USB external hard drive for backup?

[OUinFLA]

Anyone using one?

I was looking at a Maxtor 200 Gig yesterday that says it will back up at 500Meg per second. I asked the knowledgable Best Buy salesperson and he said that's Mega Bits not Bytes. So, how does that translate?

Im kinda wanting to know how long it would take to back up ...........10-15 MegaBytes of files?

He also said it could transfer using Firewire which was a tad slower, but more consistant in it's backup speed. I really didnt understand that one.

[OUAndy1807]

I back up my computer weekly to a Maxtor 100 gig that I keep in a fire safe. I think it's usually about 70 gigs of info to back up, and it takes 30-45 minutes.

[Hatfield]

i need to figure out how to install a usb2.0 thingamajig in my computer to deal with my external 200 gig hd...that is now full because i am addicted to music.

[OUinFLA]

thanks.
I said 10-15 Meg, but I meant to say 10-15 Gig.


Is there a way to use a USB hard drive to do a full disc backup? something like HP used to have called "Simple Backup" which allowed you to do a full system restore if your hard drive crashed?
I have heard Norton Ghost would do that, but I dont have first hand knowledge of it.
5 years ago I did use Simple Backup and it would restore the OS and regestry as well as all programs you had going when you backed it up. Saved my butt one time.

[OUinFLA]

i need to figure out how to install a usb2.0 thingamajig in my computer to deal with my external 200 gig hd...that is now full because i am addicted to music.

You can buy a USB 2.0 card rather cheap. I did it on an older computer.

[Hatfield]

i know i can by the card...the question is then is it hard to "install" said card??

[skycat]

I do a scheduled backup once a week to an external Hard Drive. Frankly I'm not sure how long it takes as the machine does it automagically around 5:00 AM Monday morning.

There's all kinds of backup software available. The software that came with my HDD will let you backup a whole drive, or just whatever folders you select, or it will do an automatic search for pictures, music, video, and or document files.

As for transfer speeds, USB 2.0 has a very high peak transfer rate. However it can only acheive its peak speed in bursts. Firewire has a slower peak rate, but it can keep its peak rate consistently.

What does that mean? If you have to move a small amount of data, the very high speed aforded by USB 2.0 will move it faster. The larger the amount of data to be transfered though, the bigger the speed advantage is for FireWire. For several Gig, like you're talking about, Firewire will be signifigantly faster.

Of course PCs are more like to have a USB port than Firewire, and one of the advantages of an HDD is portability. So I'd recomend getting a Firewire card for your computer, and getting an HDD that has both interfaces.

Hope that helps.

[skycat]

i know i can by the card...the question is then is it hard to "install" said card??

Installing a Firewire or USB card into a desktop is really easy.

Turn off PC.

Open PC.

Find an unused expansion slot.

Push card into slot.

Close PC.

Turn it on.

From there Windows XP (we are talking about an XP machine here, right?) will do the rest by itself. You shouldn't even have to install any drivers.

[OUinFLA]

i know i can by the card...the question is then is it hard to "install" said card??


You cannot possibly belong to the "geek clique".

[OUinFLA]

Thanks for the info cat, I have both USB and Firewire ports.
Any comments on the "one touch" maxtor ?

[Hatfield]

You cannot possibly belong to the "geek clique".

i actually have an honorary membership due to my ginormous comic book collection...a geek of a different brand if you will.

[skycat]

Thanks for the info cat, I have both USB and Firewire ports.
Any comments on the "one touch" maxtor ?

I don't have any personal experience with it, but Maxtor has been around for a while, and a super quick Google search makes it look like a fine choice. It looks like some models may be USB only, and like I said, I'd stay with one that has both interfaces. Other than that, I don't see anything that makes me nervous about them.

[SoonerInKCMO]

I've never backed up my PC.

I'm a wild, live-on-the-edge kinda guy like that.

[skycat]

I've never backed up my PC.

I'm a wild, live-on-the-edge kinda guy like that.

I hadn't for a long time.

But then I switched from my trusty old Nikon 35mm film camera to a dSLR. Then I had a kid. So I guess I decided that there was some data on my computer that I really don't want to lose.

Now I back up all my data directories once a week, and back up my image files optically once a month or so.

[yermom]

I do a scheduled backup once a week to an external Hard Drive. Frankly I'm not sure how long it takes as the machine does it automagically around 5:00 AM Monday morning.

There's all kinds of backup software available. The software that came with my HDD will let you backup a whole drive, or just whatever folders you select, or it will do an automatic search for pictures, music, video, and or document files.

As for transfer speeds, USB 2.0 has a very high peak transfer rate. However it can only acheive its peak speed in bursts. Firewire has a slower peak rate, but it can keep its peak rate consistently.

What does that mean? If you have to move a small amount of data, the very high speed aforded by USB 2.0 will move it faster. The larger the amount of data to be transfered though, the bigger the speed advantage is for FireWire. For several Gig, like you're talking about, Firewire will be signifigantly faster.

Of course PCs are more like to have a USB port than Firewire, and one of the advantages of an HDD is portability. So I'd recomend getting a Firewire card for your computer, and getting an HDD that has both interfaces.

Hope that helps.


i've seen lots of cards with both interfaces, here's one at newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815124002

here's one with both and SATA :eek:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815201207

[sooneron]

I use this for the big backup - itunes mp3s and movies-
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000094FUY.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

and this little bad boy for doc and mail backup-

http://shop.tsukumo.co.jp/img/products/4582119405649m.jpg

it's small enough to take with me (and a mirror storagewise, of the laptop) if I need something exterraneous in a pinch

[yermom]

I use this for the big backup - itunes mp3s and movies-
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000094FUY.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

and this little bad boy for doc and mail backup-

http://shop.tsukumo.co.jp/img/products/4582119405649m.jpg

it's small enough to take with me (and a mirror storagewise, of the laptop) if I need something exterraneous in a pinch

hmm... i think i need a Big Disk

i want an Apple Xserve Raid :texan:

[BajaOklahoma]

Fla, I have a 200 GIG Maxtor that I use for backup. But I don't back up the programs, just my Documents and some other files.
I backup weekly. I use the USB instead of Firewire - no special reason.

[sooneron]

hmm... i think i need a Big Disk

i want an Apple Xserve Raid :texan:
When I start shooting my pilot, I'll prolly have to go at least 700 G or 1 T!