Backing up hard drive C:

[atom]

Hi, can some sifu here point me the right way of backing up my drive C. (I Just bought an external 2.5-inch external hard disc)

To back up a file or a folder (such as my document), I normally just drag and drop from drive C to my external media such as my kingston thumb drive.

But to back up the entire drive C, can I drag the drive C and drop it onto my new external 2.5-inch hard drive (window designated it as drive J)? Can I do that? So easy? It sounds too easy to be true...

Instead, I just used the Accessories>system tools>backup method to backup, is this the correct way? But I couldn't see the files that I just backup. Window just name the file "Backup" and no other detail I can get from there. That scare me.. not knowing what are the files that now are residing in my external hard disc..

[birdy]

I think if u were to drag your C drive and drop into your external hardisk, it will create only a shortcut instead of copy it. There are few options you can opt that I could think of at this moment :-

1. Copy folder by folder just as what you did when you do it with your pendrive. No point backup your Window system folder as it may not work by merely copying back. Just backup those data files that you created.

2. Using third party software such as Norton Ghost, etc to make an identical image of your hardisk... but the downside of this is you need to have the software installed before able to restore the backup.

[hhtee]

Stare at your hard disk as though it is going to bite you. Get up from your chair slowly. Keep staring at it and take a few steps behind while maintaining the stare.



LOL.

What I would do is I would create a Briefcase in your external drive. Then drag the necessary folders that I want to backup to the external drive. Hey, there is no point to backup the WHOLE drive! Remember that windows is still in C:\ drive. Is it necessary to backup windows ? What I normally would do is to backup only data files. So in C:\ I would have a special folder e.g. Office_Data.

In Office_Data, there are sub folders, e.g. Project A, Project B, Project C, Files Downloaded While I Idle, Boss Not Around Folder, etc.

So, what I do next is drag the Office_Data folder to the briefcase located in the external drive.

For a more detailed description on Briefcase, I suggest you press F1 and search for the help on Briefcase.

Hope that's helpful

[FineTuned]

But to back up the entire drive C, can I drag the drive C and drop it onto my new external 2.5-inch hard drive (window designated it as drive J)? Can I do that? So easy? It sounds too easy to be true...

Firstly, Windows will not support a drag and drop of the entire drive on which the operating system resides for copy protection purposes. You will find that many crucial protected system files are not copied over.
One way I have found you can do this is to remove the hard drive and connect it to another pc so it becomes a secondary drive. Then, you can drag and drop the entire drive to a third drive. This is very tedious, of course, and has little practical value unless you are planning to upgrade to a larger drive, and do not wish to reinstall Windows all over again.

Most of us do backups only of important data since these cannot be reinstalled or restored if lost due to a hard disk crash or defect. If your purpose is to protect your data, there are many backup software for this purpose such as the one mentioned by birdy. But I have found, like many others, the initial learning curve for some of these can be daunting.

The simplest manual system I use is just keep all your data in one logical (secondary) partition and organise it as best as you can. Then drag and drop it as often as you can into your external drive. This is essentially the same as hhtee's idea. But minus the staring.....

[atom]

Thanks FineTuned, hhtee and birdy for your valuable advices. So, I will just drag and drop my data folder to my external hard disc.

Just one little confusion here.. I know about drag and drop as I have been doing it most of the time copying files and folder onto my Kingston thumb-drive, but why briefcase on external drive if we just want to drag and drop data file? I read through web explanation on briefcase but end up no wiser from where I have started. Please advise.

Another minor question. Last time it took me two days to fully figure out on the configuration protocols on my streamyx and wireless router. If my hard disc were to crash, it will likely to cost me another two unproductive days just to fumble around on this configuration nightmare. So, how do we back up all this personal setting such as those on streamyx and router?

[birdy]

Just one little confusion here.. I know about drag and drop as I have been doing it most of the time copying files and folder onto my Kingston thumb-drive, but why briefcase on external drive if we just want to drag and drop data file? I read through web explanation on briefcase but end up no wiser from where I have started. Please advise.

The benefit of briefcase is that it can synchronize your file when there is update. In another word, if you have updated your file in C drive... by pluging in your external drive and click on synchronize (or is it done automatically?) it will update your external hard disk with the file that has changed!

Another minor question. Last time it took me two days to fully figure out on the configuration protocols on my streamyx and wireless router. If my hard disc were to crash, it will likely to cost me another two unproductive days just to fumble around on this configuration nightmare. So, how do we back up all this personal setting such as those on streamyx and router?

Just let the wireless or networking setting be auto - then it will ease your job no matter how many times u format your PC!

[atom]

Thanks, birdy. It all makes sense now.

[FineTuned]

The benefit of briefcase is that it can synchronize your file when there is update. In another word, if you have updated your file in C drive... by pluging in your external drive and click on synchronize (or is it done automatically?) it will update your external hard disk with the file that has changed!

Thanks, birdy, for this piece of gem. However, I have this phobia about not being able to go back to a previous version of a modified file. Does briefcase make a backup of the file before updating it?

I currently use a third party file manager to drag and drop my files, and the manager can give me a list of modified files so that I can either rename the new file, or just overwrite the older one. This process can get quite tedious, as you can imagine, especially if I haven't backuped for some time. Still hunting for a smarter solution......

[Mammoth]

Thanks, birdy, for this piece of gem. However, I have this phobia about not being able to go back to a previous version of a modified file. Does briefcase make a backup of the file before updating it?

I currently use a third party file manager to drag and drop my files, and the manager can give me a list of modified files so that I can either rename the new file, or just overwrite the older one. This process can get quite tedious, as you can imagine, especially if I haven't backuped for some time. Still hunting for a smarter solution......

I doubt it back up the previous version before synchronize. ... ... but with the advance technology ... the 2.5' external hardisk can go up as high as 160Gb (may not be updated... maybe more, I don't know). You can backup on your own before synchronize. The problem with third party software is u hv to do it manually... and for someone like me, who tend to be lazy to do it manually, auto synchronization actually ease my load! (Correct me if I am wrong, birdy).

[blurrman]

depending on what u want atom, instant complete system recovery or data only recovery...

backing up just the data to briefcase will not bring back you system (os, software, etc, etc too many things to mention)...but it is the easiest method to do if u just want to back up the data.

backing up a system will need software like norton ghost and other hard disk image backup software.

[atom]

Thanks, blurrman. My original intention is to back up the whole system but it seem like the trouble of going through all the software thing is not worth it. The name norton ghost already sound so creepy. So now just settle for backing up data.

[wsl]

If I want to back-up my data from my notebook to my Desktop PC, what is the fastest way to do it?

[Mammoth]

If I want to back-up my data from my notebook to my Desktop PC, what is the fastest way to do it?

through networking lar... the easiest but not necessary the fastest. Alternatively, use DVD to backup and then transfer to your desktop... you have duplicate backup then.. Good!