Ablang
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 Posted:
Fri Dec 17, 2004 5:31 pm Post subject:
Upgrade Report [GeekTech: New App Makes Backups Easier - 09/ |
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September 7th, 2004
GeekTech: New App Makes Backups Easier
Sr. Assoc. Ed. Tom Mainelli
Everybody knows you should back up the important data on your PC
often. In fact, if I stacked up all the issues of PC World magazine
that recommend this important task at least once, the pile would
eventually collapse--trapping the smaller members of our staff
underneath.
You get the picture.
Unfortunately, backing up is a tedious, sometimes lengthy process. And
when you're done, your PC doesn't actually go any faster. So where's
the fun in that?
Well, actually, the fun is in still having all your important
data--from family photos to MP3s to financial info--in the unhappy
event your PC goes kaput.
There are lots of ways to back up your hard drive, many of them free.
For a sampling of free programs, browse "Utilities To Back Up Your
Data":
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/213949/15377828/754897/0/
We recently reviewed a range of backup options, from simple backup
programs to full-blown drive-imaging software. There's a chart
comparing the packages, with links to reviews, at:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/213949/15377828/754898/0/
I've always preferred to use drive-imaging software. As luck would
have it, that method just got a little bit easier thanks to a new
product from Symantec. More on that in a minute.
What's a Drive Image?
But first, a brief primer on imaging: A drive image is essentially a
snapshot of your hard drive. More specifically, it's an extremely
detailed representation that contains every single bit of data that
you'd find on the original drive. You take this image, compress it,
and then store it someplace safe--on another hard drive, a CD or DVD,
a backup tape, whatever. Should disaster strike and your original
drive is destroyed, you simply put the imaged version on a new drive
and you're back in business.
There are lots of other things you can do with drive-imaging software.
For example, if you're like me and you love to run a PC with a cleanly
installed operating system, you can create backups after reinstalling
Windows. That way you can always go back to that happy time before
some poorly designed program starting slowing down everything. I
covered this topic in depth in "How to Keep Your OS Springtime Fresh":
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/213949/15377828/754899/0/
Until recently, my favorite drive-imaging software was PowerQuest's
Drive Image 7. Then Symantec, which owned a less-satisfying imaging
product called Norton Ghost, bought PowerQuest and I figured that was
the end of Drive Image. Happily, I was wrong. Symantec's $70 Norton
Ghost 9 looks an awful lot like what could have been Drive Image 8,
and it makes creating backups easier and noticeably quicker.
For a review of Drive Image 7, go to:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/213949/15377828/754900/0/
Read "Skip Norton Ghost 2003" to see why we thought an earlier version
of Norton Ghost wasn't up to snuff:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/213949/15377828/754901/0/
Getting Incremental
One of the drawbacks of Drive Image 7 was it could only take a full
snapshot of your drive. In other words, if you used the software to
back up your hard drive, then added another file to the drive, you had
to create another full image to include the new data. That could be a
pain. For example, doing a full image of my one-third-full 30GB
Windows XP partition using Drive Image 7 takes upwards of 15 minutes
with the data verification feature turned on, and the result is a
7.6GB file.
Norton Ghost 9 adds incremental backups, and that's a huge
improvement. Basically this feature lets you add subsequent changes to
a base image. First you create a full snapshot. The next time you
create a backup, the software images only the changes you've made.
This saves time because most incremental backups take just minutes.
Each incremental backup holds only the changes you've made--but when
you restore to a particular file, it uses all the previous files to
create the full image. If you're like me and you want to save multiple
variations of your image, this can save you lots of storage space over
time.
Also, since incremental backups are quick and easy to do, you're more
likely to do them more often. In fact, you can schedule these
incremental backups to happen once a month, once a week, or even
multiple times during the day. Since the process doesn't take long,
you won't mind the slight performance slowdown that occurs if the PC
performs an incremental backup while you're using it. (You can turn
off this feature during long bouts of Doom 3.)
With a product this easy to use, there's no excuse for not backing up.
Restoring those images is simple. You can easily bring back a non-OS
drive or partition from within Windows. But what if you're restoring
your operating system partition? Norton Ghost's updated restore
environment makes that easier than ever, too. You just boot your PC
from the Ghost CD into Symantec's Windows XP-like interface, where
you'll find easy access to your backup images as well as a host of
other Symantec extras including a basic version of Norton Disk Doctor
and even a virus scanner.
Not a Perfect Ghost
I should note that while a beta copy of Norton Ghost 9 has certainly
won me over, it has aspects I really don't like.
First and foremost: Like most Symantec products, this one requires
activation. Piracy stinks, but activation is annoying.
Second, like PowerQuest's Drive Image 7, Norton Ghost 9 forces you to
install Microsoft's .Net framework, which I'm not crazy about.
Symantec says it uses the .Net framework "because it's quickly
becoming a standard technology that most Windows applications will use
in the future."
Finally, this program is for Windows XP and Windows 2000 only. So if
you're thinking about doing yet another clean install of Windows ME, I
guess you're out of luck--in so many more ways than one.
Norton Ghost 9 is far from the only game in town when it comes to
drive-imaging. In fact, some of my technically inclined friends have
voiced a preference for Acronis True Image 7. Acronis--which has
offered incremental backups for some time--just launched True Image 8
for $50. Before I plunk down my money to buy the final version of
Norton Ghost 9, I may have to give that one a spin, too.
For pricing on Norton Ghost 9, go to our Product Finder:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/213949/15377828/754902/0/
For a review of Acronis True Image 7, go to:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/213949/15377828/754903/0/
Read Tom Mainelli's regularly published "GeekTech" columns:
http://pcwnl.pcworld.com/t/213949/15377828/239026/0/
===
"Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.
It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved."
-- William Jennings Bryan |
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