I am considering purchasing an external hard drive to create an image using Windows 7.  I'm wondering if it is a simple failsafe process that is not too complicated?  If I was to restore the external hard drive image to my C drive would windows still be registered?  Could I put the image on another computer without problems?  

I have previously backed my information up on USB Flash drives and this is okay for personal files but I have so many programs and have the computer set up exactly as I want, so having to do a clean install is not something I would prefer as it would be rather time-consuming.  

Steve

Win 7,I7 870,8 GB RAM,DNS 12.5 pro,Jabra pro 9470

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Thanks for your reply and Lunis.

I was unaware that this was included not having had an external hard drive before.  I was intending to use the Windows utility so I'm just wondering whether it works okay or whether I should go with some other backup utility.  I need something bigger than a flash drive and portability isn't a concern, not to mention external hard drives are much cheaper in comparative storage capacity.  I guess I'm just saying that a 500 MB external hard drive is cheaper than the Corsair 128 MB Flash drive.

Steve

Win 7,I7 870,8 GB RAM,DNS 12.5 pro,Jabra pro 9470

takenaback,

I personally don't care for the Windows 7 backup utility. It has nothing to do with reliability. My problem with the Windows 7 backup utility is that it doesn't appear to be as thorough and complete as other more reliable third-party backup utilities. I concur with Lunis in that I prefer Acronis TrueImage. Acronis TrueImage is a set it and forget it full image backup that you can configure for daily backups so that you're always and never more than anywhere from a day to a couple of hours from your current Windows set up depending upon how you configure the Acronis TrueImage backup schedule.

No backup utility is 100% reliable. Anything can go wrong at any time. However, I find that Acronis TrueImage is the most reliable in that the only thing that you have to be sure of is that you have sufficient disk space and that you periodically check to make sure that the backups complete properly. Since Acronis TrueImage will backup your entire system even while you currently working on such, you can observe the process (if you wish) but you can always see the icon in the systray and check the percentage of completion. Also Acronis TrueImage prompts you at the end of any backup runs telling you whether it was successful or unsuccessful.

Also, one of the nice features of Acronis TrueImage is that it will create a full backup/restore boot disk (CD) from which you can either backup or restore any image by simply inserting the CD. In addition, Acronis TrueImage is written in Linux, which means that is operating system independent, particularly with regard to the boot backup/recovery disk. It's also inexpensive. I highly recommend it.

As regards restoring an image, you don't have to worry about registration or activation for either Windows or Dragon NaturallySpeaking as long as you restore your backup to the same drive on the same system. Keep in mind that if the machine fingerprint changes (i.e., you restore your backup to another system) you will be prompted by both Dragon NaturallySpeaking and Windows to reactivate. In both cases the processes basically straightforward and simple. However, if you haven't done it before, or had to do it before, it can be a little bit confusing. Nevertheless, you can reactivate both without losing an activation under this condition. Just be aware of the fact that you will be prompted to reactivate if you install it on a completely different system. Also, remember that you can only have your copy of Windows installed on one system. While it is possible to cheat and install it on two systems by restoring your backup, there is a likelihood that sooner or later you're going to get trapped in a reactivation situation on one of your systems whereby Microsoft will not allow you to reactivate that system because it knows that you have installed it on more than one. Just keep these things in mind when determining how and where you restore your backups.

I use a 1 TB external hard drive to backup my systems (all seven of them) using Acronis TrueImage. I prefer this method because, as you've already noted, external drives are cheap. In addition, they are very reliable. However, I do not trust the backup software that comes with some of these drives. I also basically don't buy any of the preconfigured self-contained external drives. Some of these are to proprietary. I by a standard SATA hard drive along with an external hard drive case and put together my own. That way I can always replace the drives, change drives, and set them up the way I want them. I actually use a very nifty external drive unit that allows me to insert and remove drives without having to open a case. I just slide a drive in and/or remove it and replace it with another one whenever I need to. It also allows me to use either USB or eSATA connections. In short, it lets me do it my way and I can always replace drives without having to buy another unit.

Thanks Chuck, great information.

Even though it's a great idea I won't be purchasing an external drive that I can swap with the internal drive, I physically can't change them.  I'm wondering whether it really matters whether I have an esata or FireWire connection as they cost a little more than the USB 2.0.  Is transfer speed really going to be a problem, a slow transfer speed means that it will use less system resources, is that correct?

I will probably go down the route of Acronis TrueImage so for something working behind-the-scenes so to speak, is it really worth outlaying more for a FireWire or esata connection? What are the disadvantages  of using USB 2.0?

Steve

Win 7,I7 870,8 GB RAM,DNS 12.5 pro,Jabra pro 9470

Steve,

The reason that I you like using the Thermaltake devices is because I can use any hard drive (SATA) right off the shelf from 3.5 to 2.5 drives. I don't have to spend extra money for additional drives (external) and I'm not restricted to particular types of I/O format (FireWire, eSATA, USB 2.0). I can simply use standard hard drives. I don't use it for the purpose of trying to swap out my internal drives. I used purely for backup purposes. On my systems that support eSATA, I can use that interface. On systems that only support USB 2.0, I can use that interface. FireWire started off as being a great idea, but it has fizzled and never gained the popularity or the usage that was intended originally in creating this protocol. While most of the current motherboards support all three options, eSATA is faster than either FireWire or USB 2.0.

However, with regard to performing system backups, speed is not important. Whether you use eSATA or USB 2.0, you don't have to worry about speed. When I use eSATA, my backups take about 7 min. to do a full drive image. When I use USB 2.0, it takes about 10 to 15 min. WHOOPY!!! Since you are doing backups in the background, speed and time are really not critical factors. It's more critical that your backup gets completed correctly and can be restored rather than how long it takes.

Never let a computer know you're in a hurry. - Author unknown

Chuck

Thanks for pointing me in a well-informed direction, I know exactly what I'm looking for now.

Steve

Win 7,I7 870,8 GB RAM,DNS 12.5 pro,Jabra pro 9470

Chuck (and all),

I'm intrigued, but I'm missing something. In the pictures for the Thermaltake devices, I'm seeing a lot of exposed hard drives. I also see that they sell the devices with a rubber-ish "jacket" for the hard drives. How does the setup work? Do you buy your drive, your case, put it together, and then pop the encased drive into the Thermaltake unit, or do you have to take the drive out of the case for the drive to fit into the unit? If you have to take the drive out of the case for it to fit into the unit, is that why they provide the jacket -- as a "temporary shelter?"

It seems counterintuitive for the encased drive not to fit into the unit, but what can I say? I'm not a visual learner.

Thanks,

Eric Wright At work: DNS 12 Pro. At home: DNS 11.5 Pro,  KnowBrainer 2011, and Utter Command by RedStart Systems; Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac

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