Backup Strategy

I have a 240gb SSD with an internal 500gb 7200 rpm drive as E: and F:. I have a purchased copy of Macrium Reflect and wanted to know what is the best option to select with this software and these drives.

 

If the SSD goes caput will I be able to get to restore from backups which will be on E: or F:?

 

Should I just use a standard Full Backup with Incrementals during the week or select Clone or Image. There are so many options with this software and I want to choose a good strategy from the beginning. The system is only a week old with no data on my E and F drives.

if you want things to be exact,a clone or image is preferred and to keep things up to date,update it weekly or after a major change of the drive.

You should probably also check with the software manufacturer to see if they have any guides for using their software.

I recognize that cloning would probably be a good option right now as my drive is new. What happens when the disk is older? Would a regular Full/Incremental backup be the preferred method?

 

I also just found a thread on this group with a tutorial on Acronis and the author recommended a Full Backup. What I'm trying to figure out is when is it betterh to do a Full Backup vs. Cloning or a Disk Image Backup.

Here is your Backup strategy

 

 

1. Schedule Casper daily for a quick SSD clone to USB 3.0 SSD external drive - allows quick swap of bootable OS SSD on failure. Super quick after first clone - 2 min. A bit like a poor mans mirror on a business server.

 

I recommend three rotating clones in safe place, eg car, You should test boot the last clone before using next clone. This can be done at BIOS start up and select boot from USB. Will be slower on USB, but good enough to confirm good boot clone.

 

2. Run Genie Timeline to restore any data lost between clones - usually only file changes within the last 24 hours. Only need to use this for data.

 

3. Use cloud backup for all data for when PC explodes in flames and building burns down - last resort. eg iDrive is good.

 

4. If you are really paranoid, buy an identical PC and keep offsite. You can use the clone in your car to boot up.

 

Set all schedules with POSITIVE email confirmations. Email on failure is useless if the email stops working.

 

Used this method for many years on two external USB 3.0 drive connections, one for the clone, the other for timeline data. You can buy a PCi USB 3.0 card on EBAY.

 

Rock solid - always lets you know of failure ( by abscence of email ). Saved me at least three times, no stress. I could have a cup of coffee and smile and laugh at disaster.

 

Any comments how to improve strategy is welcome

 

Cheers