external hard drive

Hello
I have EIDE with my Dell Dimension 4600. I want to get an external hard drive and wondered what the difference between "send to" and imaging is in transferring information to the external drive.
Also, how do I bridge the interface to sata?
Thank you

 

I read about the fragility of the adapter but otherwise it sounds good.
As a novice, I am reading all I can before buying the external drive that I can use with this EIDE and the next SATA. I came across an eSATA discussion which is still hard for me to comprehend.
I would like to think you can buy, as it appears to read, a cable that is both eSATA + usb and with an eSATA card I could enjoy the speed of SATA.
If I did not have the card in the EIDE pc at least I could use usb for this old pc then use eSATA with the new SATA pc.
Sound right? Any recommendations appreciated.

 

jump in

Thank you for the links.
I am getting the picure but it is confusing because there are variables, i.e. power, cards, connectors etc.
Maybe some one will jump in who is into this..
I guess this eSATA is relatively new stuff.

 

You articulated the issue so clearly that even I cold grasp it.
I know what to get but will have to get the equiptment to learn how to use it.
I think I know how to access either "send to" or the imaging restore feature if I have one but what do you do if you cannot power up; use the os. disc or the imaging disc if available?
Any remarks go into my learning folder and thank you very much for helping me close the chapter on the things to get..

 

I just pasted your information in one of my learning folders -thank you for taking the time.
May I ask, if you did not have an imaging proram but just used 'send to' to send the C: drive to the external drive, would you folllow your boot steps then get into the control panel and click the external drive to 'send to' the C: drive? This would be similiar to backing up and restoring with a flashdrive.
I'd like to start like that then image after so I could gather more maneuvering knowledge.
Thank you

 

To date I think;
1-I use flash drives for smaller files etc.
2-an imaging program for the o.s.
3-use a 2.0 external hard dive with both my eide pc and a newer sata one.
Both accept usb 2.0. If I had trouble I could get an adapter to address the specific problem.

I will enjoy imagaing;I started it years ago but was discouraged by a failure to restore. I now feel more confident to get this job done.
Thank you

 

Issues have arisen which cause me to change course.
I am going to get an HDD with a usb cable and back my o.s. to it.
In the event I need it I will restore from it.
If I ever am in the position where I have more time and resources I may entertain some of the more sophisticated ideas.
I have learned much for the discussions and am very grateful.

 

Hello
When you image your hard drive, is there a away to tell if the backup was successful?
Although somewhat redundant, I am getting Acronis and a 1T Western Digital external hard drive for my 500 GB hard drive. I will use a usb cable for transfer instead of e sata because it is easier for my level although I will sacrifice speed.
I am counting on the facts that I tic 'image' or 'backup', and view the newly created backup by looking in my computer. When time to restore, due to disaster, I will use the Acronis disc to boot if necessary and tic 'restore'.
Each week I will do an incremental backup after the initial full one.
Criticsms welcome.

 

Yes, as plodr said, Acronis has a "Validate" option you can do during backups do ensure that it was successful. It is a good idea to do it every time you back up (actually it's an extremely good idea!).

You can also validate your image any time under the Tools menu.

BTW - I use Acronis and two 1TB Western Digital MyBook Essential 2.0's (for redundancy), and they work perfectly for me. I always do full backups though. I never do incrementals.

 

>>May I ask your reason for doing full instead of incremental backups each time, and thanx to all for the validation information.

 

Forgive me for buddin in here fellas. Beginner here. I've been reading your thread on external hard drives. Something unfortunately I have not thought of till recently.

What version of this Acronis True Image is recommended for home use?

What are your thoughts of using online backup services good or bad?

Again sorry for the intrusion...

 

It's a personal preference really. One, I have the space. And two, I find it quicker and easier to restore should I ever need to. There's just one image, and if it's validated, then it works.

For incremental backups, you need to have your original image and every other incremental image up until the one you want to restore, and they all have to be good. If any one of those images becomes corrupt or bad along the way, then your restoration will not work. I've noticed that backups also take longer as the incremental chain grows too.

I'm not knocking incremental backups - they are a good way to do things if you have limited disk space or other specific strategies. It's just not the way I prefer to do things.

If you choose to do incrementals, my advice would be to do a full backup followed by a few incrementals (3-5). Then start over with another full backup, etc. The longer the chain grows, the more chances that something could go wrong.

 

I use Acronis True Image Home 11, which I bought a few years ago, for my OS backups. But I'm sure the newest version is just fine. (Home 2009 or 2010).

I don't know much about online backup services. I've never used one.

 

Time to buy;
I have the 2004 DEll Dimension 4600, pata or eide, and want to image to an external hard drive.
1- Is it factual that I can back up to a newer sata external hard drive but need an adapter to do so b/c I have pata or eide? This way I can back up with my old pata and when i get a new pc I can use the sata external for that one also.
2-I am going to get Acronis Back up and Restore, or True Image 10.
3- Does 32 but or 64 bit come into play when I buy the external hard drive?
Are there any other factors to consider?
Thank you

 

>>I have no special ports on my pc so I need a sata card -what is this? Is it something I can plug into my pc so I can transmit to the sata external hard drive. When my eide pc dies, I can unplug it and just usb from new sata pc to same sata extenal hard drive. I do not know how to put a card inside my pc.
If this is so, any recommendations on this card /adapter?

 

I searched this at Dell under "ide to sata cards". the Dell part number is A1312023 and the manf # isA2396.
Made by Thermal take Inc. for $41.99.
It is called Silver River duo.
Is this just a case or is this what I need to back up the ide pc to the sata pc if i do not know how to put something inside the old pc?
I need something like a dongle or exterior adapter.



http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1312023

 

>> I went to Best Buy and the Geek told me I have to use the same software that comes with the external drive or when I get a new pc, the external drive will be useless.
He said If I just want to do weekly back ups now with the old ide pc, get any external drive and do back ups to the sata external drive with the external drives software.
When I buy a new pc the external drive's software will work with it.

 

I apologize for being so 'hesitant' and 'redundant' but in researching, I have gotten conflicting reports. I want to be sure before I buy.
I will stick with you and plodr until I resolve this.
I currently have a Dell Dimension 4600 xp home, sp3. Norton Security suite, with a router.
This machine is old and has ide configuration..
I want to buy an external hard drive I can image to or back up to with this machine and, most external hard drives are sata which is good b/c eventually my new pc will be sata..
Because I will have to replace this machine soon, I want an external hard drive I can use with both this old machine(ide) and also a new machine when this one goes. I would like to be able to use the external hard drive with the new machine.
I got a message from a person who said Western Digital's SmartWare was bad so she used the software in her computer.
This is where I am riught now. I asked the Geek about the software issue and as I told you the Geeek said when the old pc breaks the new pc will not work with the external hard drive unless I use the software that comes with the external hard drive. I thought you could use the external drive with any sofware and when it is time to use it with a new pc it will still be recognized and will work with it.
If I understand you, I can just buy an external hard drive, with a usb cable, and back up or image to it with my current pc. Then when this pc dies, I can still use the external hard drive with the new pc.
Please correct me if I am mistaken and I plan on following your advice.
Please recommend an external hard drive and software to back up or image(whichever is the safest and easiest). I want to be able to retrieve lost files besides a complete back up of my machine in case of failure.
Thank you for the patience.

 

I wonder if I can connect to my desktop using Acronis then do the same with my laptop.
I did not know if or how you can include both pc's with one external drive and Acronis.
I use my desktop as the ?access point now so would like to avoid networking if possible but would do so to be able to back up the laptop.
You spent a lot of time and I appreciate it.
Btw, I am buying today if there is one on sale, probably like the one you showed me. I noticed the price difference so I am going to shop around.
Thanx for all

 

peterr,

I can vouch for what Halo is talking about. I have 3 1TB WD external hard drives myself (one of which I got around Christmas time too), and they work exactly the way he describes.

I also use Acronis True Image, by the way. It's absolutely the best program out there in my opinion.

 

I just bought a W.D. 1 T and Acronis true Image Home 2010 "PC Backup and Recovery.
I will install Acronis. I then will hookup the hard drive.
After that, I will se what I can do.
Question,
can I use Acronis with my laptop too?
I know i can hookup the W.D. drive to it but Acronis has 64 character serial code which may mean only one pc.
If I can install it on two pcs i will but if not maybe I can use Windows back up or ??

 

I wish to amend my previous post as I read I need two licenses.
I have not yet installed Acronis as I have a question.
I have the boxed version which says I can do a typical,custom, or complete install.
It says custom means I don't have to install Rescue Media Builder because I MAY use the Acronis disc.
Which of these should I use, and if I need to boot from failure would I use the Acronis cd or Recue media Builder cd if installed?

 

Acronis True Image -Back up + Recover 10

I got the boxed edition.
I see no 'incremental' only full or continuous.
I do not know which is better to use.
Also, what happens when the back up drive is full? I have a Western Digital 1T.
Thank you

 

I just wante to let you know what has happened so far for you and others who have this product.
It is, "Acronis True Image 10"
Back up and Recovery
1-I was advised to use typical install
2-I also did create the rescue disk called Acronis Media Builder.
Acronis recommends using the cd from the box first then the created one if it doesn't work.
3-Validation is accomplished by locating the archived material, right clicking it and choosing validate. Red is failed green is good.
4-NSB is non stop back up but requires a lot of resources.
5- ppi is 10$
6- the program will tell you when it is full
That is all I have learned so far.

Question, how do you remove unwanted material?

I did a backup and validated it; I should do a recovery but I need to get more familiar with this program.
Are there any simple tips to help familiarize at this point?
Thank you

 

PPI is price per incident.
I really appreciate your help overall.
I am getting the idea of back upo and recovery along with validation but I still need a lot of practise.
I think I will do daily manual backups but was trying to learn how to do scheduled for the sake of learning.
After you click on backup on the left then on the right, you check disks to be backed up>next>create new folder and use the date for example>ok>scheduling>pick a time>proceed(the password is the pc log on password).
Does this sound right?

 

In general I agree, but I can think of a situation where the Geek has an element of truth.

You can get free of charge and forever the full working Acronis together with Boot CD.
The drawbacks are :-
It is not the latest version (but I use the obsolete v11 and am more than happy with it) ;
It is only a special offer, typically for use with a system that includes a Seagate or Western Digital Drive ;

Consequently if hardware dies and is replaced the new system must still have somewhere a disc drive of the brand for which the freebie Acronis was supplied.

Just possibly this may have been what the Geek had in mind.

Regards
Alan

 

An Acronis backup may fail to restore, even if the image is validated.

This can be due to the computer hardware lacking compatibility with the "Linux type" drivers etc. A small minority of users have suffered this in the past. I do not know about the latest versions of Acronis.

Some users restore to a "spare" disc and then swap the spare with the System drive so they can fall back to the old System if the new one fails to boot.

The only failure I had was due to the power saving mode on my external backup drive. Acronis found the image I wanted to restore, and then rebooted to use the special Acronis drivers etc that function in the total absence of Windows.
I thought the next stage was to delete the system partition and then recreate empty and then restore the selected image,
but fortunately before it deleted the system partition it double checked and found the image file was missing, so it crashed and rebooted into Windows that came within one second of being destroyed.
The image file was absent because Reboot briefly interrupted USB ports and supplies, so the External drive powered down, and was not back up to speed when Acronis looked for the file. I disabled power saving after that.

Alan

 

>>I have a feeling that an average use as myself shoud have just backed up my things not on disk to flash drives as I was doing.
Between the complexity of the program for an average user, the extremely poor support and now these technical problems, way over my head, I was better off before. Oh well so much for $ and time.

 

I appreciate the help and will keep it in my inbox to study before I reply other than this note.
I was worn down with the poor support at Acronis especially chat.
I think I have managed to figure out backup, recovery, scheduling.
+validating.
The real reason i wanted this set up was to be able to recover a single file if i dropped it because I did a while ago which cost me a lot of grief.
I was able to do that today with the >recover, search utiity>right click, recover.
I'll be back tomorrow and thanx again for not just the very helpful information and good words, but the time consuming illustrations which make it so much easier to grasp.

 

Peter-

Please email your questions and I can help you out. Media@acronis.com.

 

Peter-

If I am reading your chain correctly, you want to set up an automated backup and be able to validate it. In addition, you want to be able to get a file from the archive.

This is very easy with Acronis True Image Home 2010. Halo did a good job of screen capping the process. Let me add to the getting a file portion of the question.

So I am assuming we did a full system backup, and then set up a schedule to automatically create incremental backups (or another set of fulls) and these files are validated.

So if you need to get a file back, you can use the "mount" feature. Mounting will take backup file .TIB and mount it as a virtual drive. You can then see the full drive in the backup, and drag out or open individual files.

If you need more info on this, please respond and I will try and help out.

-marc

 

First, Marc, I thank you for your offer and am happy you are on board.
Halo has helped me before and knows we centurions need extra patience. My skill level is fair.
I am studying his pictures I am abit overwhelmed right now so I am going to go sowly if that is ok. One topic at a time.
Below is a quote from my earlier post and I will add to it:

I just wanted to let you know what has happened so far for you and others who have this product.
It is, "Acronis True Image 10"
Back up and Recovery
1-I was advised by tech to use typical install
2-I also did create the rescue disk called Acronis Media Builder.
Acronis recommends using the cd from the box first then the created one if it doesn't work.
3-Validation is accomplished by locating the archived material, right clicking it and choosing validate.
4-NSB is non stop back up but requires a lot of resources.
5- ppi is 10$
6- the program will tell you when it is full

*I accomplished validation by going to the top where is says 'validation'.
*I did walk through the schedule and set it up once but tried the second time and failed.

Currently I am backing up with one touch back up(it says a backup is an image + I hope that is true). I will get to scheduling as I did it once but missed the second practise try.
*I validate after the back up with the validation tool at the top of the page.
*A problem I am having is identifying back ups as they seem to only have dates which do not agree with my clock at times. It could be my error.
A great success was that I could locate a *tib file and right clicked to see the recover option -I did not pull the trigger but at least I feel I can retrieve a lost file. I did it by entering the term in "search" . When I tried to 'browse' I could not find files unless I scrolled to "all files."

Below are the steps tech gave me to set up a schedule, so I have to now try what Halo has given me to sort scheduling out:
Schedule backup = click back up left side then right side, check disks on top to back up(the G is the destination), next, create new, browse, create new folder and name it with date, ok, scheduling, pick one (and use password you log onto pc with), proceed.
The removal failed the way they gave me:
Remove schedule = right click,edit,schedule, no –it will back up due to change.

At this point manual backup, validation and file retrieval are working.
I need to try Halo's scheduling approach, and also work on naming backups so i can find them when I need to.
I know this slow and i appreciate the patience.

I am off to try scheduling.