Protective Tools
Protective Tools
I’m searching for tools that can securely save your family photos and videos to an external hard disk without backing up your operating system. You have Windows 7 on an SSD, separate internal mechanical drives for images, and an external USB for backups. You’re open to paid solutions but want something user-friendly and reliable, ideally under $30.
Find updates on the initial file and apply modifications to the backup without copying everything repeatedly.
Use robocopy with /mir option to copy only changed files. Command example: c:\> robocopy /mir source path destination. For easier use, consider BestSync via web interface.
IMO: I prefer syncbackFree at 2brightsparks.com. It offers many customizable options and is quite reliable for personal use. The sync function works well with my flash drive, and updates in the source folder automatically reflect on the drive, even deleting files.
Acronis offers strong disk cloning capabilities, partition management, and reliable cleaning features. It also provides ongoing backup solutions.
I suggest using Robocopy as discussed earlier, but you must set up the script at regular intervals—every few minutes or hours. It won’t run continuously like a full backup. I rely on Crashplan for off-site storage and also use it to back up files to my NAS and another drive. The free version of Crashplan allows free backups to other devices, which is useful. Agreed, with just one of these tools, backups happen in a specific format, whereas Robocopy creates exact copies. There’s no need for third-party software since it’s a direct 1:1 copy. If I hadn’t used Crashplan for off-site storage, I’d be running a Robocopy script every hour.