Automatic Back-up for the PC

lostkat · 08-02-2009, 13:28

I'm installing Mum's new external hard drive today and I want something (free) that will automatically back up her stuff with minimal fuss.

I have SyncToy for myself, but I think you can only create pairs with that, so you have to back-up manually. From past behaviour, I have no confidence that she'll actually do this so I want something that will just work in the background.

Is the standard back-up wizard on Windows XP any good?

Any recommendations??

Ta

divine · 08-02-2009, 13:41

Not used it but I hear Syncback SE is good, though it costs $30.

I'm told it can do scheduled back ups or incremental back ups when a monitored folder is changed etc. etc.

Not come across much in the way of free software that people recommend though.

LeperousDust · 08-02-2009, 13:41

Theres usually a nice friendly (but horrible IMO

) piece of backup software given away with most external hard drives...

lostkat · 08-02-2009, 14:38

It's not an external drive. It's an internal drive in a caddy. So I didn't get anything with it. Think I'll just try the one that comes with Windows and see how that works

LeperousDust · 08-02-2009, 15:08

Oh, i see, check out cobian backup then maybe? Its free and open source does a general job of backing up but should be easy enough to use once set up

Burble · 08-02-2009, 17:24

NTBackup (in inbuilt Windows one) is pretty good.

I assume SyncToy can be scripted and scheduled to run automagically. When I was a Windows user I used InSync Pro. It isn't free (I'm very sure there is a way around that) but it's very configurable and I liked the fact that it created a backup containing the files rather than an archive like NTbackup. It's easy to schedule jobs and the incremental engine is very efficient.

Greenlizard0 · 10-02-2009, 03:13

If you leave the external caddie on when required, you can script Syncback to run when you want.

A Place of Light · 10-02-2009, 18:55

Acronis true image is pretty good.
It's what I use anyway.

mok` · 11-02-2009, 00:06

I'd recommend Synctoy tbh if it's just cloning document folders.

For more exotic command-line fun look at robocopy. You could of course set up a scheduled task to run robocopy at a set time so it's totally in the background

Acronis is worth a shout too- not free but not too expensive and it would have the added advantage that you would be able to rebuild the complete system from the image on the backup drive.

A Place of Light · 11-02-2009, 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by mok`

it would have the added advantage that you would be able to rebuild the complete system from the image on the backup drive.

This alone is worth the money IMHO.
Hard drive failure?
Slap in a new one and you're back to the way your machine was before the failure in an minutes.

08-02-2009, 13:28	#1
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	Automatic Back-up for the PC I'm installing Mum's new external hard drive today and I want something (free) that will automatically back up her stuff with minimal fuss. I have SyncToy for myself, but I think you can only create pairs with that, so you have to back-up manually. From past behaviour, I have no confidence that she'll actually do this so I want something that will just work in the background. Is the standard back-up wizard on Windows XP any good? Any recommendations?? Ta __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

08-02-2009, 13:41	#2
divine Moonshine Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Southampton Posts: 3,201	Not used it but I hear Syncback SE is good, though it costs $30. I'm told it can do scheduled back ups or incremental back ups when a monitored folder is changed etc. etc. Not come across much in the way of free software that people recommend though. __________________

08-02-2009, 13:41	#3
LeperousDust Bananaman Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Liverpool/Edinburgh Posts: 4,817	Theres usually a nice friendly (but horrible IMO ) piece of backup software given away with most external hard drives... __________________

08-02-2009, 14:38	#4
lostkat Good Cat Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 5,550	It's not an external drive. It's an internal drive in a caddy. So I didn't get anything with it. Think I'll just try the one that comes with Windows and see how that works __________________ Oooooh Cecil, what have you done?

08-02-2009, 15:08	#5
LeperousDust Bananaman Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Liverpool/Edinburgh Posts: 4,817	Oh, i see, check out cobian backup then maybe? Its free and open source does a general job of backing up but should be easy enough to use once set up __________________

08-02-2009, 17:24	#6
Burble Rocket Fuel Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7,826	NTBackup (in inbuilt Windows one) is pretty good. I assume SyncToy can be scripted and scheduled to run automagically. When I was a Windows user I used InSync Pro. It isn't free (I'm very sure there is a way around that) but it's very configurable and I liked the fact that it created a backup containing the files rather than an archive like NTbackup. It's easy to schedule jobs and the incremental engine is very efficient.

10-02-2009, 03:13	#7
Greenlizard0 Vodka Martini Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 717	If you leave the external caddie on when required, you can script Syncback to run when you want. __________________

10-02-2009, 18:55	#8
A Place of Light Absinthe Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1,247	Acronis true image is pretty good. It's what I use anyway.

11-02-2009, 00:06	#9
mok` Columbian Coffee Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 76	I'd recommend Synctoy tbh if it's just cloning document folders. For more exotic command-line fun look at robocopy. You could of course set up a scheduled task to run robocopy at a set time so it's totally in the background Acronis is worth a shout too- not free but not too expensive and it would have the added advantage that you would be able to rebuild the complete system from the image on the backup drive. __________________