a good backup option ???

[pointfielder]

Hi All,
Thanks for this extremely informative and helpful forum. I just received
my T43p and this forum helped me greatly.

I have been looking for a simple backup option and I came across the
ThinkPad 2nd HDD Adapter for Ultrabay Slim (T40) at:
http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... d=10000001

Does anyone know what type of HDD goes into this? If a HDD similar
to the one that came came with my machine can fit into this, then will
it be possible for me to swap the two after I clone it, and boot using
the newly cloned one or do I need to do something special?
Can someone detail the steps?

Also, if you know of other cost effective backup solution that will help.
I read here about using Acronis and other software, but what hardware
etc is needed wasn't very clear.

Thanks again!

[mysbca]

Does anyone know what type of HDD goes into this? If a HDD similar to the one that came came with my machine can fit into this, then will it be possible for me to swap the two after I clone it, and boot using the newly cloned one or do I need to do something special? Can someone detail the steps?

Also, if you know of other cost effective backup solution that will help. I read here about using Acronis and other software, but what hardware etc is needed wasn't very clear.

The ultrabay slim hdd adapter accepts any standard 9.5mm thick 2.5" PATA notebook drive. After cloning, you can just swap the drive and use the new drive to boot. It will look exactly like if you still have the old drive. The new drive used for cloning should be the same size or bigger than your current drive.

With Acronis TrueImage, you can make an image and back it up to a different partition or to any external drive or network drive. You can also use Acronis to clone your drive.

For a cost efffective backup solution, make your own external drive by getting a large desktop harddrive and an USB2.0 3.5" enclosure. It is cheaper than using notebook drives. If you have a dvd burner, you can also back up to dvds. It is cheaper, but slower and you will probably have to swap discs.

[Uncletoad]

I have an Ultraslim hard drive bay. I bought an Identical Fujitsu Hard drive to the one in the computer and have it loaded in the ultra slim bay. Every week I swap out the CD burner or Battery from the bay and use Acronis to build a clone. It takes about 20 minutes.

I've already used my backup when the original hard drive busted up. The clone boots right up without problem. IBM replaced the corrupted hard drive under warrantee in about 36 hours.

I think the bay costs $45, the acronis about $35, and the hard drive about $75 from some aftermarket thing.

$150 and 20 minutes a week is a no brainer to me.

Works perfect.

[pointfielder]

Thanks for your replies.
I have a 60GB HDD. I want to use a 100GB HDD for cloning it,
and then replace the 60GB one with it and use the 100GB HDD for
a while as my primary HDD. After that I will have new files and programs
on the 100GB one. Can I use the 60GB one to clone the 100GB one, so that
I can cycle the 60GB HDD back in as a primary HDD?
From the first reply it seems that this is not possible. Am I correct
in my assumption? If yes, then does it mean that in order to cycle
through my HDDs with cloning, I will need them to be of same size?

... the hard drive about $75 from some aftermarket thing.

Uncletoad, can you tell me what you mean by it? Thanks.

Thanks again!

[beerak]

I've bought this one http://www.everythingusb.com/western_di ... drive.html

It connects through USB 2.0 and it is USB powered so you don't need additional power. The advantage is that you are mobile and independent on the notebook, so you can plugin it into your desktop. So bigger flash memory It is silent.

[Uncletoad]

Thanks for your replies.
I have a 60GB HDD. I want to use a 100GB HDD for cloning it,
and then replace the 60GB one with it and use the 100GB HDD for
a while as my primary HDD. After that I will have new files and programs
on the 100GB one. Can I use the 60GB one to clone the 100GB one

That's not going to work. If you want to move to a 100 gig drive get two of them, one for your main and one for your backup. You can't backup a 100 gig drive on a 60 gig drive unless you only use less than 60 gigs. In that case you wouldn't need the 100 gig drive, just another 60 gig drive.

... the hard drive about $75 from some aftermarket thing.

Uncletoad, can you tell me what you mean by it? Thanks.

Thanks again!

Sorry got lazy when writing. To be specific I found an aftermarket (ie not Lenovo) retailer where I bought the Fujitsu 40 gig drive for less than half of what Lenovo wants for the same drive on their website. I bought the Acronis software from the same aftermarket retailer but the ultra bay drive bay from Lenovo.

fwiw I have a USB drive I used initially to do the Acronis backups with and sometimes it didn't work right. Acronis does it from a boot cycle in DOS and somehow the USB port drive didn't always work when it got to that point in the process. The Ultra Bay slim drive bay works all the time, is fast, and costs exactly the same as the USB drive. It also takes less time and energy to get the drive in and out. It's part of the genius of the thinkpad design.

[tehsoul]

I've bought this one http://www.everythingusb.com/western_di ... drive.html

It connects through USB 2.0 and it is USB powered so you don't need additional power. The advantage is that you are mobile and independent on the notebook, so you can plugin it into your desktop. So bigger flash memory It is silent.

i got the same one (well, 80gb), and it rocks

by the way, if you email wd tech support saying your laptop's usb port cant power the drive, they'll send you a free power adapter. always comes in useful!

[bvaughn]

How about a USB memory stick? I don't have one, but I know guy who has one, and it works for him.

[tehsoul]

a memory stick might be a good solution if you dont have to backup too much data... if you need more then say, 1gb of backup, you're probably better off with a 2.5" external hdd

[pointfielder]

That's not going to work. If you want to move to a 100 gig drive get
two of them, one for your main and one for your backup. You can't backup a
100 gig drive on a 60 gig drive unless you only use less than 60 gigs. In that
case you wouldn't need the 100 gig drive, just another 60 gig drive.

I do realise that I obviously cannot clone more than 60GB of data onto
a 60GB drive. It was only until the data remained below 60GB.
What I was thinking was, instead of buying two 100GB drives, just get one
and cycle it for use until data reaches 60GB, then start using the 100GB
drive as the primary drive and buy a bigger one at that time.

[Uncletoad]

I do realise that I obviously cannot clone more than 60GB of data onto
a 60GB drive. It was only until the data remained below 60GB.
What I was thinking was, instead of buying two 100GB drives, just get one
and cycle it for use until data reaches 60GB, then start using the 100GB
drive as the primary drive and buy a bigger one at that time.

Sorry, it's hard to be sure of the level of understanding one is dealing with on message boards. I've not tried what you are considering. I suspect Acronis could accomodate that. Sounds worth trying.