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Maxtor/Dantz queries
|
|
| Jordan 2005-04-26, 7:45 am |
| Just bought a Maxtor OneTouch II, which includes Dantz Retrospect backup
software.
The manual is a bit light on info, and I'd like to know:
- Will it backup data from all drives on my computer? I've got 2
internal HDDs.
- When restoring, will it know how to manage the files, as to which disk
they came off?
- Will it take as long to do backups later, after a major first one?
I'd like to use the "Comprehensive Backup" option.
Any tips gratefully received.
Jordan
| |
| Peter Wilkins 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 18:12:24 +1000, Jordan <jwprincic@optusnet.com.au>
wrote :
>Just bought a Maxtor OneTouch II, which includes Dantz Retrospect backup=
=20
>software.
>The manual is a bit light on info, and I'd like to know:
>
>- Will it backup data from all drives on my computer? I've got 2=20
>internal HDDs.
Hi Jordan, in a word, Yes.
>- When restoring, will it know how to manage the files, as to which disk=
=20
>they came off?
Yes. But it will let you restore to other locations if you wish, and
you can restore to a specific date as well (provided there is a backup
available for that date).
>- Will it take as long to do backups later, after a major first one?
Depends what you specify. If you specify "comprehensive", no, it does
later backups much quicker after the first one - it only backs up what
has changed since the last backup. If you specify "duplicate", it
will generally take about the same time each time - unless you have
made radical additions or deletions since the previous backup.
It backs up in the background anyway, so you can keep working.
>
>I'd like to use the "Comprehensive Backup" option.
Yes - it keeps all changes back as far as possible, based on the space
available on the OneTouch (I've got the 300G). The Duplicate option
only keeps the last backup done.
>
>Any tips gratefully received.
I have one basic difficulty with Retrosrect - it will not allow me to
set it up so that if I have a radical main HDD failure I can just boot
from the OneTouch and restore to a new main disk. In that situation,
Retrospect tells me I have to format the new disk, partitioning it the
same as the old disk, install Windows and all updates, install
Retrospect, and then I can restore my Retrospect backup from the
OneTouch. Bullshit! No thinking person whose time is valuable should
have to go through all that crap! My work-around is to do a Ghost
2003 Image backup every time I have a significant software change, and
keep a copy on my OneTouch and on bootable DVD's. I can restore that
image easily, either using a Ghost DOS boot restore floppy or from the
bootable DVD's, and either to the old or to a new disk, and then I can
update everything since the image was taken using Retrospect.
(I keep my Ghost image on HDD as it's much much quicker to restore a
few files from than it is from a 5 DVD set!!!)
I also went to the Dantz web site and downloaded the manual for their
full Retrospect version - it explains things pretty well even though
it doesn't specifically cover the cut down version included with the
OneTouch.
>
--=20
Regards,
Peter Wilkins
| |
| Howard Kaikow 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| retrospect allows one to build a disaster recovery cd from which you can
boot in a disaster.
--
http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
"Peter Wilkins" <wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:ple4719tst1t9fcbo2ijehie3c8bjt5n1u@
4ax.com...
On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 18:12:24 +1000, Jordan <jwprincic@optusnet.com.au>
wrote :
>Just bought a Maxtor OneTouch II, which includes Dantz Retrospect backup
>software.
>The manual is a bit light on info, and I'd like to know:
>
>- Will it backup data from all drives on my computer? I've got 2
>internal HDDs.
Hi Jordan, in a word, Yes.
>- When restoring, will it know how to manage the files, as to which disk
>they came off?
Yes. But it will let you restore to other locations if you wish, and
you can restore to a specific date as well (provided there is a backup
available for that date).
>- Will it take as long to do backups later, after a major first one?
Depends what you specify. If you specify "comprehensive", no, it does
later backups much quicker after the first one - it only backs up what
has changed since the last backup. If you specify "duplicate", it
will generally take about the same time each time - unless you have
made radical additions or deletions since the previous backup.
It backs up in the background anyway, so you can keep working.
>
>I'd like to use the "Comprehensive Backup" option.
Yes - it keeps all changes back as far as possible, based on the space
available on the OneTouch (I've got the 300G). The Duplicate option
only keeps the last backup done.
>
>Any tips gratefully received.
I have one basic difficulty with Retrosrect - it will not allow me to
set it up so that if I have a radical main HDD failure I can just boot
from the OneTouch and restore to a new main disk. In that situation,
Retrospect tells me I have to format the new disk, partitioning it the
same as the old disk, install Windows and all updates, install
Retrospect, and then I can restore my Retrospect backup from the
OneTouch. Bullshit! No thinking person whose time is valuable should
have to go through all that crap! My work-around is to do a Ghost
2003 Image backup every time I have a significant software change, and
keep a copy on my OneTouch and on bootable DVD's. I can restore that
image easily, either using a Ghost DOS boot restore floppy or from the
bootable DVD's, and either to the old or to a new disk, and then I can
update everything since the image was taken using Retrospect.
(I keep my Ghost image on HDD as it's much much quicker to restore a
few files from than it is from a 5 DVD set!!!)
I also went to the Dantz web site and downloaded the manual for their
full Retrospect version - it explains things pretty well even though
it doesn't specifically cover the cut down version included with the
OneTouch.
>
--
Regards,
Peter Wilkins
| |
| Peter Wilkins 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 16:37:47 -0400, "Howard Kaikow"
<kaikow@standards.com> wrote :
>retrospect allows one to build a disaster recovery cd from which you can
>boot in a disaster.
>
It may, I don't know, but the Retrospect Express HD supplied with the
Maxtor OneTouch external HDD doesn't appear to be able to do that, or
at least if it does, it ain't in the help file, and I would dearly
love to hear how it's done please!!!
Please share the info if you have it, or point to a URL - it would
save a lot of time and effort in a disaster situation.
I quote from the Retrospect Express HD "Help" file:
"Before you can restore your entire computer, you must reinstall the
same version of the operating system (including Service Packs) that
you were using when the computer was backed up. You must also create
the same number of partitions on your internal disk drive and those
partitions must be of equal or greater size to the originals (so that
there is enough room to restore all the backed up files).=20
Reinstall the Maxtor OneTouch and Retrospect Express HD software, then
launch Retrospect Express HD by pressing the OneTouch button, or
right-clicking the Retrospect Express HD icon in the system tray and
choosing Open Retrospect Express HD."
--=20
Regards,
Peter Wilkins
| |
| Peter Wilkins 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 07:51:27 +1000, Peter Wilkins
<wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au> wrote :
>On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 16:37:47 -0400, "Howard Kaikow"
><kaikow@standards.com> wrote :
>
can[vbcol=seagreen]
>It may, I don't know, but the Retrospect Express HD supplied with the
>Maxtor OneTouch external HDD doesn't appear to be able to do that, or
>at least if it does, it ain't in the help file, and I would dearly
>love to hear how it's done please!!!
>
>Please share the info if you have it, or point to a URL - it would
>save a lot of time and effort in a disaster situation.
>
>I quote from the Retrospect Express HD "Help" file:
>"Before you can restore your entire computer, you must reinstall the
>same version of the operating system (including Service Packs) that
>you were using when the computer was backed up. You must also create
>the same number of partitions on your internal disk drive and those
>partitions must be of equal or greater size to the originals (so that
>there is enough room to restore all the backed up files).=20
>
>Reinstall the Maxtor OneTouch and Retrospect Express HD software, then
>launch Retrospect Express HD by pressing the OneTouch button, or
>right-clicking the Retrospect Express HD icon in the system tray and
>choosing Open Retrospect Express HD."
=46urther to that, I checked the full version 6.5 manual. It said that
only some versions have the capability, but others let you do it
manually using the "Prepare for Disaster Recovery" wizard which all
editions are supposed to have. Unfortunately, my version doesn't even
have the wizard, so it seems it is not possible to do it with
Retrospect Express HD. Retrospect Express HD is not supported by
Dantz either, so I guess it's up to Maxtor to provide a useful
product. The whole point of backup/disaster recovery software is to
avoid the need for a full manual restore of the O/S and data!
(I can't give an exact quote from the 6.5 pdf manual as it is
protected and copy/paste is disabled)
--=20
Regards,
Peter Wilkins
| |
| (Pete Cresswell) 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| Per Peter Wilkins:
>My work-around is to do a Ghost
>2003 Image backup every time I have a significant software change, and
>keep a copy on my OneTouch and on bootable DVD's. I can restore that
>image easily, either using a Ghost DOS boot restore floppy or from the
>bootable DVD's, and either to the old or to a new disk, and then I can
>update everything since the image was taken using Retrospect.
>(I keep my Ghost image on HDD as it's much much quicker to restore a
>few files from than it is from a 5 DVD set!!!)
I've come around to doing about the same thing using Image instead of Ghost and
with a couple of little twists:
1) When I built my PC, I allocates a relatively-small C:\ drive and only keep
"System" stuff and installed applications there. On a good day, the system
image fits on a single DVD.... on a bad day, it needs two. I still keep all
my images on USB2 hard drives for convenience - but I also write one to DVD
every so often, just in case something happens that fries my drives. I also
keep selected images on the offline "backup" drives that I keep my "data"
backups (via Retrospect) on.
2)I've take to keeping a little stack of legal-sized paper next to the PC.
Every time I do *anything* in the way of installing or configuring, I note it on
that journal. Every so often, I draw a line across the page, note "Image #xx",
and create an image. That way, when the system finally starts acting
flakey, I can go back over the journal and make an informed choice about how far
back I want to go and what to expect after I do the restore.
Haven't had a crisis sufficient to need a restore yet....but it sounds good to
me in theory.
--
PeteCresswell
| |
| Howard Kaikow 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| "Peter Wilkins" <wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:koa571peibsg5putomrom7sg283mum7ca5@
4ax.com...
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 16:37:47 -0400, "Howard Kaikow"
<kaikow@standards.com> wrote :
>retrospect allows one to build a disaster recovery cd from which you can
>boot in a disaster.
>
It may, I don't know, but the Retrospect Express HD supplied with the
Maxtor OneTouch external HDD doesn't appear to be able to do that, or
at least if it does, it ain't in the help file, and I would dearly
love to hear how it's done please!!!
Retrospect's documentation leaves a lot to be desired.
Check the Backup menu for a "Disaster REcovery" entry.
If not there, then your siftware won;t create the DR CD.
You should then either purchase the upgrade to the retail version or
ourchase, say Acronis True Image.
| |
| Howard Kaikow 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| "Peter Wilkins" <wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:nfb57157g39g3dh5fl6mikuv603fvdou0e@
4ax.com...
On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 07:51:27 +1000, Peter Wilkins
<wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au> wrote :
Further to that, I checked the full version 6.5 manual.
Forget about the manual, it is very poorly done.
Check the Backup menu as I stated in another response.
| |
| Jordan 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| Great tips, thanks Peter et al.
Gotta say, I'm a little disappointed with the labour involved backing up
with OneTouch. It was far from the cheapest solution.
Jordan
| |
| Peter Wilkins 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
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On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 05:01:02 -0400, "Howard Kaikow"
<kaikow@standards.com> wrote :
>"Peter Wilkins" <wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
> news:nfb57157g39g3dh5fl6mikuv603fvdou0e@
4ax.com...
>On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 07:51:27 +1000, Peter Wilkins
><wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au> wrote :
>
>Further to that, I checked the full version 6.5 manual.
>
>Forget about the manual, it is very poorly done.
>
>Check the Backup menu as I stated in another response.
>
Thanks Howard, but there is no backup menu and no disaster recovery
capability in Retrospect Express HD. I don't think I want to fork out
big dollars for the full version of Retrospect if the manuals are as
crappy as you say.
Guess I'll stick with Ghost 2003 for system backup and Retrospect
Express HD for quick and easy data backup.
--=20
Regards,
Peter Wilkins
| |
| Howard Kaikow 2005-05-01, 5:50 pm |
| THere's no manual with Retrospect other than a PDF version, which you can
download anyway.
IMNSHO, the manual is not well done.
I'm thinking of trying True Image.
| |
| BlueSky 2005-05-02, 7:45 am |
| Hello *Howard Kaikow* you wrote:
> THere's no manual with Retrospect other than a PDF version, which you
> can download anyway.
> IMNSHO, the manual is not well done.
>
> I'm thinking of trying True Image.
Yees !
Acronis true image is great !
I use it & simulated a complet crash ( formatted my HD to make sure
that.. if a day. ))
So no more boot ..aso.
The boot Cd created by TI worked great and 10 minutes after i was again
up and running.
For me it is the best.
Have a nice day !
--
BS
| |
| chameleon 2005-06-17, 5:47 pm |
| Why do you even use the dantz program, since you can do partial backups
with Ghost, using it's explorer that allows selective backups of
specific files?
Peter Wilkins <wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au> wrote in
news:ga2771p3h1gb6hav1ik156l65gdlkdbtoh@
4ax.com:
> Subject: Re: Maxtor/Dantz queries
> From: Peter Wilkins <wilkinsp_nospam@ozemail.com.au>
> Newsgroups: alt.backup-software
>
> On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 05:01:02 -0400, "Howard Kaikow"
> <kaikow@standards.com> wrote :
>
> Thanks Howard, but there is no backup menu and no disaster recovery
> capability in Retrospect Express HD. I don't think I want to fork out
> big dollars for the full version of Retrospect if the manuals are as
> crappy as you say.
>
> Guess I'll stick with Ghost 2003 for system backup and Retrospect
> Express HD for quick and easy data backup.
>
> --
> Regards,
> Peter Wilkins
>
| |
| chameleon 2005-06-17, 5:47 pm |
| LOTS of complaints about program error messages, incompatibilities, etc
with Acronis stuff. I tried installing v 8 and got a bunch of error
messages about files not being their that it needed. Screw that. If a
company cannot offer a complete product, it's not worth messing with.
Also read several complaints about it's failure to uninstall properly.
Alot of these companies like to let paying customers do their beta
testing for them. Not this guy.
"BlueSky" <Nospam> wrote in news:4275f868$0$311$626a14ce@news.free.fr:
> Hello *Howard Kaikow* you wrote:
>
>
> Yees !
>
> Acronis true image is great !
>
> I use it & simulated a complet crash ( formatted my HD to make sure
> that.. if a day. ))
>
> So no more boot ..aso.
>
> The boot Cd created by TI worked great and 10 minutes after i was
> again up and running.
>
> For me it is the best.
>
> Have a nice day !
| |
|
| In message <GNU9678A3DE68F48chameleonnoplacecom@213.155.197.138>,
chameleon <chameleon@noplace.com> writes
>LOTS of complaints about program error messages, incompatibilities, etc
>with Acronis stuff. I tried installing v 8 and got a bunch of error
>messages about files not being their that it needed. Screw that. If a
>company cannot offer a complete product, it's not worth messing with.
>Also read several complaints about it's failure to uninstall properly.
>Alot of these companies like to let paying customers do their beta
>testing for them. Not this guy.
I have version 8, and it gives me absolutely no problems at all. It does
what they claim, and I regularly use it to reinstall Windows XP when it
degrades. Maybe you had bad luck.
>"BlueSky" <Nospam> wrote in news:4275f868$0$311$626a14ce@news.free.fr:
>
>
--
Huss
| |
| chameleon 2005-06-21, 2:46 am |
| on 18 Jun 2005, Huss <nospam.a.husserl@spamgourmet.com> wrote in
news:MKZNoABKu8sCFwTl@koenig-zwert.com:
> In message
> <GNU9678A3DE68F48chameleonnoplacecom@213.155.197.138>, chameleon
> <chameleon@noplace.com> writes
>
> I have version 8, and it gives me absolutely no problems at all.
> It does what they claim, and I regularly use it to reinstall
> Windows XP when it degrades. Maybe you had bad luck.
Nope, I had the network version and it complained about missing
network files. But there are lots of complaints, just google for
them; also in the web site software reviews of Acronis products.
Also the program did not install properly wasting alot of my time
deleting it's leftover registry garbage by hand.
Truth be told NONE of the disaster backup programs is very good;
they all have problems of one sort or another. Nothing really top
notch out there, but ghost comes as close as you can get, at least
the earlier versions. No one has successfully come up with a good
backup program that works well and is non-problematical. Add that
to the horseshit cd-rw media and writers (add dvd also) and you're
in a crapshoot if you try to rely on backups using removable
media. Best to use USB external drives, but even those have
compatibility problems with the junk software out there. Software
devel. are more concerned with getting their junk on the market than
producing a quality product.
>
>
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