Best back-up Image

I am in the process of deciding which one of the many back-up Image products to purchase.
I heard of Ghost--True Image--& Power Quest's Drive Image.

If possible could you guys out there who already have and use these products or other ones give me some input on the pro & cons of the what you use and would recommend to a somewhat inexperienced user like myself.

Also would like to know if any of these products allow daily back-ups of selected files only.

Thanks, Paul

 

I use Ghost, both for making an image then burning to CDR, and cloning a drive.
I don't think it does selective files/folders though.
Drive Image is probably as good, but I haven't used it as much.

 

Thanks reboot, anybody else?
Paul

 

I'll go with reboot. I'm using Ghost 2003, and loving it. Beats the heck out of hours and hours of re-installs.

Daizy

 

Here is an alternative drive image software:

http://home.carolina.rr.com/lexunfreeware/LexunFreeware.htm

I have not used it, a friend has and raves about it.

Regards - Charles

 

Hi Paul

I remember now you asked me about this so time ago.

Been traveling!

Charles may not have known this, as he said he had never used the Lexunfree image program. But it it has been droped by this site as being unreliable.

You are familiar with Lexunfree because that is where you got your RegScrubXP!

I vote Drive Image! It is what I use.

Mike

 

Thanks guys,
Mike I did ask you awhile back and I think I'm going to take your sugestion about the Drive Image.
Mike 1 other question--wih Drive Image can you back-up just individual files such as--My Documents & Favorites?
The reason I'm so interested in the My Documents is that I add my new business to it everyday and sure would hate to lose it.

 

No paul.

Drive Image does just that, makes a drive image not a folder or file image.

The way I use drive image is once every 4-6 weeks I will use it to image my drive(s) mostly my OS drive. The image goes to a second HD and from there a copy to cdrw. I keep both.

NOTE: your image can be much larger than mine because on my OS drive I have no user applications like Office games etc.

On my OS drive there is only the OS and OS utilities like Firewall, Virus scanner, cleanup and regcleaners. If it does any thing else it is installed to another partition.

This allows me to trash the OS and only have to restore the OS and all my other partitions that contain Office etc to run as always without reinstall or any special actions.

Before I do this I cleanup fanaticly several temp cleanup programs several regcleaners at least two virus scans each with a different scanner.

But I have a bat that backs up my documents, favorites emails and a couple of other important folders. These are ziped and copied to a second HD. At 1st boot on or after each Sunday these are sent to the other HD then to a CDRW.

Mike

 

Oh yes it works!

All the programs are already in the "registery" because I backed them up that way.

Remember I am restoring an Image that was backed up with these installed, not some older or different image.

Now if I had installed something in between my Image and restore it would no be recognized. Thing here is I always Image anyway when I install some large or major new application to the other partitions. Which is pretty rare these days.

I might do some tweak or etc to windows at least weekly but to add a new Word processor or etc is rare for me. I have everything I want or need now!

I am more after protecting the OS because of the utilities tweaks little personal touches, some I have forgotten about. And even if i remembered everyone it would take a very long time to get them all back in after a reinstall.

EDIT: You say Os gets trashed over time. Mostly because most people don't clean up or know how to clean up. I do! If you reread my post you will see that I run mutiple temp cleaners and registry cleaners and virus cleaners scandisk defrag before I image. The OS does not deteriorate on its own just from use. It is the problems that accumulate that don't get fixed that lead to this misnomer. Now there are some that require a reinstall. But that is why I keep a clean image.

Mike

 

Mike, thanks for all the info,
Paul

 

Hi Mike,

I went into the site after reading your post about Lexun. Noticed that the site is moving, seems to be a dispute between two partys.

"Charles may not have known this, as he said he had never used the Lexunfree image program. But it it has been droped by this site as being unreliable "

Need more info about why the site dropped the develper so I can pass it on.

Do you have any info about the software itself?

As I've said, know someone that does use the driveimage software and swears by it.

Regards - Charles

 

Hi Christer,

Totally agree with Mike about keeping a clean registry, been doing so from day 1.

Some of the tools that I use, he uses as well and then some.

jvPowerTools - RegScrub ( by the drive image author Lexun we were discussing) - RegCleaner (an MS product, one of the few that I llike) and a commercial reg cleaner called Reg1stAid.

The temp stuff most of the time I'll go in and delete manually periodically, or I use an app that will clean all user traces and clean out all the temp files pertaining to web surfing, cookies, TIF.

There are progs that will go thru the system and list all those files: temp, bat, etc. One is a program from PCMAG called HDvalet.

Don't use any Norton utilities, aside from NAV AV on one of my OSes, from what I've read, the suite pretty much has apps that have the same functions.

Then there are the sypware checkers: Ad-Aware - SpyBotS&D - and of course, AV scanners, I have two because I use different AVes for each OS and they can scan each other's files.

Regards - Charles

 

Hi Christer,

Most of the temp files on ME are in the C:\TEMP or C:\Temporary Internt Files. The system also keeps track of the MRU functions (most recently used) which I've turned off, don't allow the system to collect them. Start > settings > tool bar and start menu properties > advanced. There you can clean them out periodically. There is quite a build up.

What I've found really helpful is a PCMAG utility called DiskPie which shows the size of folders. You can "drill" through the folders as well with it.

Regards - Charles

PS: Perhaps you should try jvPowertools as a cross check to win doctor. Latest version is 1.3.0.195

I'm a great believer in cross checking.

 

Hi Christer Charles and Paul

At the possibility of seeming fanatical I do the below every 6-8 weeks "OR" at the first sign of trouble.

I want my image to be CLEAN and TIGHT.

So I run RegScrub , Regcleaner, Easycleaner, System Mechanic, Fixit Registry cleaner, Nuts and Bolts registy cleaner and MS RegClean (Charles it is regclean from MS) not RegCleaner. Most of these have temp cleaners also and I run them too.

Of course SpyBot, Adaware HiJackThis etc also.

I also run Stinger and PqRemove in addition to the other virus scanners.

It has always worked for me!

Mike

 

Mike, I talked to tech support at Powerquest and spent a lot of time on their website. They have some nice learning videos there for a guy like me who's doing this for the 1st time.
The support guy told me something I didn't know and that was their Drive Image allows you to partition a drive.
That's something I always hear you guys talk about but didn't know how to do and right now a little scared to do.
I figure with a 120 gig HD and me only using 6 GB right now I could partition it and put the stuff I want to back-up daily on a separate partition and just back that up to a CD daily.
Another thing he mentioned was if I was going to Image to a CD drive was to use only CD-R discs not CD-RW disc--am I on the right track?
I do have to thank you for your info--everything you told me so far worked and my computer does fly.
Paul