Easy way to back-up a non OS harddrive?

[lytalbayre]

So,

I have an internal HDD, 1.5TB, where I store all my family pictures and videos.

I have an external HDD of the same size.

I would like a way to plug in my external drive maybe once a month and have it sync or copy the contents of my internal HDD. I don't want it to recopy the entire HDD everytime I plug it in, I just want it to copy any changes since the last syncing....

Is there some software that exists, (I don't care if it costs $$) that would accomplish this.

My intention is just to back-up these files in case one of the HDDs fail. Family pics and videos are truly irreplaceable.

I've read about all the cloning and imaging software, but it seems those are oriented to drives with an OS installed on..... I don't really care about that.

Anandtech has always been a great resource. Thanks in advance for any and all useful feedback!!!

 

[Blain]

Easy way to back-up a non OS harddrive?

I have an internal HDD, 1.5TB, where I store all my family pictures and videos.

I have an external HDD of the same size.

I would like a way to plug in my external drive maybe once a month and have it sync or copy the contents of my internal HDD.

If you want "easy", no fuss, no muss...
ClickFree Automatic Backup

Personal = 1 PC
Home = 3 PCs
Small Business = 10 PCs

 

[ArisVer]

When you use Windows Explorer to copy the contents of your pictures folder, it asks you whether you want to merge the existing folders and whether or NOT to copy the existing files. The procedure is just a few clicks and you can just copy the new files.

Edit. This is for Windows 7 at least.

 

[ronbo613]

I use SyncBack Free to back up the content of my non-OS storage drives. It works on internal drives, external drives and my Synology NAS. Will backup or sync files and folders. Easy to use and it's free.

 

[It's Not Lupus]

I use synctoy. It's old though.

 

[a3wuerz]

I also use synctoy
oldy but goldy

 

[Charlie98]

My intention is just to back-up these files in case one of the HDDs fail. Family pics and videos are truly irreplaceable.

You might want to consider getting a second external drive as well (I use the Seagate portable USB3.0 drives myself.) Like you, I have about 300GB of music, video, and photos, much of it converted from it's source that doesn't exist any longer (vinyl, VHS, home movies, 35mm negatives, etc) and would be crushed if it went away. To that end I have 2 internal drives and 3 external drives I use in rotation to backup all that stuff. It's not only a failing hard drive you have to worry about, but corrupted data and, I speak from experience, being an idiot (yes, I have accidentally deleted my digital photo folder once... )

As far as file transfer... I just drag and drop like ArisVer suggests.

 

[Z15CAM]

Dos Boot GHOST.EXE to a Fat32 32MB Volune.

 

[jkauff]

The program I use to do this is GoodSync. It's reasonably priced, easy to configure, and very reliable.

 

[gea]

I use robocopy (robust file copy) to sync disks or folders up to Multi-Terabyte.
It is a free CLI tool (included with Windows) and can be run from CLI, you can add a GUI or simply write a textfile like sync.cmd where you enter the robocopy command with from an to values and whether to copy or sync with parameters like date etc.

You can then click on the cmd file to start the sync. You can also start via planned task.

Very easy, very fast, very robust and free.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy

 

[HOSED]

I was going to suggest the free version of Paragon Backup and Restore but all of the suggestions here seem 100% better. With AVG running paragon crashes so I always have to remember to disable it. Good Question OP!

 

[corkyg]

I vote for syncing. You sync the two drives so that whatever is saved to one is also saved to the other at the same time. No need to stmble through the kluge of backup and restore.

 

[ArisVer]

I vote for syncing. You sync the two drives so that whatever is saved to one is also saved to the other at the same time. No need to stmble through the kluge of backup and restore.

How? Is it build-in in Windows?

 

[corkyg]

How? Is it build-in in Windows?

No - you use a sync program - several mentioned already

 

[BonzaiDuck]

No - you use a sync program - several mentioned already

I had on my list of things to do the implementation of synching for my Win 7 and WHS 2011 installations, selected drives and folders. I am SURE it's built in to Windows!! I could be mistaken, but the option for synching folders on two different drives had appeared to me more than once under one, the other or both OS's.

If I get to the task at hand, I'll try and remember to report back here. But -- yes -- I'm sure I saw it in some pop-up, menu . . . somewhere. . . .

 

[ArisVer]

After some searching and reading I found out that the only build in windows application is for mirroring two disks, which is in fact software raid.
I have also checked SyncToy and I remembered using it in the past, handy for folder only sync, as perhaps the other programs mentioned are.

In control panel there is a "Sync Center". Can anyone explain the use of that?

 

[MustISO]

In control panel there is a "Sync Center". Can anyone explain the use of that?

What is Sync Center?

Sync Center allows you to check the results of your recent sync activity if you've set up your computer to sync files with a network server. This allows you to access copies of your network files even when your computer isn't connected to the network. Sync Center can tell you if the files synced successfully or if there are any sync errors or warnings. For more information, see Understanding offline files.