Backup strategies??

  • Thread starter Thread starter Neil Jones
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Neil Jones

I have a 500GB backup disk to which I did a complete backup of my system
about 3 times now. Although I am not really running out of space, I
would like to keep the maximum number of backups to 3 or 4 with the
oldest being the most reliable backup.

How do I implement such backup procedure without using additional disk
space?

Thank you in advance for any help.

NJ
 
That's the default behavior, unless you choose to changes your computer name
every time you do a Complete PC Backup, you would be able to have multiple
Complete PC Backups of your computer.
 
Neil Jones said:
I have a 500GB backup disk to which I did a complete backup of my system
about 3 times now. Although I am not really running out of space, I
would like to keep the maximum number of backups to 3 or 4 with the
oldest being the most reliable backup.

How do I implement such backup procedure without using additional disk
space?
Click to expand...

You don't. Each separate complete backup will require additional disk space.

Why not delete the first after you create the fifth - keeping four at all
times.
 
FromTheRafters said:
You don't. Each separate complete backup will require additional disk space.

Why not delete the first after you create the fifth - keeping four at all
times.
Click to expand...

How do you remove the first backup? That is what I am missing. When I
do a disk cleanup, all the backups are being deleted.

PS - The backup disk is an external disk and does not list all the
backups during the disk cleanup process.

Thank you again.

NJ
 
How do you remove the first backup? That is what I am missing. When I
do a disk cleanup, all the backups are being deleted.

PS - The backup disk is an external disk and does not list all the
backups during the disk cleanup process.
Click to expand...

If you don't want the entire drive to have backups, then partition it.

Using Vista's backup (which I think is a crappy backup solution), the
oldest will be deleted to make room for the new one.

If I am wrong, we both shall surely hear about it instantly.

Richie Hardwick
 
Richie said:
If you don't want the entire drive to have backups, then partition it.

Using Vista's backup (which I think is a crappy backup solution), the
oldest will be deleted to make room for the new one.

If I am wrong, we both shall surely hear about it instantly.
Click to expand...

The Vista backup software seems to be ok. What other backup software is
there to create a complete backup of the system?

NJ
 
Andre said:
Vista's Complete PC Backup automatically does the removal of the oldest
backups.
Click to expand...

Thank you for clarifying this. It makes sense now, why I could only see
one image when I was trying to restore the system.

NJ
 
castellan2004- said:
I have a 500GB backup disk to which I did a complete backup of my system
about 3 times now. Although I am not really running out of space, I
would like to keep the maximum number of backups to 3 or 4 with the
oldest being the most reliable backup.

How do I implement such backup procedure without using additional disk
space?

Thank you in advance for any help.
Click to expand...

Create 3 separate backup jobs, each one should be set to OVERWRITE the
file name it creates.

So,

BU Job 1 writes to MONDAY.BKF
BU Job 2 writes to WEDNESDAY.BKF
BU Job 3 writes to FRIDAY.BKF

Since you set the jobs to overwrite, they will only maintain 3 jobs.
 
Neil Jones said:
The Vista backup software seems to be ok. What other backup software is
there to create a complete backup of the system?
Click to expand...

Acronis True Image is the most mentioned product. I've used it for
years, now.


Richie Hardwick
 
Leythos said:
Create 3 separate backup jobs, each one should be set to OVERWRITE the
file name it creates.

So,

BU Job 1 writes to MONDAY.BKF
BU Job 2 writes to WEDNESDAY.BKF
BU Job 3 writes to FRIDAY.BKF

Since you set the jobs to overwrite, they will only maintain 3 jobs.
Click to expand...

How do you create these backup jobs in Vista? Please excuse my ignorance.

NJ
 
Change the machine name to have multiple Complete PC Backups. Complete PC
Backups saves its .VHD files based on the machine name. So say your PC is
named Dell8300-Vista

Everytime you decide to do a Complete PC Backup you could change the name of
the machine to:
Dell8300-Vista1
Dell8300-Vista2
Dell8300-Vista3
Dell8300-Vista4

You can change the Machine name by click start > System > Advanced system
settings > Computer Name (tab) >
click 'Change' give the machine a new name, and restart the system.
 
Careful now... Leythos clearly stated he does not use Vista.

Vista backup options are different depending on what version of Vista you
are running.
For instance, all versions provide the ability to backup files, but only
Ultimate, Business and Enterprise provide Complete PC Backup and Shadow Copy
restoration. I state "restoration" because all versions make Shadow Copies,
but you cannot access them from some versions.

Vista does not allow you to easily make more than one full backup on the
same storage medium for the same computer.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/backup.aspx

It is these two quirks that drive most users to buy a third party program
for backups.
 
Vista's Complete PC Backup does not create each backup as an independent
file. When you run the first Complete Backup, it copies everything. Next
time you run, it only copies changed disk blocks. So the integrity of the
2nd backup depends on the existence of the first backup. It continues that
way until it starts to run out of room. At any time you can restore to any
of your backed-up versions, since the older, now superseded blocks, stay on
the backup disk when the replacement blocks are added in a newer backup.

At some point it starts to run out of space. At that time it will remove the
blocks from the oldest backup that were superceded by the 2nd-oldest backup.
Any blocks from that oldest backup that are still current will remain, since
they are logically still part of the current backup.

Bottom line is that Vista has to control the backup storage because it's
more complicated than traditional backups. The benefit of the complexity is
a) faster backups because only the new blocks have to be copied to backup b)
reduced storage because blocks are only copied when they actually change.
 
Neil Jones said:
I have a 500GB backup disk to which I did a complete backup of my system
about 3 times now. Although I am not really running out of space, I
would like to keep the maximum number of backups to 3 or 4 with the
oldest being the most reliable backup.

How do I implement such backup procedure without using additional disk
space?

Thank you in advance for any help.

NJ
Click to expand...

I saw your post and I want to backup my system. I already do data files to
an External hard drive. Do you backup the Operating system too? If so what
program or procedure do you use?

Thanks, CB
 
C and A Bredt said:
I saw your post and I want to backup my system. I already do data files to
an External hard drive. Do you backup the Operating system too? If so what
program or procedure do you use?

Thanks, CB
Click to expand...

Read the entire thread and you will find what you want.
 
C and A Bredt said:
I saw your post and I want to backup my system. I already do data files to
an External hard drive.
Click to expand...

Usually the backup program for Vista will back up almost everything the
first time, and then things that changed thereafter. Known as a full backup
followed by incremental backups.
Do you backup the Operating system too?
Click to expand...

The poster you quoted is quoted as saying:

"I did a complete backup of my system about 3 times now."

....to me that means 3 "complete" backups - so I assumed (wrongly) that
the Vista backup scenario wasn't used. Apparently it *was* what he was
using and as such every new "full" backup had overwritten the previous
one.
If so what program or procedure do you use?
Click to expand...

Some of my old harddrives have been placed into USB enclosures for use
as external harddrives. The fact that at least one of them is a "Seagate" or
"Maxtor" drive makes it so that I can use the free "MaxBlast" (by Acronis)
for making disk "images" for use as backups.

These "images" are compressed copies of the entire disk's data.

....now *that's* what I call a "complete" backup.

I also use the full followed by incremental backup strategy that came with
my XP and Vista OSes.
 
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