Disk Management and HDD Backup Hardware/Software?

[Deb Suran]

Acronis (new to me) seems to be the most popular software around here for disk management - I'm in the "never only one HDD partition" camp - and also for disk cloning. Any other favorites before I lay down my hard-earned cash to partition the 160gb HDD on my new T61? My old version of Partition Magic bugged out halfway through the process and has left most of the HDD unavailable.

And I'd like to know what people are using for multi-generation and off-site backups. In the past I've used multiple identical HDDs in a TP second drive adapter, and kept at least two backup HDDs on-site and a third off-site. I cloned my HDD to those. What do you do, and what hardware & software do you use? If you're using a system I think is better/more secure than mine, I want to appropriate it. Thanks!

[spuddog]

Start by giving PartedMagic a try, It is a free Linux live disk (works with windows and NTFS) with a GUI version of Gparted(partitioning tool). I used it to resize the partitions on my R51. As far as backups go I use Symatec Ghost 9.0, I save the image on a USB external drive, then put the USB drive in my safe. I usually backup once every week or two, and keep the last three images. I delete the oldest when I make a new one.

If you have a home network, take a look at PING(part image is not ghost). it is another free linux app that works with any OS. It allows you to set up one of your computers as a network backup server. it run in the PXE (windows pre-boot environment). It will also run from a linux boot disk.

In the past I have used mostly commercial apps, but there are a lot of free ones out there that look interesting

Scott

[mgo]

Acronis (new to me) seems to be the most popular software around here for disk management - I'm in the "never only one HDD partition" camp - and also for disk cloning. Any other favorites before I lay down my hard-earned cash to partition the 160gb HDD on my new T61? My old version of Partition Magic bugged out halfway through the process and has left most of the HDD unavailable. Thanks!

I have been using the Acronis products for years with great success. I use Drive Image for imaging, and Disk Director for partitioning and other tasks.

They currently have a modest special if you buy both at once. Well worth the money in my book. I don't work for them but I just like the products. Make sure to create the bootable CDs for both, in case the machines become unbootable. That way, the products can also be used on multiple machines if you have more than one.

[Deb Suran]

I couldn't get the Acronis order page to accept my credit card, I kept shopping and ended up buying the Paragon HDD suite: half the price for the backup and HDD utilities I needed compared to Acronis, and it seems to work fine plus it comes as an automatic 3-license format so you can share the product with family and friends legally.
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/hdm-personal/

I've been unsuccessful at getting the old and new laptops talking to each other so I can transfer my files. I have two programs and two sets of USB transfer cables and nothing has worked yet. I don't remember the process of upgrading ThinkPads being this frustrating in the past! LapLink's PCsync software is just crap. I'll probably have to buy an external HDD USB enclosure/adapter. Oy!

[mgo]

I have two programs and two sets of USB transfer cables and nothing has worked yet. I don't remember the process of upgrading ThinkPads being this frustrating in the past! LapLink's PCsync software is just crap. I'll probably have to buy an external HDD USB enclosure/adapter. Oy!

I found that many programs like LapLink, etc are still stuck in the 80s and just don't work for today's needs.

For transferring and backing up files, try Robocopy if your have Vista, or the freeware version (or paid version is reasonable, too) of Syncback. They work really well with an external USB drive. Those drives are very favorably priced, and are great for backups.

I'm a big fan of using the ThinkPad Ultra Bay for a 2nd drive. That's handy if you can swap it to another machine.

[jdhurst]

Off topic - but in response to LapLink: I back up my Laptop to my Desktop and vice-versa. For my document store, I use Windows Briefcase. Seems old but works a treat. For my file store, where I want more flexibility, I use Total Commander. Total Commander is cheap (but not free) and is an excellent replacement for LapLink. Total Commander relies on a standard TCP/IP connection, but I use a router for that. ... JDH

[Johan]

With respect to backup and cloning software, I also use (and recommend!) Acronis True Image. Just a small hint: Acronis True Image (Home, ver. 11) is right now "on sale":

Around Christmas I read on Slickdeals (see the Dec. 23 entry) that Acronis True Image Home ver. 11 right now can be obtained for only $19 (compared to $50 normally), after something called "Mail-In Rebate" - see Dell Electronics and Accessories and Acronis True Image 11 Home $20 Mail-In Rebate. If buying it at Dell, it says "Usually Ships: 1-2 weeks" (not impressive?!), and the rebate thing says "Rebate request must be postmarked no later than 03/01/2008." - I guess that that means March 1?

Alternatively, I believe that the program can be bought from Newegg with the same rebate – read this post: Slickdeals info about Newegg offer (this deal may have expired; I have no Newegg account, so I cannot check this).

I realize that the above in perhaps not exactly a reply to your question, but I hope it may nevertheless be of some interest/use. Note that ATI ver. 11 may not yet be fully "mature" (according to the user community --> Official Acronis Support Forum), but in a realease of two, I guess that it will be as good as ver. 9 is.

Best regards,

Johan

[Kyocera]

I used acronis on one of our servers at work to do automatic backups, there are a few different scenarios you can use for backing up with acronis. I set up a HD in an enclosure, cloned the drive in the server to it and let acronis back up to it, in case the drive failed we could pull the drive and plug it into the server. I think acronis is pretty user friendly and does have a lot of functionalities.

[gellmanb]

I just got Acronis TI Home 11. It has the capability of creating a rescue partition similar to the ThinkVantage -- it boots to the rescue partition if you press F11 during bootup. I'm tempted to try it since I've had trouble making the built in R&R do a successful backup on my new X61 with XP Pro.

But I'm afraid to install the ATI rescue partition because it modifies the master boot record and I fear I'll just screw up the whole computer.

Has anyone replaced the Lenovo R&R with Acronis's? Do they coexist? Exactly how do I do it successfully?

thanks.