I usually create a new, empty folder, pick a few files from my backup, and test restore to that location, then delete afterwards.
Something else to consider in your 'poll'. Several months ago it was brought up about imaging several partions on a single drive -vs- imaging several drives at one time.
Don't remember which msg it was around here. Basically the gist of the response was that we can image multiple partitions on a single drive at one time, but not multiple drives at one time.
Multiple drives would require us to run our TBi Image program of choice another time.
I'd imagine the various user created batch files might be able to automate such.
DrTeeth wrote:
> On Sat, 13 Oct 2012 21:28:37 PDT, just as I was about to take a herb,
> a1pcfixer disturbed my reverie and wrote:
>
> > Seems that his tape drive &/or backup software weren't correctly
> verifying the backups.
>
> Good idea about testing them.
> --
>
> Cheers
>
> DrT
> ______________________________
> We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
> our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
> to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).
Straw poll
Re: Straw poll
> But *DO* test your images by extracting a couple items to see if they are indeed
> good. Yeah, IFW/IFD/IFL have 'Verify' as an option, but it's still a good idea to do
> a test of our images this way.
>
> Used to be a mag called PC Magazine I think it was, that the editor often reminded
> readers to do their backups frequently. Well, one day he had some hardware failure(s)
> and thought no problem, I've got tons of daily backups to restore from. He was using
> some type of fancy tape drive setup, and when he went to do his restore, he found out
> that ALL of his backups were TOAST! Seems that his tape drive &/or backup
> software weren't correctly verifying the backups.
>
> Verify.....yes, Test restore....even better!!!
Been there, which is why I do a backup and immediately restore the image to two other disks, giving me three working disks for each computer at all times. It's probably overkill, but if you've ever been unfortunate enough to lose everything, it makes you do things that others who have not had the experience might regard as excessive.
Jack
> good. Yeah, IFW/IFD/IFL have 'Verify' as an option, but it's still a good idea to do
> a test of our images this way.
>
> Used to be a mag called PC Magazine I think it was, that the editor often reminded
> readers to do their backups frequently. Well, one day he had some hardware failure(s)
> and thought no problem, I've got tons of daily backups to restore from. He was using
> some type of fancy tape drive setup, and when he went to do his restore, he found out
> that ALL of his backups were TOAST! Seems that his tape drive &/or backup
> software weren't correctly verifying the backups.
>
> Verify.....yes, Test restore....even better!!!
Been there, which is why I do a backup and immediately restore the image to two other disks, giving me three working disks for each computer at all times. It's probably overkill, but if you've ever been unfortunate enough to lose everything, it makes you do things that others who have not had the experience might regard as excessive.
Jack
Re: Straw poll
Yes indeed!
Plan for the best, yet expect the worst, and act accordingly!
jack450 wrote:
> > But *DO* test your images by extracting a couple items to see if they are indeed
> > good. Yeah, IFW/IFD/IFL have 'Verify' as an option, but it's still a good idea
> to do
> > a test of our images this way.
> >
> > Used to be a mag called PC Magazine I think it was, that the editor often
> reminded
> > readers to do their backups frequently. Well, one day he had some hardware
> failure(s)
> > and thought no problem, I've got tons of daily backups to restore from. He was
> using
> > some type of fancy tape drive setup, and when he went to do his restore, he
> found out
> > that ALL of his backups were TOAST! Seems that his tape drive &/or backup
> > software weren't correctly verifying the backups.
> >
> > Verify.....yes, Test restore....even better!!!
>
> Been there, which is why I do a backup and immediately restore the image to two other
> disks, giving me three working disks for each computer at all times. It's probably
> overkill, but if you've ever been unfortunate enough to lose everything, it makes you
> do things that others who have not had the experience might regard as excessive.
>
> Jack
Plan for the best, yet expect the worst, and act accordingly!
jack450 wrote:
> > But *DO* test your images by extracting a couple items to see if they are indeed
> > good. Yeah, IFW/IFD/IFL have 'Verify' as an option, but it's still a good idea
> to do
> > a test of our images this way.
> >
> > Used to be a mag called PC Magazine I think it was, that the editor often
> reminded
> > readers to do their backups frequently. Well, one day he had some hardware
> failure(s)
> > and thought no problem, I've got tons of daily backups to restore from. He was
> using
> > some type of fancy tape drive setup, and when he went to do his restore, he
> found out
> > that ALL of his backups were TOAST! Seems that his tape drive &/or backup
> > software weren't correctly verifying the backups.
> >
> > Verify.....yes, Test restore....even better!!!
>
> Been there, which is why I do a backup and immediately restore the image to two other
> disks, giving me three working disks for each computer at all times. It's probably
> overkill, but if you've ever been unfortunate enough to lose everything, it makes you
> do things that others who have not had the experience might regard as excessive.
>
> Jack
Re: Straw poll
On Sun, 14 Oct 2012 11:44:25 PDT, just as I was about to take a herb,
a1pcfixer disturbed my reverie and wrote:
>Yes indeed!
>
>Plan for the best, yet expect the worst, and act accordingly!
I back up my PCs; desktop, netbook and laptop to an internal hard disk
in my desktop and then mirror that to an external 2TB drive. My
childrens' PCs get backed up to a separate internal HDs on each PC.
Will also implement a testing strategy.
--
Cheers
DrT
______________________________
We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).
a1pcfixer disturbed my reverie and wrote:
>Yes indeed!
>
>Plan for the best, yet expect the worst, and act accordingly!
I back up my PCs; desktop, netbook and laptop to an internal hard disk
in my desktop and then mirror that to an external 2TB drive. My
childrens' PCs get backed up to a separate internal HDs on each PC.
Will also implement a testing strategy.
--
Cheers
DrT
______________________________
We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).
Re: Straw poll
What type connection are you using for each regarding your ext-2TB drive?
Both my laptop & new PC have & use eSATA (Warp Speed!!!), but my netbook (MagicJack phone), and daughter's laptop are restricted to USB 2.0 (Slow-slow-slow)
New PC also has USB 3.0, USB 3.0 Boost, AND ThunderBolt, but those are for another discussion.<g>
I'd like to get either a 2TB -or- 3TB ext HDD with USB 3.0 AND eSATA connections.
DrTeeth wrote:
> I back up my PCs; desktop, netbook and laptop to an internal hard disk
> in my desktop and then mirror that to an external 2TB drive. My
> childrens' PCs get backed up to a separate internal HDs on each PC.
>
> Will also implement a testing strategy.
> --
>
> Cheers
>
> DrT
Both my laptop & new PC have & use eSATA (Warp Speed!!!), but my netbook (MagicJack phone), and daughter's laptop are restricted to USB 2.0 (Slow-slow-slow)
New PC also has USB 3.0, USB 3.0 Boost, AND ThunderBolt, but those are for another discussion.<g>
I'd like to get either a 2TB -or- 3TB ext HDD with USB 3.0 AND eSATA connections.
DrTeeth wrote:
> I back up my PCs; desktop, netbook and laptop to an internal hard disk
> in my desktop and then mirror that to an external 2TB drive. My
> childrens' PCs get backed up to a separate internal HDs on each PC.
>
> Will also implement a testing strategy.
> --
>
> Cheers
>
> DrT
Re: Straw poll
a1pcfixer wrote:
>
> Just remember that if you're using any flavor of Windoze that uses the 'Registry' and
> you install any app on another partition/drive, then you really should image both
> together.
a1pcfixer,
That's not my practice. I image the OS partition frequently and the big program partition occasionally. Similarly with restoring. The OS image is restored far more frequently than the big program partition. Everything works properly.
>
> Just remember that if you're using any flavor of Windoze that uses the 'Registry' and
> you install any app on another partition/drive, then you really should image both
> together.
a1pcfixer,
That's not my practice. I image the OS partition frequently and the big program partition occasionally. Similarly with restoring. The OS image is restored far more frequently than the big program partition. Everything works properly.
Re: Straw poll
On Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:26:13 PDT, just as I was about to take a herb,
a1pcfixer disturbed my reverie and wrote:
>What type connection are you using for each regarding your ext-2TB drive?
USB 3. I have had two pci-e cards fail in pretty short order. One
lasted 2 months, the second identical one (sent in error instead of
requested refund) so got it free dies after 24 hours. Used VIA chipset
- Akasa USB 3.0 PCI-E Card.
Should get new one tomorrow which used the Texas Instruments chipset -
StarTech.com 4 Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCI-e.
I also have an e-SATA socket at the front of my PC that connects to an
internal SATA port.
My laptop connects to my main PC via a Gigabyte LAN.
--
Cheers
DrT
______________________________
We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).
a1pcfixer disturbed my reverie and wrote:
>What type connection are you using for each regarding your ext-2TB drive?
USB 3. I have had two pci-e cards fail in pretty short order. One
lasted 2 months, the second identical one (sent in error instead of
requested refund) so got it free dies after 24 hours. Used VIA chipset
- Akasa USB 3.0 PCI-E Card.
Should get new one tomorrow which used the Texas Instruments chipset -
StarTech.com 4 Port SuperSpeed USB 3.0 PCI-e.
I also have an e-SATA socket at the front of my PC that connects to an
internal SATA port.
My laptop connects to my main PC via a Gigabyte LAN.
--
Cheers
DrT
______________________________
We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).
-
Bob Coleman
- Posts: 786
- Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 5:58 pm
Re: Straw poll
Brian K wrote:
> a1pcfixer wrote:
> >
> > Just remember that if you're using any flavor of Windoze that uses the
> 'Registry' and
> > you install any app on another partition/drive, then you really should image
> both
> > together.
>
> a1pcfixer,
>
> That's not my practice. I image the OS partition frequently and the big program
> partition occasionally. Similarly with restoring. The OS image is restored far more
> frequently than the big program partition. Everything works properly.
I suppose that if you are not having problems, how can I argue, but I certainly would have agreed with a1pcfixer.
A long time ago, I tried to develop the methodology of having Windows on C: and applications on D:. I decided the two were too intertwined, gave up, and have installed applications to C: for years.
I suppose a lot of the time you would be OK, but let's say you have Windows on C: and applications/programs on D:. Now lets say you do the following in sequence:
Image C:
Install program P1 supposedly to D:
Restore previously taken image of C:
Would you really be confident that everything affecting the behavior of P! still exists?
Probably the tip of the iceberg, but, at a minimum, wouldn't P1 be missing from the start menu? Wouldn't any filetype associations involving P1 be lost?
> a1pcfixer wrote:
> >
> > Just remember that if you're using any flavor of Windoze that uses the
> 'Registry' and
> > you install any app on another partition/drive, then you really should image
> both
> > together.
>
> a1pcfixer,
>
> That's not my practice. I image the OS partition frequently and the big program
> partition occasionally. Similarly with restoring. The OS image is restored far more
> frequently than the big program partition. Everything works properly.
I suppose that if you are not having problems, how can I argue, but I certainly would have agreed with a1pcfixer.
A long time ago, I tried to develop the methodology of having Windows on C: and applications on D:. I decided the two were too intertwined, gave up, and have installed applications to C: for years.
I suppose a lot of the time you would be OK, but let's say you have Windows on C: and applications/programs on D:. Now lets say you do the following in sequence:
Image C:
Install program P1 supposedly to D:
Restore previously taken image of C:
Would you really be confident that everything affecting the behavior of P! still exists?
Probably the tip of the iceberg, but, at a minimum, wouldn't P1 be missing from the start menu? Wouldn't any filetype associations involving P1 be lost?
Re: Straw poll
Bob Coleman wrote:
> Now lets say you do the following in sequence:
>
> Image C:
> Install program P1 supposedly to D:
> Restore previously taken image of C:
>
> Would you really be confident that everything affecting the behavior of P! still
> exists?
>
Bob,
Good example of a potential disaster. But I wouldn't do that. I only install games and large apps to the other partition so installations are very infrequent and after an installation I would create an image of that partition. Images of the OS are created daily so I'd never be in the scenario you described. I'd always have an OS image created after P1 was installed to the other partition.
> Now lets say you do the following in sequence:
>
> Image C:
> Install program P1 supposedly to D:
> Restore previously taken image of C:
>
> Would you really be confident that everything affecting the behavior of P! still
> exists?
>
Bob,
Good example of a potential disaster. But I wouldn't do that. I only install games and large apps to the other partition so installations are very infrequent and after an installation I would create an image of that partition. Images of the OS are created daily so I'd never be in the scenario you described. I'd always have an OS image created after P1 was installed to the other partition.
Re: Straw poll
I, too, have installed apps on a different partition (E:). The reason I
put my apps on E: is that sometimes program files keep their help and
other related files in their installed folder. I do image C: more often
that E: because I don't install apps that often. In some cases, you
aren't given the option as to where the programs are installed. Oh,
well. I have to live with that.
By not synchronizing backups of these two partitions creates a bigger
problem that missing links in a start menu. If program P1 is installed
to drive E: and C: is rolled back to an image that predates the P1
installation, then the registry contains NO information regarding
program P1. P1 might as well be deleted from E: and reinstalled from
scratch.
I do have my installation files saved to G: which includes older
versions of, say, P1 so I can remove and reinstall a older version in
case the newer one is to buggy.
BTW, my personal data is on F: so I can easily access my personal stuff.
I put a shortcut to F: on my desktop so I can easily access those files.
Now if I could only figure out a way to move Thunderbird mail files and
GPS map files from C: to F: and use them seamlessly, I'd be eternally
grateful. But this subject is for another thread.
George
---
There are 10 kinds of people in the world.
Those who understand binary and
Those who don't.
On 10/17/2012 2:31 PM, Bob Coleman wrote:
> Brian K wrote:
> Image C:
> Install program P1 supposedly to D:
> Restore previously taken image of C:
>
> Would you really be confident that everything affecting the behavior of P! still exists?
>
> Probably the tip of the iceberg, but, at a minimum, wouldn't P1 be missing from the start menu? Wouldn't any filetype associations involving P1 be lost?
>
>
put my apps on E: is that sometimes program files keep their help and
other related files in their installed folder. I do image C: more often
that E: because I don't install apps that often. In some cases, you
aren't given the option as to where the programs are installed. Oh,
well. I have to live with that.
By not synchronizing backups of these two partitions creates a bigger
problem that missing links in a start menu. If program P1 is installed
to drive E: and C: is rolled back to an image that predates the P1
installation, then the registry contains NO information regarding
program P1. P1 might as well be deleted from E: and reinstalled from
scratch.
I do have my installation files saved to G: which includes older
versions of, say, P1 so I can remove and reinstall a older version in
case the newer one is to buggy.
BTW, my personal data is on F: so I can easily access my personal stuff.
I put a shortcut to F: on my desktop so I can easily access those files.
Now if I could only figure out a way to move Thunderbird mail files and
GPS map files from C: to F: and use them seamlessly, I'd be eternally
grateful. But this subject is for another thread.
George
---
There are 10 kinds of people in the world.
Those who understand binary and
Those who don't.
On 10/17/2012 2:31 PM, Bob Coleman wrote:
> Brian K wrote:
> Image C:
> Install program P1 supposedly to D:
> Restore previously taken image of C:
>
> Would you really be confident that everything affecting the behavior of P! still exists?
>
> Probably the tip of the iceberg, but, at a minimum, wouldn't P1 be missing from the start menu? Wouldn't any filetype associations involving P1 be lost?
>
>