"BobN" wrote in message
...
The question that I have is why are we talking about these programs at
all?
Free programs such as XXClone and HDClone (at least) will clone a system
drive. Data recovery is a separate issue. There are a number of free
programs which will allow you to back up and recover data. With a clone
drive and backed up data you are good to go under any circumstance. I
would rather put the $50 cost of these programs toward the purchase of a
HDD.


On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:56:23 -0500, Anna wrote:
Bob...
Tell me Bob, have you ever worked - really worked - with those free
programs
you mentioned? I'm referring to using a disk-to-disk cloning program that
one would use *routinely* and *frequently* to comprehensively back up
their
system. So that the user would have at hand a reasonably up-to-date
backup
of his or her system and could easily & quickly restore their system to a
bootable, functional state.

There's simply no comparison between those programs and one such as
Casper 5
(or Acronis True Image) in terms of effectiveness, ease of use, and most
importantly, speed of operation. If all that matters to the user that he
or
she has the use of a free disk-cloning program and has no intention of
using
such a program on a routine, frequent basis to comprehensively backup
their
system, then those programs will probably have an appeal for them.

Until they use them, of course...
Anna


"BobN" wrote in message...
I have been using XXClone for several years on one computer. When My HDD
crashed, I simply swapped and I was was up and running in minutes. My
wife used HDClone to replace an OEM Dell HDD which could not be restored
or
repaired because of a faulty OEM disk. Just because a program costs $50
does not mean that it is any better than a free program. Again, you are
talking apples and oranges. Backing up and restoring data is a separate
operation from cloning. You clone to avoid having to do a complete system
install and to avoid having to install all your programs. You do not use
a
clone disk to back up your data every day.. That is what a data recovery
program is for, and you use some external media for such storage. I clone
my system disk only when I install or uninstall a program. Data storage
is
on a flash drive and a CD. OK?


BobN:
If you've found one or both of those disk-cloning programs effective &
useful for both your needs and that of your wife's, then more power to you
and, of course, your wife!

All I can say is that we've worked with both of those programs in the past,
and along with a number of users with whom I'm familiar, all of us -
virtually without exception (as I recall) - found those programs (as well as
a number of other free & shareware-type disk cloning programs) wanting for a
variety of reasons, but chiefly because they were ill-suited in our
experience to serve as a comprehensive backup system that a user could
employ on a reasonably frequent & routine basis. AFAIK, all of us gave them
up. Admittedly it's been at least two or three years since I've worked with
those programs so my comments are based on my experience during that period
of time. In any event, what counts is that you have concluded that they work
for you & yours. And if you're both satisfied with those programs, so be it.

Now as to the issue of using a disk-cloning program such as the one I
consistently recommend - Casper 5 - for the purposes of establishing &
maintaining a comprehensive backup system for the user...

Is there not value for the user if he or she can easily & reasonably quickly
create a precise copy of their day-to-day working HDD? A backup not merely
of their personal data, but a backup that includes the operating system, all
programs & applications, their mail program, their registry settings, their
system configuration settings, and of course their personal data? In short,
*everything* that's on their boot drive. So when the day comes (as it most
surely will for a substantial number of users) when their system becomes
unbootable and/or dysfunctional for *any* reason, they will have at hand a
"good" copy of their HDD - one that is bootable & functional. What better
backup system can one have?

Bob, how many times a day do we see when perusing this newsgroup and similar
ones dealing with users' problems, these types of plaintive pleas for
help...

"Helllllp! My hard drive apparently died. How do I get my data back?", or,
"I just installed SP3 and now my computer doesn't even boot", or,
"I made that registry change XYZ suggested and now I'm getting weird
messages from Windows", or,
"I installed the latest update from Microsoft and now my anti-spyware
program has been trashed", or,
"I installed that new Super-Duper Anti-Malware program and now all I get a
black screen", or,
"All of a sudden I'm getting that dreaded BSOD. How can I save my precious
photos?", or...

The list goes on & on, does it not? Does an hour, a day, a week pass where
we don't see the above "cries of distress" and similar pleas for help?

In so many cases the problem would have been a non-problem had the user made
a precise copy of his or her then-functional system *prior* to installing a
major program on their machine or making some major configuration change in
their otherwise perfectly-working system. This can be relatively easily
achieved through the use of a disk-cloning program such as the Casper 5
program which we prefer. So that in the event of a catastrophe - minor or
major - the system can be easily restored to its previous functional state.

Simply stated, a *desirable* disk-cloning program will allow the user to
restore his or her system easily & quickly when their system fails because
of a defective HDD or the system has become unbootable & dysfunctional
because of data corruption from malware, unwise configurations, or other
causes.

The chief reason we prefer the Casper 5 disk-cloning program (aside from its
simplicity of operation and general effectiveness in carrying out the
disk-cloning operation) is because of its rather extroardinary ability to
*speedily* clone the contents of one drive (or partition) to another drive
(or partition) when the program is used on a frequent basis. Casper
incorporates what it calls its "SmartClone" feature. Simply stated, the
program has the happy capability of detecting *incremental* changes in the
source drive's data since the *previous* disk-cloning operation. By so doing
and then taking only those incremental data changes into account, the amount
of time the program needs to complete subsequent disk-cloning operations is
significantly shortened (as compared with other disk-cloning programs). Keep
in mind that the resultant clone is a complete clone of the contents of the
source HDD - not merely an incremental "file".

As a result of this feature there is an enormous incentive for users to
backup their systems on a more-or-less current basis knowing that the
expenditure of time in doing so will be relatively slight. Heretofore this
has been a major problem with disk-cloning programs (in terms of *routinely*
using the program as a comprehensive backup system) because each time the
disk-cloning operation was undertaken it was a "fresh" operation and took a
considerable amount of time. So many, if not most, users would balk at using
the disk-cloning program on a frequent basis because of that expenditure of
time to undertake the disk-cloning operation.

Anyway, I'd like to encourage you to try out the demo version of Casper 5
available at...http://www.fssdev.com/products/free/
The trial version is slightly crippled but it should give you a good idea of
how the program works. Give it a whirl and see how you like it.
Anna