Backup problems.

JohnHopkins · 05 Jun 2020

Greetings all. I have just had W10 installed on my desktop ( version 1909) and want to back up my 100,000+ photos. I tried to do it manually to an EHD (drag and drop) but it says that will take over a day. If I go through the recommended route of 'Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Backup > Add a drive' I come unstuck at 'Add a drive'...it isn't there. And if I go to 'more options' under 'backup using file history' it says 'backup is disabled'. What am I doing wrong?

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I should add that I had already backed everything else onto another EHD and this was a separate 1Tb drive for the photos. That was done manually too.

dalchina · 05 Jun 2020

Hi, File History is somewhat unreliable apparently - and will only back up files whose path length is less than (max path length -26 - recently reported).

One least problematic method is disk imaging e.g. Macrium Reflect - free + large enough external storage.

This is strongly and frequently recommended - primarily to back up all Windows partiitons, but can be used for any partition or combination thereof.

There are lots of (free) 3rd party backup tools as well, and there has been a very recent thread on synchronising backup tools.

JohnHopkins · 05 Jun 2020

dalchina,
Sorry...I don't know what File History, path length, disk imaging or partitions are....I just want to back up my photos...something which everyone tells you to do all the time! I didn't realise it was so complicated.
Thanks, John.

dalchina · 05 Jun 2020

I suggested you use a backup tool.

It depends if you just want to make a manual copy once or maintain an ongoing backup of course.

For a one-off copy of many large files try
Teracopy or Robocopy.
TeraCopy for Windows - Code Sector

Your post mentioned File History

And if I go to 'more options' under 'backup using file history

- it's a Windows feature

so I naturally assumed you had tried to use it.

Partitions are how a physical disk is divided into sections; each section may have a drive letter. Thus C: is the drive letter for one section of your physical disk - the C: partition.

Here are my partitions for my Windows installation - modern ones have 4.

Disk imaging is making file which contains a compressed copy of the used parts of the partitions selected.

What would you do if your disk failed and you had to get a new one?
At present you'd be really stuck and frustrated. I've seen people in tears when that happens.

If you use a (free) program for disk imaging, you can get your PC working again exactly as it was even if your disk failed completely and had to be replaced. Same if it was hit by ransomware - or the PC was stolen but your backup disk was safe.

It's also a full backup from which you can read files.

mngerhold · 06 Jun 2020

JohnHopkins said:

Greetings all. I have just had W10 installed on my desktop ( version 1909) and want to back up my 100,000+ photos. I tried to do it manually to an EHD (drag and drop) but it says that will take over a day.

If it says it wll take a day, that is what is probably required - a straight file to file copy won't do any compression. Why not start it off and let it run?

JohnHopkins said:

If I go through the recommended route of 'Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Backup > Add a drive' I come unstuck at 'Add a drive'...it isn't there. And if I go to 'more options' under 'backup using file history' it says 'backup is disabled'. What am I doing wrong?

That 'Backup' option tries to set up FileHistory, which can be quirky (see other comments). I am using it successfully, but sometimes FH is reluctant to show drives to backup to. It often (but not always, seems to depend on whatever MS has recently changed) won't allow you to select an internal drive, and certainly not a partition on the same device as the system (C:). So you must have your EHD connected when you try to set it up.

That said, it is an on-going backup operation, and that may not be what you want with your photos, assuming they are not changing often.

ignatzatsonic · 06 Jun 2020

JohnHopkins said:

dalchina,
I just want to back up my photos...something which everyone tells you to do all the time! I didn't realise it was so complicated.
Thanks, John.

Look for and download a free app like Karen's Replicator, SyncBackFree, or any of several others.

They all work about the same way, but have differing interfaces. So some may confuse you more than others. They all give you control as to what folders, what files, what extensions, etc. Maybe you want to backup jpgs, but not Tiffs, for example.

You'd likely want to do what is called "mirroring", where the backup photos become a mirror image of the original photos. If you delete an original, it is also deleted from the backup.

I back up 95,000 files 2 or 3 times a day, but to an internal. Typically takes about 90 seconds.

Your backup might take the better part of a day the first time, but thereafter it shouldn't take more than a few minutes, depending on how many changes you've made since the previous backup and the speed of your ports and backup drive if you are using an external.

Matthew Wai · 06 Jun 2020

Use the following command, where "Mir" stands for "Mirroring".

Robocopy "E:\Source_folder" "F:\Backup_folder" /Mir

The command can be scheduled to run at intervals.

Matthew Wai · 06 Jun 2020

JohnHopkins said:

it says that will take over a day.

Does it say you must do that at one go?

RolandJS · 08 Jun 2020

I've used TeraCopy for several years, and, I normally only copy in clumps from source to target, for example, copy up to either 2GB or 50 files at a time, when that succeeds, grab some more, keep going in clumps until the job is done. I rarely Move and Paste because if anything hiccups, trying to get the ghosted files back can be tricky sometimes.
I think somebody mentioned Macrium Reflect, I add AOMEI Backupper, EaseUS Todo. Once you find a backup/restore program that you will use -- make routine backups onto reliable external media, maybe bi-monthly at least.

Samuria · 08 Jun 2020

Its safer to install Google backup and sync it will back them all up to the cloud FREE so you never loose them or worry about the pc crash its unlimited free backup for photos