[tiroshii]

Hi, I'm in need of an automatic backup system for my grandfather. It needs to be 100% automatic, as his limit of computer literacy is turning the thing on.

The system needs to backup documents and emails (in Outlook) onto a dedicated backup drive (I will fit one of my spare HDDs inside his PC).

What would be ideal is the default Windows backup as seen in Windows 7 where, once set up, runs by itself for ever more.

Is there something like this available for Stone Age windows? (Note; this is a joke, I love XP)

Edited by tiroshii, 01 September 2011 - 09:18 AM.

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On XP professional YES.
On XP Home - NO, not by default, but it can be installed.

You would of course be safer with an external drive.

Here is the guide to XP Home
http://support.micro...kb/308422/en-us

Here is the guide to Professional
http://technet.micro...y/bb457113.aspx



Alternatively there are a number of free backup utilities.
http://www.todo-backup.com/

http://www.paragon-s...m/home/br-free/

http://www.educ.umu....obianbackup.htm

That all said personally I would go with the XP and the Acronis or Seagate if one of the drives is of that make. I say with two, because that is the best. A complete image with Acronis or Seagate. A full normal backup with Xp and then schedule incremental ones on task scheduler.
Incremental
An incremental backup reduces the time required to complete the backup process by saving only files that have been created or changed since the last normal or incremental backups. It marks files so that you will know whether a specific file has been backed up. You need to create a complete normal backup of your system before you can run incremental backups. If you use a combination of normal and incremental backups to restore your data, you must have the last normal backup set of media as well as every incremental backup in chronological order since the last normal backup.

If one of the drives is Western Digital - this is great to use.
http://support.wdc.c...119&wdc_lang=en
On that link you will see the download and the user manual

If one of them is Seagate this is also simple to use.
http://www.seagate.c...000dd04090aRCRD
Also the download and the manual

Edited by Macboatmaster, 01 September 2011 - 12:57 PM.

[Macboatmaster]

On XP professional YES.
On XP Home - NO, not by default, but it can be installed.

You would of course be safer with an external drive.

Here is the guide to XP Home
http://support.micro...kb/308422/en-us

Here is the guide to Professional
http://technet.micro...y/bb457113.aspx



Alternatively there are a number of free backup utilities.
http://www.todo-backup.com/

http://www.paragon-s...m/home/br-free/

http://www.educ.umu....obianbackup.htm

That all said personally I would go with the XP and the Acronis or Seagate if one of the drives is of that make. I say with two, because that is the best. A complete image with Acronis or Seagate. A full normal backup with Xp and then schedule incremental ones on task scheduler.
Incremental
An incremental backup reduces the time required to complete the backup process by saving only files that have been created or changed since the last normal or incremental backups. It marks files so that you will know whether a specific file has been backed up. You need to create a complete normal backup of your system before you can run incremental backups. If you use a combination of normal and incremental backups to restore your data, you must have the last normal backup set of media as well as every incremental backup in chronological order since the last normal backup.

If one of the drives is Western Digital - this is great to use.
http://support.wdc.c...119&wdc_lang=en
On that link you will see the download and the user manual

If one of them is Seagate this is also simple to use.
http://www.seagate.c...000dd04090aRCRD
Also the download and the manual

Edited by Macboatmaster, 01 September 2011 - 12:57 PM.

[Macboatmaster]

tiroshii
It is now 15 days since you asked for advice on backup and I responded only three hours after your request for help.
Please do respond.
Please do not ask for help and then just leave the issue.
I notice you have been a member of GeekstoGo since 2006 and have over 400 posts on the site.
I am sure you will know that it is accepted procedure to respond to help offered.
Please do so.