western digital external usb drive and retrospect express

[danika]

Hi, I am new here and will keep this brief. I am presently looking at the Western Digital usb external hard drive 160 gigs and it comes with the Retrospect Express.

 

I will be deciding on the purchase shortly and had a couple of questions.

 

Since my data that I would be copying into the External Drive is sensitive as it relates to my profession I was wondering if this program has password protection or whether the Professional version would?

 

The other question I had is whether this program copies only files, as in the past I have used the Symantec program Ghost and of course this does an exact image of the hard drive including programs and settings which is critical for me if my notebook should crash. I also have Acronis True Image which I feel is a better program.

 

In the event of a crash and one has their backup in their hard drive through the use of Retrospect Express does one have to create a bootable disk from the software that is provided in the Express program when you first install the software in order to get to your back up that is in the hard drive?

 

As you can see I am really trying to differentiate between Ghost, Acronis True Image and what exactly I can expect from this Backup Program?

 

Password Protection and ease of use are critical to my use of the External Hard Drive and the backup must be complete with files, programs, settings, configurations, e-mails.

 

I should say that my notebook is a Toshiba, windows xp, intel pentium 4, 40 gigs, 512 RAM, and 1.9 GHZ

 

I hope that someone can answer this query.

 

Otherwise I may be paying a lot for a Hard Drive because it has the software in it and is "One Touch Backup" and it does not do the job that I need.

Then I should simply purchase a 160 gig Hard Drive and continue to use my Acronis True Image which has the password feature and does incremental backup.

 

I noted that Western Digital was not listed as one of the supported manufacturers and found that rather odd as well, any replies to that query as well?

 

I really would appreciate comments from members in order that I decide on the proper hard drive.

 

Respectful Regards.

[pommie]

"I noted that Western Digital was not listed as one of the supported manufacturers and found that rather odd as well, any replies to that query as well?"

 

from my experience it seems safe to assume that:

 

1. if it ain't listed it won't work

2. You can wait until hell freezes over before you get any response from dantz here

[dld]

Danika.. I am using Retrospect Express 6.0.222. I also have Acronis True Image version 8. I haven't had much success in using Acronis. I was using ATI version 7 at the time. I never was able to create a bootable disk that worked. It would boot, but then it would hang up. I received ATI 8 as a sort of bonus, since ATI 8 came out within weeks of my buying ATI 7. But by then I had given up on it. My impression was that ATI would not work on an external HD.

 

 

 

As for Retrospect Express 6.0.222, I am quite satisfied with it. Again, I have never been able to create a bootable disk. However, being a Dell user, it is easy for me, in case of disaster, to boot using the Dell Reinstallation disk, format my drive, install WinXP, and then access my Retrospect Backup on my external USB2 drive. Retrospect Backup is also very useful in restoring an OS that may have become corrupt. You run it much as you would run Windows System Restore. The difference is that Windows System Restore does a very selective restore, whereas the Retrospect Backup brings your computer to the exact configuration that existed at the time of the backup.

[danika]

I just wanted to get this clear in my mind, does Retrosepect actually image all of the settings? As for example, my several isp providedr phone numbers that I have to use when I am out in the boon docks with my work? Should I have a crash and try to restore?

 

Also as I mentioned Western Digital is not on the list when I went to the Dantz site as far as one of the supported manufacturers. I have not bought the external hard drive yet, I imagine it must have its own software apart from Dantz to use, but if Dantz does not work with it then i guess I am wasting $ buying it for the "One Touch Restore" Feature.

 

i look forward to a response. Thankyou

[dld]

Danika... Retrospect Express will bring back your computer to the exact configuration that existed at the time of the backup, including your Operating System, Drivers, Applications, Settings and your User Files including emails. I am no expert on this, but as far as I understand it, the only difference between what Ghost does and what Retrospect Backup does is that Ghost does not need a working OS to restore your system, whereas Retrospect Express needs a working version of Windows to be able to restore your system. The intended use to the boot disk that one was supposed to be able to create with Retrospect Express was meant to do just that, create a bare bones version of Windows on your computer so that you could then access your backup on the external HD. The only problem is it don't work!

 

My Maxtor USB2 external drive came bundled with the software from Maxtor that enables the OneTouch feature to work, as well as the Dantz Retrospect Express software that enables you to do Backups and Duplicates. Backup includes the things mentioned above, whereas Duplicate is only good for backing up individual files. In particular, Duplicate does not copy the register settings. I doubt if Duplicate could be used to reinstall programs, since register settings are required for this.

 

Note that the OneTouch feature, at least the way Maxtor had set it up when I received my HD, only duplicates your drive. I think it can be set up to do a backup instead. I never use it. I prefer to do my Backups and Duplicates manually.

 

Since the Western Digital HD you are considering buying comes bundled with Dantz Retrospect Express, one would assume that Western Digital supports Retrospect Express and that it will work with the Western Digital HD. After all, the only thing that Retrospect Express does is to create a file that it then stores on the Western Digital HD. I wouldn't worry about the OneTouch feature.

 

Having said all this, be aware that your Retrospect Express Backup will be of little use to you in case of a major disaster if you have no way of reinstalling Windows on your computer.

 

What I am giving you here is correct to the best of my knowledge. I am no expert, just and ordinary user of the software. Hope this helps.

[danika]

So if I understand this correctly there is a boot disk required to get access to the backup that is in the hard drive.

This is the same principle that i have as part of my Norton Professional Systemworks 2003 and which I have renewed via subscription.

Since Ghost is not user friendly I was dishing out $ every few months $100 to be certain that I had an image of my hard drive in the event of a crash, which has not happened yet.

Thus I like the concept of the One Touch on the Western Digital, however if I understand you correctly the Boot Disk that one needs to create does not work?

 

Am I understanding this correctly, I am not technically inclined and thus have to try to post in what is going on in my mind. If the Boot Disk does not work what purpose does this One Touch Feature of creating a clone of the Hard Drive and then incrementally adding on to it really do?

I guess what I am saying is why would I want to buy such a drive if what I want to do is backup my notebook myself and recover myself in the event of a crash.

 

I really want to copy the entire drive and update it and have it there for me in the event of a horrible day that could arrive.

 

I look forward to comments.

 

Respectful Regards

[dld]

Danika.. I have not been successful in creating a disk that will:

 

a) boot

 

install a working version of Windows on my computer

 

c) access my Retrospect Express Backup on my USB2 external HD.

 

I was able to create a disk that did a) and but not c)

 

 

 

However this is not a problem for me as I can use my Dell Reinstallation disk to do a) and c). If you don't have such a reinstallation disk that is bootable, then Retrospect Express is not for you. It may be that others have been successful in creating a disk that will do a) and c). If so, let's hope that we can hear from them. The tricky part about creating such a disk is that once the disk boots and starts installing, you lose your existing version of Windows. So if you didn't have a disaster before booting, you've got one now!

[danika]

 

Thankyou for the response. Toshiba is not the best for restore, as all techies advise because it does not seperate Windows from the other programs that it has on its "System Restore" Disks.

 

Thus there is a problem isolating the Windows program.

 

What the Tech has been able to do is create a "Ghost" reboot disk for my notebook, however I don't understand computers well enough to know if this is a Generic Boot Disk that would work in order for me to access the Hard Drive that would have my Retrospect Express Back Up.

 

Again, because of my lack of computer experience I was wondering how do you test a Boot Disk to see if it works without compromising and existing running well notebook?

 

Is there a way to do this?

 

Thankyou for your much appreciated input.

 

Respectful Regards

[dld]

Quote:

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Again, because of my lack of computer experience I was wondering how do you test a Boot Disk to see if it works without compromising and existing running well notebook

 

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That is the dilemma quite a few users on this forum have. I don't know of any solution. You could test the Toshiba disk to see if it is at least bootable and immediately stop it if it does boot. At least you would know if it boots or not. For this to work, you go into your BIOS and make sure your CD-ROM drive is first in the boot sequence.

[danika]

The only Boot Disk that I have is the one created for the old Ghost 2003 program that was updated by subscription. This is the program that I have been using and want to discontinue as it costs too much to get the Tech to do it.

The tech's Reboot Disk he said was OK so he must have tested it. I can't use my Toshiba Restore Disk to do a Reboot. the Reboot Disk that the Tech created was for my C drive as that is where the image was in partition E.

 

So since Ghost has the option to create a Boot Disk for an External Drive I created one and it does recognize a hard drive, the only issue I was thinking about is that with the Restrospect Express 6.0 program I would have a password protect on the Back up due to the nature of my client sensitive data and then I would lock it away. So very likely the Ghost Boot Disk for the Hard Drive would not work due to the fact that the Retrospect Boot disk would likely ask me for the password and the Ghost Boot Disk would not do this.

Or am I really off base here?

 

Since the main reason I would be buying the Maxtor is cut down on my Ghosting Bill the One touch feature and the Boot Disk are critical.

 

Thanx again for the responses

[dld]

Danika.. From what I understand you have your version of WinXP on a Toshiba disk. Why don't you try creating your own bootable disk with this version of WinXP on it and nothing else? The following link describes how to create a Slipstream disk, which is a bootable disk that incorporates SP2 with WinXP. You may not want to incorporate SP2 with WinXP, but you do want to create a bootable disk with your Toshiba version of WinXP. Have a look at how you slipstream a disk.

 

http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp2_cd.htm(Will not work with WinXP OEM)

 

You may also want to have a look at this one:

 

http://www.autopatcher.com/autostreamer.html

 

And this one:

 

http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/using_autostreamer/using_autostreamer.html

 

(Autostreamer will work with WinXP OEM)

 

If your WinXP reinstallation disk does not give you the option of reformatting your HD, you will want to have a look at this:

 

http://www.cyberwalker.net/faqs/reinstall-reformat-winxp/index.html#reinstallxp

[danika]

Exactly how many people have problems with a Boot Disk??

 

I know from talking to Toshiba that I can't Boot from my Restore Disks as they will simply overwrite the contents on the hard drive and the computer will be back to the way it came out of the box.

 

You have mentioned that you are able to do a Boot Disk off your original Dell CD's, this is not an option for me.

 

So that is why I pose the question regarding the problems with the Boot Disk and the prevalence of members that have this problem???

Is there anyone out there that has a Western Digital External USB drive and have successfully created and used Boot Disk and have a Toshiba notebook???

 

I look forward to more responses, Thankyou

[danika]

I am wondering exactly how many people have had problems with this Boot Disk that does not work, is it particular computers?

 

I look forward to a response as i really would like to use the Restrospect to backup my files and as I mentioned earlier, my computer the Toshiba notebook can't have a Boot Disk made for it as the Restore Disks that I have for it take the computer back to the original way the computer came out of the box and that certainly does not help me should a crash occur and my backup is on the External Maxtor Hard Drive.

It sounds like Dell makes their software package more user friendly for situations like a crash.

 

I do hope that you can reply,

 

Thankyou

[dld]

Quote:

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I look forward to a response as i really would like to use the Retrospect to backup my files and as I mentioned earlier, my computer the Toshiba notebook can't have a Boot Disk made for it as the Restore Disks that I have for it take the computer back to the original way the computer came out of the box and that certainly does not help me should a crash occur and my backup is on the External Maxtor Hard Drive.

 

 

 

---

 

Danica.. The restore disks always bring back your computer to the way the computer came out of the box, even for the Dell restore disks. What will bring back your computer to the way it was before a disaster is the Backup which you have on the external HD.

 

 

 

You have been given a WinXP installation disk of some kind. You must have been given instructions by Toshiba on how to use this disk in case you have to reinstall your system. In order to do a clean install of WinXP in case of a major disaster, you must delete existing partitions, format your HD, reinstall WinXP, and then access your Retrospect Backup on your external HD. Try to find out from Toshiba how to go about doing all of these things.

[danika]

There is no Windows Install Disk as confirmed with Toshiba Tech Support and also the Depot here locally.

 

What was confirmed is that the OS is bundled with all the programs that Toshiba sold with the laptop, the same as with HP, Compaq and Sony. When I was shopping for a notebook I had researched this aspect out.

 

At that time, Dell was just surfacing in our notebook market here locally and it was rumored that their notebooks were going to have a separate Windows OS install Disk, however there were no dealers, simply ads in the Newspapers regarding ordering via courier.

Lacking confirmation on the Dell having a Windows OS Disk, which seemed appealing; I decided to purchase the Toshiba notebook that I presently have and have been satisfied with except for the lack of an OS disk. And I thought that there may be a way to create this disk.

 

i thought that I should post this to let you know.

 

i imagine what this means then is that i would have to go back to the way the computer came out of the box....delete partitions, format the hard drive and reinstall via the Recovery Disk.Then from there try to access the External hard drive which has my former "C" hard drive back up in it.

 

Is this correct?

 

Thankyou

[dld]

Danica..

 

"i imagine what this means then is that i would have to go back to the way the computer came out of the box....delete partitions, format the hard drive and reinstall via the Recovery Disk.Then from there try to access the External hard drive which has my former "C" hard drive back up in it."

 

You are correct in what you say. This is what my Dell Windows XP Reinstallation disk has me do in case of a disaster. With the Dell disk you are prompted through all of these steps. I have gone through this so many times now that I don't need Dell support to go through the procedure.

 

 

 

For you though it is a different matter. You don't even have a bootable disk with WinXP on it. This you could create quite easily using this link:

 

 

 

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

 

 

Where I am uncertain, and where you would have to consult someone else, is how do you go about deleting the existing partitions and reformatting your HD? These things are mentioned in the link above, but I have never worked through this michealstevens procedure, and I would hate to get you into a mess. Sorry if I can't help you any further.

[danika]

Maybe it is not that complex, as I intend to have a tech get rid of the existing partition on my C drive on my notebook that has my existing Ghost Image on it and clean up the notebook so that I can have that 10 gigs of the presently imaged Ghost sitting on; free for me to use.

 

What I was wondering about was making sure that if a disaster did occur after I used the "Immediate Backup" feature as Dantz called it when I spoke to them that I would have a Boot Disk for my Toshiba so that I could get access to the External Western Digital that would have my New Image of my C drive on it.

 

This would be, just in case there was a failure of the Boot Disk that one creates as part of the Retrospect program of Dantz that comes with the Hard Drive. AS it was indicated that this Boot Disk does not have a great success rate

 

Perhaps your thread is part of the solution or is the solution to my puzzle????

 

Just trying to cover all safe booting bases! (Since Toshiba does not care!)

 

Thankyou again for your experienced comments and I hope to hear a comment on this, if I am making it clear. Since I am not computer literate, I have to try to put issues in the best way that I can.

 

Regards, with thankyous again

 

Any comments.

[dld]

Quote:

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Maybe it is not that complex, as I intend to have a tech get rid of the existing partition on my C drive on my notebook that has my existing Ghost Image on it and clean up the notebook so that I can have that 10 gigs of the presently imaged Ghost sitting on; free for me to use.

 

---

When you have the tech do this, have him look at the michaelstevenstech article to let you know if this would work for you. He might even create the boot disk for you if you're lucky.

Quote:

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What I was wondering about was making sure that if a disaster did occur after I used the "Immediate Backup" feature as Dantz called it when I spoke to them that I would have a Boot Disk for my Toshiba so that I could get access to the External Western Digital that would have my New Image of my C drive on it.

 

This would be, just in case there was a failure of the Boot Disk that one creates as part of the Retrospect program of Dantz that comes with the Hard Drive. AS it was indicated that this Boot Disk does not have a great success rate

 

---

This makes sense to me. Create a Dantz Retrospect Boot Disk. You could try to see if it does boot, but don't go any further than that. Don't let it load its version of Windows. If you do you're wiping out your existing version of Windows.

 

Good luck Danika. If you weren't too computer literate before, you will be once you've successfully gone through all of this.

[danika]

Just so I get this straight when I talk to the Tech.

 

This is what I had in mind, I wanted to create a Boot Disk for the Toshiba home edition for my notebook so that I would have it in the case of an emergency; that being that the Western digital Dantz "Disaster Recovery" boot disk did not work.

 

However, since I am not computer literate I wanted to ask exactly what would a Boot Disk allow me access to. Would it recognize the Western Digital Drive and my External Burner?

Would I be able to access the WD External Drive by the boot Disk so that I could get my Backup of my C Drive in the event of a crash since it would be on that External Drive and thereby be able to restore my notebook?

 

Or is there a missing part of the puzzle that won't allow me access to the Hard Drive with a simple created Windows XP Home Edition Boot Disk ?

 

i ask this here as I want to be able to speak to the tech and not have him simply say "no" as I find most techs simply want to do hardware and their knowledge of software is acquired by doing what you request of them and experimenting to see if it will work and then charging for it.

I want to discuss the thread that you gave me and also know more about what a boot disk in a normal PC will allow you to do in the event of a crash, especially in relation to access of a hard drive. That is why I thought that I should address the issue here before I go to the Tech.

 

i hope that you can understand what I am saying, I want to make certain that I am clear to the Tech and that we both understand one another.

 

Since you are experienced I would appreciate your correction on anything that seems inconsistent.

 

i really want to do:

1. create a boot disk for the Toshiba possibly via your thread for an emergency if the Dantz one does not work. At least discuss the possibility.

 

2. create a Retrospect disaster boot disk for the "Immediate Backup" which is what Dantz said it would be and have the Tech test it as they are supposed to be able to do that, so he says.

 

Does this make sense for a discussion with a Tech? and I look forward to your respones to my previous queries.

 

And again I appreciate your comments, many thankyous.

yes, persistence in this is already making the wheels move upstairs and thus make a little more sense to me.

 

Cheers!

 

Again thanx for the supportive suggestions.

[dld]

Danika..

 

I would tell the tech that you have created a Retrospect Backup of your system on an external USB2 HD. In case of a disaster, the bootable disk that Retrospect has you create is not reliable. The elementary version of Windows that Retrospect installs on your computer does not succeed in accessing the Retrospect Backup on your external USB2 HD.

 

 

 

For this reason you want to create a second bootable disk using the instructions given here:

 

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

This second bootable disk must give you the option of deleting all existing partitions on your C: drive, the option of formatting your C: drive and of installing the full version of WinXP as included in your Toshiba recovery disk. This full version of WinXP should have SP2 slipstreamed with it if at all possible. With this disk you should have no problem accessing your external USB2 HD.

 

 

 

Once you have accessed your Retrospect Backup on your external USB2 HD, you must first Repair the Catalog before proceeding to the Retrospect System Restore. Instructions for doing this will be included in the manual you will have received.

[danika]

Thankyou for the response, and your sequential format is very succinct and clear.

 

Before I even get the tech to do anything with the boot disk situation, we will be discussing this issue of removing the "E" partition on the Toshiba Hard Drive which has the Ghost Image of several months back and is simply not current.

 

Once we determine the feasibility of that issue, as I want the 10 gigs that the Ghost Image takes up freed, then I will have him look at your posts here and my questions and we will walk through the issue of Retrospect Disaster Boot Disk in that manner.

 

I really appreciate your time that you have taken in order that I can go into the Tech and not go around in circles in trying to explain exactly what it is that I want deal with.

 

It's sometimes bad enough for a tech to get to the root of the problem let alone have to deal with a client that explains things in a befuddled fashion!!!

 

Respectful Regards,