[malloc]

Hey

I though I'll set up a little home backup system. I have one desktop computer that I'd like to backup daily, and few laptops that could be backup'd there as well, but through wifi.

So what would be the best way to do so? An external hard drive to router?
And also, how to set it up? I connect it to router, and then what? Can it be protected with password?

[Ztruker]

The simplest and fastest way would be to buy an external hard drive then move it from computer to computer as you need it. Leave it connected to the Desktop most of the time and move it to the Laptops when you want to back them up.

The other good alternative is to use NAS (Network Addressable Storage). They are not cheap.

[malloc]

Thank you!
Sorry for the late comeback!
Anyway, I got a usb hdd(samsung s2 i believe), but I need a good back up manager. Stock one doesn't really work the way I'd like. I would like to make backups in rar/zip archieves and automatically(daily). Is there any free tool like that?

[Ztruker]

Macrium Reflect Free is very good but does not back up in zip or rar format. It will compress the backups though. You need to use the Windows Scheduler to automate the backup.

I use Acronis True Image for my 3 computers but it's not free. When I bought ATI Home 2010 I got the 3 system package for $49 or so. It has many capabilities including a very good scheduler.

[B!gB@ng]

I really like Cobian backup, It uses VSS, so you can keep an open pointer to a file (such as an Outlook file) without having to worry about your backup. It supports a wide variety of encryption, scheduling and compression options (including RAR and ZIP files), and of course, it't totally free.