How often do you do a full back-up

kelper · Sep 18, 2023

I do not understand why you need to dismiss others' strategies. Very few Windows installations will have only one partition!
Macrium Reflect will backup just as well as Ghost and is regularly updated. I use MR because, if I accidentally mess up my Windows laptop, MR can restore it in less time than it would take to troubleshoot and much less time and interaction than reinstalling.

Each to his own, but please don't insult me. MR can also install a backup to different hardware.

Dru2 · Sep 18, 2023

MiguelAngel11 said:
in my main's one per week, in my other 2 once a month. Full image method. I distrust the incremental method.

I use Acronis and have it set to run backups on a weekly basis. Then after every 6 incremental backups it does a full backup.

GCG1000 · Sep 18, 2023

pietcorus2 said:
Every 5 days 2 full backups ; Macrimei and Hasleo.um (1) and AoMEI (2) , never problems anymore............

Ditto with AOMEI and Hasleo.

ShamrockRig · Sep 18, 2023

Josey Wales said:
Well I have 5 Photos, it is a choice of any user to have whatever they want in The Pictures folder or any other for that matter. I have zero Videos in my Videos Folder and only one in Documents.

Anyone got 6?

Wisewiz · Sep 18, 2023

Aw, c'mon, man. You made me take three pictures of my window-feeder birds, and now I have seven (That's 7 in digital).

hdmi · Sep 19, 2023

TechnoMage2021 said:
From what I've read here, I'm starting to believe that there are a lot of folks who just don't understand what a full backup is. Eh?

I'm pretty sure that some folks have a main hard drive that is all ONE partition. So a full backup would be a bit for bit copy of that entire drive, with the resultant Image File written to another drive.

Wait a minute. A full backup does not by definition require to be a bit-for-bit copy of an entire drive. A dataset does not by definition require to encompass (a) whole partition(s) or drive(s), and, the bit-for-bit copy (or sector-by-sector clone) requirement is not part of the definition of full backup either.

A full backup is where all data in a specific dataset is copied. A dataset (or data set) is a collection of related, discrete items of related data that may be accessed individually or in combination or managed as a whole entity.
An incremental backup is where only data changed since the last backup is copied.
A differential backup is where only data changed since the last full backup is copied.
A synthetic full backup combines the last full backup with subsequent incremental backups.
An incremental forever backup retains full backups and subsequent incremental backups.
A reverse incremental backup is where a synthetic full backup is the default, but incremental backups are retained.

FirasKing Air · Sep 19, 2023

thecaretaker said:
I maybe paranoid, but I do 3-5 full backups a day. It only takes a minute or so. Every time I get an update and see that it is working correctly, I do a backup.

Reading many of your posts, I get the impression that some of you only do full backups once every week or once a month.

I am conscious that I'm wearing out the SSD drive I keep my backups on. I use Macrium Reflect and keep the last 6 backups. Am I over doing the backups?

Whenever I make a backup, something goes wrong, causing me to be unable to use it and have to reinstall Windows.
I learned that if I don't back up, there won't be any consequences.
:wink:

IownAmoneyPit · Sep 19, 2023

I usually restore my latest backup from the previous Patch Tuesday then update to newest Patch Tuesday + any other needed updates then do a new full Backup with Macrium Home or AOMEI Pro and if there is a major version update to one or more of my programs or I add/remove a program than I will also do a full backup.

FirasKing Air · Sep 19, 2023

GCG1000 said:
Ditto with AOMEI and Hasleo.

What are your thoughts on Hasleo? I used it before I fell in love with it

kelper · Sep 19, 2023

The trouble I experienced was when I needed to do a restore; it failed and I never got a resolution. EaseUs were less than helpful. It made my laptop unbootable and I had to do a complete reinstall of Windows, losing everything that was not in the cloud.

GCG1000 · Sep 19, 2023

Firas said:
What are your thoughts on Hasleo? I used it before I fell in love with it

Hasleo is an excellent (free) back-up and recovery suite for most users. It's easy to use, with plenty of good options, and performs a complete recovery when necessary.

FirasKing Air · Sep 19, 2023

GCG1000 said:
Hasleo is an excellent (free) back-up and recovery suite for most users. It's easy to use, with plenty of good options, and performs a complete recovery when necessary.

Yeah, I like it too. Good choices.

badrobot · Sep 24, 2023

I just personally do seasonal backups like now (OS only). I don't see the need to do a more regular backups unless you mess around with your PC settings all the time. To be honest I barely have to use my Macrium images. I just feel good having them.

As for data backups, as long as my data is separate from OS I am good. My data recovery software never fails me. I just make a copy of my important docs on my NAS. That's it.
I don't keep digital movies and music (though I have a small collection of FLAC files). I am good with Prime Video, Netflix, Spotify and Disney+. Archiving videos is just a waste of time for me. I never watch the same movie over and over again.

jimbo45 · Sep 24, 2023

Since now I'm exclusively using vhdx files and keeping data on a NAS which schedules its own data backups to external device and cloud server I rarely need system backup any more via macrium. Just dumping the vhdx file is fine -- My typical windows installs are around 45 GB and I've around 30 TB of disk space on NAS so I'm not bothered withe compression etc etc. The only data I have on windows is "working storage" or data I'm actually working on e.g excel spreadsheets, photoshop layers etc etc.

heers
jimbo

TM21 · Sep 24, 2023

Think of this scenario.... You've been gone all day, at work, play or Dr's app, and when you enter the room where you keep your computer, HORRORS, it's gone! What do you do then?
I only ask, because it happened to me. And, at the time, I had only ONE computer, or NONE as it turned out to be.

TraderGary · Sep 24, 2023

TechnoMage2021 said:
Think of this scenario.... You've been gone all day, at work, play or Dr's app, and when you enter the room where you keep your computer, HORRORS, it's gone! What do you do then?
I only ask, because it happened to me. And, at the time, I had only ONE computer, or NONE as it turned out to be.

Yes, it also happened to me! We had been out for the evening and came home to find the back door had been bashed in. All of Kate's jewelry was gone. All of our electronics were gone. My computers were gone along with all my backup drives. The feeling of loss and violation is indescribable.

The next day I purchased a new computer and when I logged in to my Microsoft Account, BAM! All of my data and photos were instantly there in my OneDrive folder as if nothing had ever happened!

badrobot · Sep 24, 2023

"Back up" is a never ending story. People will always come up with reasons or things outside of the actual topic. Even if it is not applicable to everyone.

MisterEd · Sep 24, 2023

I routinely back up 4 computers with Acronis True Image 2018. Each computer has its own external drive for backups. I also backup my phone using ATI on my main desktop paired with the ATI app on my phone. I have to check on this every so often because sometimes it loses sync.

I back up others computers with other programs only occasionally.

I occasionally have a backup fail because the external drive has filled up. I have to check with each backup program once in a while to see when that happens. I need to do a better job of adjusting the backup configurations so that doesn't happen.

Drive backups:
Backups done once a week.
The pattern is full backup followed by 4 incremental backups.
Backup chains older than 30 days are deleted.

Data backups:
Backup done once a day.
The pattern is full backup followed by 4 incremental backups.
Backup chains older than 14 days are deleted.

Phone backup:
Backup done when ATI app on phone initiates it. I haven't figured out how often that is.

A Guy · Sep 25, 2023

I was on a hiking trail and heard the unmistakable rattle of a rattlesnake...I did a full backup that day! (And a cleanup after)

A Guy

glasskuter · Sep 25, 2023

I make only full images. I image the system drive every 2 weeks with one of those after update Tues, or if I make major changes. I have a lot of data on my data drive; 50 years of music collection, books I've written, a lot of notes, but it doesn't change much. I image it once a month. The few files I have that I consider important are in a special folder that syncs to Google Drive.
I'm also in the running for a prize in the photo department. I have 14, all of my mother. They are definitely in my special folder along with digital copies of my will, living will, power of attorney, and a long list of instructions my husband will have to take care of when I die.

When one is 75 with no children and no living family, it kind of changes what one considers important.

How often do you do a full back-up

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