Ask Leo!: Maintenance and Backup

What do I do when my backup drive fills up?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -08:00

I have what I thought was a fairly big (230GB) extra hard drive fitted to my PC which I use for backup purposes. The drive is slowly filling up with all these Incremental backups (58GB free space) left! Can I get rid of any of these old backups? If so, how do I choose?

]]> No matter what tool you use, a properly configured backup is likely to simply collect more and more data in the form of backups as time goes on. If you're backing up to an external drive eventually it will fill up, no matter how big it is.

What to do, meaning what to remove, depends on the type of backup you're doing, what you expect to be able to use your backups for and what other storage options you might want to use.

If all I do is web browsing, email and video, do I still need to back up?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -08:00

Correct me if I am wrong, but I do not think I need to back-up because all I use my machine for is internet browsing, e-mail, YouTube videos, and a foreign language subscription online. I have the hard copy of Windows XP if I need to reformat and reinstall. I purposely use and run it leanly so I don't have to back-up.

]]> You need to back up.

Your approach is a fine one, and you likely don't absolutely need to back up everything that I might otherwise suggest, but I still think you need to back up.

In fact, I hear often from people in your position who are very sorry that they did not.

Is keeping an image backup of my cleanly installed machine a good idea?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:22:57 -08:00

As you keep saying we should do backups of our system so I found an easy Disk Imaging System which I use to make full backups of my system.

The idea I had was to do a reinstall of my system using the manufacturers installation disk then download all my programs , clean off as much junk as possible and then make a disk image of what should be as clean a system as possible.

After say six months I was planning to reformat the disk and put the backup on. I would then bring everything up to date and make another image for use in six months time. A bit like spring cleaning.

My question is how will this work regarding my security programs which update once or twice a day? When I put a six month old backup back on will my anti virus and anti malware programs update correctly or will they be missing updates from months previously?

]]> First, I like your idea. The basic idea is an approach I endorse, though I don't know if I'd do it every six months.

In fact, it's an idea I strongly recommend for people that have purchased machines with Windows preinstalled, and did not receive original installation media.

I'll review the technique, and then also address your question: what to do about updates that happen after the initial image is taken.

How do these emergency recovery options compare?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:57:22 -08:00

The scenario is that something 'ain't right' and I have the option of 1 - format & reinstall: 2- manual repair. 3 - run sfc(/scannow). 4 - use a reimage site. I can understand what option 1 is, but what are the pros and cons of options 2, 3 & 4 and how do I know which is the best option(s) for any given situation?

]]> What you've run into is a very common situation people find themselves in from time to time.

It boils down to "what the HECK do I do?"

I'll run down the options you list (at least the ones I understand), and throw in two more.

Is an online backup service a good idea?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:44:22 -08:00

I routinely back up everything to an external hard drive but instead of using DVD's as a secondary backup, I use a program called Dropbox. It allows 2Gb of storage for free and for a fee, you can get more storage. Since the storage is in cyberspace, I sometimes wonder if someone could access the files I have stored there. Do you have an opinion on it? I don't store anything there with private personal data just in case.

]]> I've written some about free online backup services before, but I want to take this question and look at the entire concept of online backups.

Online backup services can be a useful component of a broader backup strategy. But from security to completeness to speed and cost, there are a number of factors to consider before deciding if online backup is the right thing to do.