back up recommendations

[sixf00t4]

ok so i have an 18 gig external scsi drive and that is where i want the backed files to go.

i have a 20 gig, primary drive, and another 40 gig storage drive.

i want a program that will back up files automatically, in certain directories, not the whole drives. know of a program? and i want it to copy the files, not compress it into a image file. i want to be assured it is back up properly. any suggestions?

[John Prophet]

Here are a few freeware progs. I havent used them yet. It's on my things to do list (to find a good freeware prog)

JP

[M_Six]

I like Second Copy.

[sixf00t4]

thanks for the links JP

[sixf00t4]

hmmm second copy doesnt look too bad.....trying it out now... gracias M_Six!!

[Peter M]

Usual warning: One backup is like no backup. Figure this: What do you have when things go wrong DURING backup? Add this: Drives tend to go bad during heavy use. Backup is the heaviest possible use - 100 percent load on both drives.

[John Prophet]

I'll second that thought. I was servicing a ladys comp at a realty office. She has an assistant who uses the comp. They both know how to use a comp ok but like a lot of average users they get lost when they start trying to do things like navigate or browse from drop down menus etc.

So they have quicken which they back up to a location on the hard drive and then burn to a cd.

The way quicken works is when you click backup it shows you two locations..the one for the file you are working from and then the location you are backing up to. Pretty simple. Anyway somehow she got to working OFF OF the backup so that the location in the first field WAS the backup location and it defaulted to that in the first field cuz she was workin goff of the backup somehow. So of course it wouldnt then do a backup cuz it cant backup to the same directory etc.

Anyway she had a backup burned to cd from maybe two weeks ago.

To make a long story short I went there and...being the solid clear-thinking tech that I am...I proceeded to messup the backup on the cd and also restore a backup from 2 weeks ago WITHOUT backing up the latest 2 weeks worth of data.

Ruh roh.

So basically I was looking at 2 weeks of lost checking account entries etc for a very busy realtor.

(what I should have done of course was back up the current data to another location before trying to mess with it.)

Anyway, guess what saved the day??

XP RESTORE! lol...that newby safety net!

Err, uhh, hehehe. SO yes, one backup can sometimes be like no backup.

JP

[shahani]

You peeps sound paranoid to me. When you xerox a document do you usually also make 2 copies and store one in a different location "just in case"?

Actually, in my experience, hdd or cd/dvd back up is extremely reliable, safe and rarely will anything go wrong. Unless you do stupid things like using a CD with one years worth back up as a coaster for a coffee mug. Believe me, peeps do that --I saw one peep at my office using his laptop's restore CD, face down so if it scratches it makes it useless, as a coaster for a paper weight. Dude jsut didn't care or get it.

But, yeah, one back up is essential.

[meese]

If you want to do it yourself you could right a batch file using xcopy.

[shahani]

I do it the old fashioned way--copy everything from explorer to a CDRW.

Daily.

Works well.