Backup System and Applications and Duplicate other Files

[Ila Luttrell]

I think I put this post in the wrong forum so I am putting a copy here. I did not see a way to delete it from the other forum. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi! I am new to using back up software like Retrospect. I used "Backup" for my entire computer and I wondering if that was the best approach. I would like to be able to see my personal files, instead of having to execute a search by criteria and have files copied to a folder in the root directory. I took a look at "Duplicate "and that seems good for personal files and folders but maybe not for system files and folders. Is it a good practice to use "Backup" for system files and "Duplicate" for personal files? Can you do that on the same backup HD?

Thanks in advance for your help,

ridgerunner

[Guest]

It is not clear to me which version of Retrospect you are using, so advice will be limited. Regardless, it would be worth your while to carefully read the documentation (eg. 7.5 User Guide) here, especially regarding backup strategies.

 

This will help you see the essential differences between simply duplication of a file vs. incremental backup strategies.

 

Managing backups is hard. Keep in mind - they are only as good as your proven ability to perform a successful restore of any given file.

[Ila Luttrell]

Thank you for your reply. I am really new to this and just updated Retrospect 7.5 to 7.6. My operating system is Win XP SP3. I started using Retrospect when I recently purchased an Iomega eGo external hard drive for backup purposes. I have read a good bit of the documentation for incremental and duplicate backups and I guess that is what started me wondering which was the best. I also wondered if using a combination of the two might be better, if that is even a possibility. I appreciate any advice or other users' strategy tips. I fall into the group of users that cannot make a Disaster Recovery CD, because the .iso image is too large. It is a concern to me that I really will not know if the backup I have is good until I need it.

ridgerunner

[Guest]

There is no simple or single correct answer, as any solution depends upon your requirements, budget, tolerance for error, etc..

 

If you need multiple versions of your files, backed-up over time, use incremental backups. Let retrospect do the work.

 

If you just want one copy, a duplicate will work. But consider, a duplicate of a corrupted or inadvertently-changed file yields a useless duplicate. How will you know when this occurs, until you try to restore and use it? Incremental gives you the hope of restoring from early versions, with increased chances of at least one being acceptable.

 

In general, you should let Retrospect do the work for you. Use the script wizard and create yourself a backup strategy that suits your needs.

 

Also consider which files you must have copies of, which files can be recreated and therefore are non-critical, and which files are temporary. There are also many files managed by Applications (eg. Outlook's .pst files, Thunderbird's profile data, etc.) that you won't ordinarily see (they are hidden by default in the OS). You'll want to be sure that you are backing up these critical files.

 

There are numerous files for which back up is unnecessary and unwanted - this you'll learn over time w/experience and by examining a) the size of your backups, and the contents of your backups.

 

While Retrospect has some Selectors that help you define the set of files to be backed-up, I find the existing selectors are woefully inadequate. Too many temporary files are included in the backup, and numerous files which are locked and should not be included unfortunately are included.

 

Your backup strategy depends on your backup device types and capacity. Disk backup? Tape(s)?

 

Frankly, the best way to learn about how to backup, is to force yourself to perform a restore, knowing that you can recreate your working environment, complete with all your applications functional w/previous data.

 

Hope this helps a bit...

[Ila Luttrell]

Thank you very much for this advice. It is a great help to me.

ridgerunner

[rhwalker]

May I suggest, as a first step, that you develop a clear backup policy. Once you have that, and understand your requirements, everything else pretty much falls into place.

 

Here is a good discussion to get you started:

What should a good backup policy address?

 

Russ