on the next synchronization run.
For me it would be a colossal waste of time and energy to image large datasets over and over and manage multiple backup sources for space dependencies when the dataset changes are often enough to require daily backup. Heck some do it as frequently as every 15 minutes or by instantaneous monitor but I’m personally willing to lose one day’s worth of data changes.

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