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backup to external hard drive
Good morning everyone!
I just bought a 160 GB external HDD for backups on my WXP Home machine ( the HDD is connected using USB 2.0). I have read in previous posts that I must change the file system on the new drive from FAT32 to NFTS to overcome the 4 GB barrier imposed by FAT32. I have a couple of questions regarding this.... 1 - Is there an alternative to doing this? I have an old W98SE machine that I would like to back up on this HDD as well. Win98 will not recognize an NFTS drive, will it? 2 -Is it better to just copy essential files onto the backup HDD using Windows explorer, or perform a complete C drive backup using the backup utility? 3 - Is it better to have one HUGE 40 GB backup file(on an NFTS drive), or a backup that is split into 10 - 4 GB files( on a FAT 32 drive?) Would I need to purchase software to split the backup into 4GB files? Which software is best? 4 - If I decide to change to NFTS, then can I just reformat the new external HDD to make it an NFTS drive? What allocation unit size should I use (there are several choices ranging from "default" to 4096 bytes) I know that if I reformat the drive, I will lose all data on it... not a problem. 5 -Are there any programs out there that backup faster than the backup utility that is packaged with WinXP Home? I tried backing up my C drive last night and the data transfer rate was about 120 MB/min (which would translate into about 6 hours to back up 40 GB) Thanks, Ian |
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backup to external hard drive
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#4
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backup to external hard drive
"Edward W. Thompson" wrote in message ... "Ian R" Ian wrote in message ... Good morning everyone! I just bought a 160 GB external HDD for backups on my WXP Home machine ( the HDD is connected using USB 2.0). I have read in previous posts that I must change the file system on the new drive from FAT32 to NFTS to overcome the 4 GB barrier imposed by FAT32. I have a couple of questions regarding this.... 1 - Is there an alternative to doing this? I have an old W98SE machine that I would like to back up on this HDD as well. Win98 will not recognize an NFTS drive, will it? 2 -Is it better to just copy essential files onto the backup HDD using Windows explorer, or perform a complete C drive backup using the backup utility? 3 - Is it better to have one HUGE 40 GB backup file(on an NFTS drive), or a backup that is split into 10 - 4 GB files( on a FAT 32 drive?) Would I need to purchase software to split the backup into 4GB files? Which software is best? 4 - If I decide to change to NFTS, then can I just reformat the new external HDD to make it an NFTS drive? What allocation unit size should I use (there are several choices ranging from "default" to 4096 bytes) I know that if I reformat the drive, I will lose all data on it... not a problem. 5 -Are there any programs out there that backup faster than the backup utility that is packaged with WinXP Home? I tried backing up my C drive last night and the data transfer rate was about 120 MB/min (which would translate into about 6 hours to back up 40 GB) Thanks, Ian Go to http://www.allensmith.net/Storage/HDDlimit/FAT32.htm for an explanation of the size limits for a FAT32 partition. If you intend to dedicate the external drive to an NFTS machine then format NFTS but if you are uncertain which machine will require to read the drive format FAT32. If you intend to 'backup' the whole drive then use 'imaging' software such as Norton Ghost/Acronis True Image/etc. You can use the WinXP backup software to backup data files as you do not need to image the whole drive at such regular intervals. His 40Gb+ image won't write to FAT32 partition. (file size limit) |
#5
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backup to external hard drive
"tjoy" wrote in message ... "Edward W. Thompson" wrote in message ... "Ian R" Ian wrote in message ... Good morning everyone! I just bought a 160 GB external HDD for backups on my WXP Home machine ( the HDD is connected using USB 2.0). I have read in previous posts that I must change the file system on the new drive from FAT32 to NFTS to overcome the 4 GB barrier imposed by FAT32. I have a couple of questions regarding this.... 1 - Is there an alternative to doing this? I have an old W98SE machine that I would like to back up on this HDD as well. Win98 will not recognize an NFTS drive, will it? 2 -Is it better to just copy essential files onto the backup HDD using Windows explorer, or perform a complete C drive backup using the backup utility? 3 - Is it better to have one HUGE 40 GB backup file(on an NFTS drive), or a backup that is split into 10 - 4 GB files( on a FAT 32 drive?) Would I need to purchase software to split the backup into 4GB files? Which software is best? 4 - If I decide to change to NFTS, then can I just reformat the new external HDD to make it an NFTS drive? What allocation unit size should I use (there are several choices ranging from "default" to 4096 bytes) I know that if I reformat the drive, I will lose all data on it... not a problem. 5 -Are there any programs out there that backup faster than the backup utility that is packaged with WinXP Home? I tried backing up my C drive last night and the data transfer rate was about 120 MB/min (which would translate into about 6 hours to back up 40 GB) Thanks, Ian Go to http://www.allensmith.net/Storage/HDDlimit/FAT32.htm for an explanation of the size limits for a FAT32 partition. If you intend to dedicate the external drive to an NFTS machine then format NFTS but if you are uncertain which machine will require to read the drive format FAT32. If you intend to 'backup' the whole drive then use 'imaging' software such as Norton Ghost/Acronis True Image/etc. You can use the WinXP backup software to backup data files as you do not need to image the whole drive at such regular intervals. His 40Gb+ image won't write to FAT32 partition. (file size limit) It won't be written as a single file but can be written, True Image will do this automatically as Norton Ghost no doubt will. It's a little difficult for me to understand why one wouild want to image a file that large. |
#6
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backup to external hard drive
"Edward W. Thompson" wrote in message ... "tjoy" wrote in message ... "Edward W. Thompson" wrote in message ... "Ian R" Ian wrote in message ... Good morning everyone! I just bought a 160 GB external HDD for backups on my WXP Home machine ( the HDD is connected using USB 2.0). I have read in previous posts that I must change the file system on the new drive from FAT32 to NFTS to overcome the 4 GB barrier imposed by FAT32. I have a couple of questions regarding this.... 1 - Is there an alternative to doing this? I have an old W98SE machine that I would like to back up on this HDD as well. Win98 will not recognize an NFTS drive, will it? 2 -Is it better to just copy essential files onto the backup HDD using Windows explorer, or perform a complete C drive backup using the backup utility? 3 - Is it better to have one HUGE 40 GB backup file(on an NFTS drive), or a backup that is split into 10 - 4 GB files( on a FAT 32 drive?) Would I need to purchase software to split the backup into 4GB files? Which software is best? 4 - If I decide to change to NFTS, then can I just reformat the new external HDD to make it an NFTS drive? What allocation unit size should I use (there are several choices ranging from "default" to 4096 bytes) I know that if I reformat the drive, I will lose all data on it... not a problem. 5 -Are there any programs out there that backup faster than the backup utility that is packaged with WinXP Home? I tried backing up my C drive last night and the data transfer rate was about 120 MB/min (which would translate into about 6 hours to back up 40 GB) Thanks, Ian Go to http://www.allensmith.net/Storage/HDDlimit/FAT32.htm for an explanation of the size limits for a FAT32 partition. If you intend to dedicate the external drive to an NFTS machine then format NFTS but if you are uncertain which machine will require to read the drive format FAT32. If you intend to 'backup' the whole drive then use 'imaging' software such as Norton Ghost/Acronis True Image/etc. You can use the WinXP backup software to backup data files as you do not need to image the whole drive at such regular intervals. His 40Gb+ image won't write to FAT32 partition. (file size limit) It won't be written as a single file but can be written, True Image will do this automatically as Norton Ghost no doubt will. It's a little difficult for me to understand why one wouild want to image a file that large. It works for me. I use Norton ghost 9 to backup 300Gb HD (boot drive, one partition) to removable SATA drive (230Gb) both are NTFS. If something goes wrong I just boot PC from Norton Ghost CD, and reload image (base backup and differentials) Anyway, there are more than one way to skin the cat. |
#7
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backup to external hard drive
This isn't anything scientific, but I've kept my backup drive as FAT32 so it
can still be read from a Win98 machine. I use 'Second Copy' backup software and don't know how I ever lived without it. You can access the files on the back up drive just like you can on your hard drive and it's so simple to do full backups, partial backups incremental backups or to synchronize the two drives to exactly match. You can download a 30 day evaluation copy at: http://www.centered.com/ -- Dori ... _______________________ "A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside." ~ Denis Waitley ~ "tjoy" wrote in message ... "Edward W. Thompson" wrote in message ... "Ian R" Ian wrote in message ... Good morning everyone! I just bought a 160 GB external HDD for backups on my WXP Home machine ( the HDD is connected using USB 2.0). I have read in previous posts that I must change the file system on the new drive from FAT32 to NFTS to overcome the 4 GB barrier imposed by FAT32. I have a couple of questions regarding this.... 1 - Is there an alternative to doing this? I have an old W98SE machine that I would like to back up on this HDD as well. Win98 will not recognize an NFTS drive, will it? 2 -Is it better to just copy essential files onto the backup HDD using Windows explorer, or perform a complete C drive backup using the backup utility? 3 - Is it better to have one HUGE 40 GB backup file(on an NFTS drive), or a backup that is split into 10 - 4 GB files( on a FAT 32 drive?) Would I need to purchase software to split the backup into 4GB files? Which software is best? 4 - If I decide to change to NFTS, then can I just reformat the new external HDD to make it an NFTS drive? What allocation unit size should I use (there are several choices ranging from "default" to 4096 bytes) I know that if I reformat the drive, I will lose all data on it... not a problem. 5 -Are there any programs out there that backup faster than the backup utility that is packaged with WinXP Home? I tried backing up my C drive last night and the data transfer rate was about 120 MB/min (which would translate into about 6 hours to back up 40 GB) Thanks, Ian Go to http://www.allensmith.net/Storage/HDDlimit/FAT32.htm for an explanation of the size limits for a FAT32 partition. If you intend to dedicate the external drive to an NFTS machine then format NFTS but if you are uncertain which machine will require to read the drive format FAT32. If you intend to 'backup' the whole drive then use 'imaging' software such as Norton Ghost/Acronis True Image/etc. You can use the WinXP backup software to backup data files as you do not need to image the whole drive at such regular intervals. His 40Gb+ image won't write to FAT32 partition. (file size limit) |
#8
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backup to external hard drive
Thanks for all the feedback folks! It looks like I will be buying Norton
Ghost sometime in the near future. "Ian R" wrote: Good morning everyone! I just bought a 160 GB external HDD for backups on my WXP Home machine ( the HDD is connected using USB 2.0). I have read in previous posts that I must change the file system on the new drive from FAT32 to NFTS to overcome the 4 GB barrier imposed by FAT32. I have a couple of questions regarding this.... 1 - Is there an alternative to doing this? I have an old W98SE machine that I would like to back up on this HDD as well. Win98 will not recognize an NFTS drive, will it? 2 -Is it better to just copy essential files onto the backup HDD using Windows explorer, or perform a complete C drive backup using the backup utility? 3 - Is it better to have one HUGE 40 GB backup file(on an NFTS drive), or a backup that is split into 10 - 4 GB files( on a FAT 32 drive?) Would I need to purchase software to split the backup into 4GB files? Which software is best? 4 - If I decide to change to NFTS, then can I just reformat the new external HDD to make it an NFTS drive? What allocation unit size should I use (there are several choices ranging from "default" to 4096 bytes) I know that if I reformat the drive, I will lose all data on it... not a problem. 5 -Are there any programs out there that backup faster than the backup utility that is packaged with WinXP Home? I tried backing up my C drive last night and the data transfer rate was about 120 MB/min (which would translate into about 6 hours to back up 40 GB) Thanks, Ian |
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