Allotments 4 All

I don't have a backup system  :-[ and the lottie pics and images are soooo precious.
With so many whizzes on the board, I thought I might ask for advice on something VERY SIMPLE I can do as a routine to back up my work. The ideal would be to press a button at the end of every day and (magic happens) that's it. A box? A programme? A remote server?
I have a Dell Dimension 3000.
What would you recommend, o gurus?
(please don't wallop me for not backing up, at least the computer is McAffee'd to the hilt) :P

if you are willing to spend a little money i would purchase a secondary internal drive for your computer something like these http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/IDE_Drives.html
it would be helpfull to know if your curent hard drive is IDE or SATA
basicaly all you would do is pop this into your comp then copy all your files you wish to save to the new drive that way if your windows pc does get hosed etc the secondary drive would normaly be fine barring lightning strikes or chucking water into the pc.

for ease of use though more expensive you could purchase an external drive
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/External_Drives.html
these often come with backup software which you could run on a weekly basis.

if you decide on either of these gimmie a shout and ill try help some more.

SS
If you are using windows you have backup software. Depending on which version of windows you have it will be either installed (look in programs/accessories/system tools) or ready to install from the windows CD using add remove software (add windows components). The exception to the rule is XP Home which squirrels the backup software away in a directory on the O/S CD called Valueadd (i seem to recall).

Most USB external harddrives come with backup software and are quite cheap now. Some maxtor drives have a one touch backup feature. You press a button and it backs up preconfigured/named data.

Failing this a command line batch job can be written very easily using the XCOPY command. Let me know and I will do this for you but you would still need somewhere to backup to.

If you are using XP Home have a read of
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx
it explains everything nicely

Ian

You mention images as your most precious data, along with a few other files İ guess. My method is to burn these onto cheap cds leaving the disk open so more files can be added as required. Burning software is available for free if you google ...

Thank you for your replies - I think the external HD is the way to go for a non teccie.
Glow and iggy, the offers of help are soooo kind :)
Still struggling a bit :-[ - could you explain a little more?

USB?
maxtor? (but it sounds like what I'm after)
IDE or SATA

Iggy, I loved 'pop it into your comp' HAHAHAHA ;D I feel brave even going near it wiv a duster :-[

I'm thinking - to keep things simple - of buying an external HD (what's 45 squid compared with losing everything?) but love the idea of a pushing a button and backing up at the end of a day's putering :)

Quote from: supersprout on July 20, 2006, 06:46:23


USB?
maxtor? (but it sounds like what I'm after)
IDE or SATA

USB stands for universal serial Bus its a type of connection your computer (if its not over 8 years old will have). You may already be using them for printers scanners or mice but they usually come in multiples of 2. They are 1.5 X .5 cm slots and usually marked with a trident like symbol. They are sometimes found at the front as well as the back of the PC. Check your motherboard book to see where your are. There are two types of USB port 1.1 and 2.0 . 2.0 is faster (and newer) and will run 1.1 compatable devices as well as 2.0. Care must be taken if you buy a 2.0 device and only have 1.1 ports. Check that the device is backwards compatable.

Maxtor is a make/brand famous for hard drives

IDE and SATO are types of internal hard drives - dependant on your motherboard, chances are yours will take IDE drives.

An internal drive is easy to fit (or to get someone to fit) and 80GB should cost £35 + p&P
USB drives just plug in and sort themselves out :-) but are a bit dearer 160GB is £65 + P&P cant find an 80gb)

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.asp?Category=147&SubCat=&Name=&Page=1&NumberPerPage=100&SortBy=

The one touch thing isnt standard so have a read of the details

--------------------

One thing to think about is that the usb drive can be moved easily between PC's if you want to transfer files, show relatives, hide for safety or take it on holiday with you. While internal drives will be a faff. ++++ if your computer has a bad power spike or gets stolen you will loose both your hard drives

HTH Ian

BTW if you have a nice man at a PC shop nearby (not PC world) they will explain this to you. Always hard to type this kind of thing

Totally unrelated to posted problem but although I am married to a computer man (gadget man as I call him) who builds and repairs PCs, I would just like to say that I think you're a top guy, Glow.  You always jump in there and give such great advice to peeps struggling with their putes.  Well done you :)

Quote from: Yellow Petals on July 20, 2006, 10:07:17
Totally unrelated to posted problem but although I am married to a computer man (gadget man as I call him) who builds and repairs PCs, I would just like to say that I think you're a top guy, Glow.  You always jump in there and give such great advice to peeps struggling with their putes.  Well done you :)

gosh I'm blushing now .......

but being as I know about PC's 9the day job) and don't know too much about gardening (the hobby) it's only payback from the excellent advice people like Supersprout regularily gives me.

ho hum back to work