Opinion on Dantz Retrospect for backups?

[algae]

Hi all,
After a recent hd failure and many hours of reinstalling everything on my system I have decided to back my system up in a more organized manner. I hear good things about Retrospect. If anyone has any experience with it I would like to know what you think. Does it make a bootable drive image or just back up specified files? I know it does incremental backups which I like.
Any opinions would be appreciated as usual.
Thanks
Gary

 

[CalvinHobbes]

http://www.dantz.com/en/products/win_personal/features.dtml

Personally, I would use it for backing up files and then use something like Ghost or True Image to backup your boot drive.

 

[algae]

Thanks. Another question for you...I backed up my entire, newly installed C drive using Retrospect. There are 11 errors. Should I worry?
G.

 

[CalvinHobbes]

What were the errors? I've never used Retrospect but I do use Ghost for creating an image of my boot drive.

 

[AllGoodNamesAreTaken]

I have used Retrospect for several years to make nightly backups of data. However, I do not use its disaster recovery feature so I cannot comment on how well it works ( I use True Image once a month for the OS/Apps/Non-data ).

Retrospect works well for incremental data backup of my 3 computers. Writing the original backup script was rather tedious, so plan to spend some time doing it right. Creating snapshots ( part of the backup process ) can take a very long time. You can decrease the time by having partitions or volumes for backup instead of an entire drive ( Retrospect seems to scan the entire drive/partition/volume for file/date/access information ).

Avoid backing up to CDRW if you have a DVDRW or extra hard drive as alternatives. Before I upgraded to a DVD writer, my 2 backup sets contained over 25 CDRW each! Also, make sure your burner is on their supported list.

Cheers.

 

[algae]

Doesn't say. Just says 11 errors. Upon hearing some of your replies guys I'm thinking I may take Calvin's suggestion and use True Image for the entire system and Retrospect for files only
Thanks
G.

 

[Staver]

There is a log; that describes what each error is. I'd advise turning on all details if you have not already. The route I'd go is an image of production drives and backing everything up with Retrospect. Burn your image to rebootable Disc, so if the worst happens, you'd restore the image and be back up running in minutes then launch Retrospect and restore the rest. What media are you using?

 

[algae]

Western Digital External Combo 250 Gb ( Firewire & USB 2.0)

Gary

 

[Staver]

I switched from tape to 2 160GB drives in removable bay enclosures. That way I could alternate sets like I did with tape.

 

[GhettoFob]

Originally posted by: AllGoodNamesAreTaken
I have used Retrospect for several years to make nightly backups of data. However, I do not use its disaster recovery feature so I cannot comment on how well it works ( I use True Image once a month for the OS/Apps/Non-data ).

Retrospect works well for incremental data backup of my 3 computers. Writing the original backup script was rather tedious, so plan to spend some time doing it right. Creating snapshots ( part of the backup process ) can take a very long time. You can decrease the time by having partitions or volumes for backup instead of an entire drive ( Retrospect seems to scan the entire drive/partition/volume for file/date/access information ).

Avoid backing up to CDRW if you have a DVDRW or extra hard drive as alternatives. Before I upgraded to a DVD writer, my 2 backup sets contained over 25 CDRW each! Also, make sure your burner is on their supported list.

Cheers.

Agreed. I would set up Retrospect to backup important folders (My Documents etc...) and use Ghost/True Image for the full system. I would definitely recommend backing up to hard drives instead of CD/DVDs.

You can go to Reports>Operations Log to see what errors you received.