Hi,
I have read the manual etc.
I want to copy my C:\ drive containing ~800GB of data to an external USB 3.0 drive (4TB), and have all the files copied to the external drive available, i.e. not compressed.
I don't care if it copies Windows 10 operating files, as I have plenty of external HD storage.
1) I see that I can do a mirror, one way to the external HD, by just selecting the C:\ drive?
2) Will the files on the external drive be available to copy just as if I manually copied them over using drag & drop in the windows operating system.
3) After the initial backup of the C:\ drive, can I have it only copy files/folders that have changed?
I am a little concerned not to use the two way mirror, as I never want the C:\ drive files to be changed.
Thanks,
Rob
Want to use as straight backup on external HD
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- Posts: 143
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Mmm...
1) Use "Mirror -->" sync and make the left-side your C:\ drive and the right-side the location you want to copy the C:\ drive folders/files into (for example right-side = X:\C Partition Backup)
2) Yes. But with a possible caveat.
3) Yes. Just run the Mirror --> sync again and changed files will copied over provided that the changed files on the left-side as far as date/time goes don't have a sub 2-second difference in the time stamp of the file(s). Note that if you do this, because you are using a Mirror sync, if you have deleted folders/files on your C:\ drive then those folders/files will also be deleted in your backup location. Mirror means make exactly the same as the C:\ drive.
You are right never to run a two-way sync involving your entire C:\ drive -- that could end up in sheer grief.
The caveat to "2)" is that Windows might, probably will, have very strong protection locks on the OS files on your C:\ drive. I do not know if FFS would be able to deal with that situation, maybe there would be some files that FFS would be unable to copy. Someone with more expertise would really need to comment on that.
The above comments made, I strongly think you would be using the wrong software to backup your C:\ drive. I never use FFS to backup the system drive (other than a couple of folders on it that are purely my own data files) -- to my mind there is always a possibility that something could go wrong. Use software that is really dedicated to dealing with the system drive. I use TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite. In the suite is Terabyte Image for Windows (IFW) and an associated program Terabyte Image for Linux (IFL) for dealing with backups of the system drive. The files that IFW or IFL produce are compressed or not compressed according to your own choice but there is an associated program Terabyte Image View (TBIView) that allows to open the produced file (or you can mount the file as a drive in its own right) and from there you can drag out copies of any files you want copies of. IFW/IFL (and there is also a bundled program called Image for DOS (IFD)) can also be used to completely restore you system drive to the exact same state it was in when you made the image file. You can get TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite for a free 30-day trial and the current purchase price of $39.00 is a bargain considering what can be done with the suite. If you decide to give it a trial then it's best to download the GUI version as it's the easiest to use for beginners.
There are other programs out there that can manage backups and restores of the system drive but over the years I've never come across one that is as good as Terabyte.
Lastly, I do use FFS for backing up all my other partitions' files and it is a very, very good tool for doing so. Using the right tools for the right job is the way to go.
1) Use "Mirror -->" sync and make the left-side your C:\ drive and the right-side the location you want to copy the C:\ drive folders/files into (for example right-side = X:\C Partition Backup)
2) Yes. But with a possible caveat.
3) Yes. Just run the Mirror --> sync again and changed files will copied over provided that the changed files on the left-side as far as date/time goes don't have a sub 2-second difference in the time stamp of the file(s). Note that if you do this, because you are using a Mirror sync, if you have deleted folders/files on your C:\ drive then those folders/files will also be deleted in your backup location. Mirror means make exactly the same as the C:\ drive.
You are right never to run a two-way sync involving your entire C:\ drive -- that could end up in sheer grief.
The caveat to "2)" is that Windows might, probably will, have very strong protection locks on the OS files on your C:\ drive. I do not know if FFS would be able to deal with that situation, maybe there would be some files that FFS would be unable to copy. Someone with more expertise would really need to comment on that.
The above comments made, I strongly think you would be using the wrong software to backup your C:\ drive. I never use FFS to backup the system drive (other than a couple of folders on it that are purely my own data files) -- to my mind there is always a possibility that something could go wrong. Use software that is really dedicated to dealing with the system drive. I use TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite. In the suite is Terabyte Image for Windows (IFW) and an associated program Terabyte Image for Linux (IFL) for dealing with backups of the system drive. The files that IFW or IFL produce are compressed or not compressed according to your own choice but there is an associated program Terabyte Image View (TBIView) that allows to open the produced file (or you can mount the file as a drive in its own right) and from there you can drag out copies of any files you want copies of. IFW/IFL (and there is also a bundled program called Image for DOS (IFD)) can also be used to completely restore you system drive to the exact same state it was in when you made the image file. You can get TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite for a free 30-day trial and the current purchase price of $39.00 is a bargain considering what can be done with the suite. If you decide to give it a trial then it's best to download the GUI version as it's the easiest to use for beginners.
There are other programs out there that can manage backups and restores of the system drive but over the years I've never come across one that is as good as Terabyte.
Lastly, I do use FFS for backing up all my other partitions' files and it is a very, very good tool for doing so. Using the right tools for the right job is the way to go.
