iam a new user to external HDDs. never used one before. but since after i had to reset pc due to a rogue program that hijacked my pc, iam strongly considering backing up pc on external. for now, i only have restore point active. how does the process go in regards to backing up pc onto HDD?
Hi Malcolm
I am also kind of new, but I have used external HardDrives for back up for a few years.
- the only one I’ve used so far is the WD Elements portable HD - I use the one which is 1TB in size (though, there are other sizes).
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I think there are various automatic back-up programs… but I don’t know about them.
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Personally I just use the simple method: “copy and paste”.
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I plug in the portable HD with the USB cable
I COPY the files I want to back up
I PASTE these files into the portable HD.
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after the files are finished copying into the HD - I disconnect the HD from the computer.
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It is pretty easy that way.
(personally I never use the “automatic” methods that are offered… in my mind, the extra software is just more things that could go wrong.
“copy and paste” is very simple - so that is the method I use.
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Best wishes
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well I have just setup my passport HDD…now iam delaying until I know for sure I can either backup entire OS or just files.
Hey Malcom
I don’t know about backing up the Operating System… I think that would have to be backed up from the original installation files… but I don’t know…I usully only back up files that I’ve created… but I might back up a lot at once, for example, I might just select the entire “F” drive, and copy and paste everything there into the HD…For Operating system… don’t you have the Installation software that was used to install the OS?I’d back that up…Or any new software that you get online – I just keep copies of the original installation software… then I can always re-install it at a later time if it is necessary.Jef
jeffreylongstaff@ymail.com
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no installation disk came with the pc…but ive selected to backup local disk C for now, now iam wondering how will I know the backup is 100% complete? I don’t want to log off and put in sleepmode, not knowing whether or not the backup is finished
Yes, it is always a problem to know if everything was successfully copied and pasted into the back up disk…One thing I do is to just compare the sizes of the parts in the computer, to the parts in the back up disk. – for example I might have backed up a folder, and the folder might have contained other folders,and all the folders might have dozens or even a hundred files. – so I go to top folder (one folder that contains EVERYTHING. Then I right-click on that folder, and then select “Properties” – that should open a little information window that lists details about that folder (including everything in the folder) and it will also exactly say the size of the folder (eg. in gb or mb) and there sould also the the size stated in bytes — Then I also check the properties, and thus the total aize, of the copied folder ---- the 2 sizes of the folders (the original folder and the copied-backed-up folder) should be EXACTLY the same size in bytes…Of course, that is not any guarantee that everything was copied and backed-up correctly… some file might have been miss-copied… some errors getting in… the only absolute way would be to check every single document — and that would take too much time…So, what I do … and what I have read as good advice … if you are series about saving some of your folders and files — the best advice is – use 2 back-up HardDrives – and back up everything twice (once into each HardDrive.) – Then, in addition… store the 2 hardDrives in different places. – This is what I do. When I back-up, I always back-up twice…Best wishes!
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good hints, cheers. i have another question… should i turn on system protection for the external? i would like to run some browsers on that drive, so as to “free up” space on main drive.
– should i turn on system protection for the external? i would like to run some browsers on that drive, so as to “free up” space on main drive.–Actually, I do not know what “system protection” means in this case… – but for myself, I never run software in my external Hard Drives – I ONLY use my external hard drives for backing up files that I want to increase the chances of keeping them safe – I might be extreme, but I think it all helps increase the chance that the Hard Drives will keep working well… so I never run software from the drives or in the drives… after a file is in the external HD, I never delete or change anything – I do all the work editing etc. in the main computer – and when I have something I want to save – then I copy it into the hard drive – once it is in the HD I never change it. – If I have an updated version later, I just also put that into the HD in addition to the old version that is already there-- It might be “over-kill” but every time you delete files, or change them and then save them, it does… ever so slightly, slow the drive down… makes it work harder – “fragmentation” of files increases… when you delete something, and then save another file – that does slow the HD down little by little…So, I just truly use mine as LTM (Long term memory) – once I put something there… I leave it forever, and never change it. I don’t do “work” in the External Hard drive - I only use it for long term storage of things I want to save. I never run software in the drive. All I do in the drive, is copy-paste into the drive (and also, when I want a file – I copy it from the drive, and then paste it into the main computer — then I do any work on that file in the main computer — that way I’m keeping my external HD as clean and organized as possible. –
Oh, by “system protection” does that mean, like virus protection etc?.Well… my virus protection is on the main computer… and so that is a gateway to the external HD – everything in the external HD has 1st been in the main computer … and scanned there. I try to keep the External HD totally separate from the internet. Usually my external HD is not connected to my computer – I only connect it when I want to copy-paste a file…OH – by the way… as part of this, when I get a new External hard-drive – I ALWAYS delete any “autorun” file in the external HD. These are little files in the HD that start it up automatically,. maybe automatically open some files etc. – I have read that these 'auto run" files are responsible for viruses being automatically transported from external drives or external memory sticks into / out of computers.
- So I have NO “auto-run” file in my external HD- when I buy a new external HD – the first thing I do is delete that autorun file.
- additionally, there is a preferences somewhere in the main computer, about how the computer should respond when a drive is plugged in (not sure where it is now) – and I have everything selected to “do nothing” when an external drive is connected to the computer — this also lowers the risk of having viruses automatically transferred from one drive to another…when I want to open the hard drive, I do it manually, but clicking on the external drive and opening it myself.
.It is often when software is doing alot of stuf automatically, that computers and users get into trouble, because they lose track of all this automatic stuff that is happening… – I do everything manually… I tell my computer what to do, and when to do it. – I find that when things are set up to be “automatic” – that this can be a source of problems.
.That is my method… I’m sure that other people are not as overly-careful as I am!
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