My backup strategy

dictum · 29 Jun 2021

I clone the primary SSD onto the clone one via Macrium. About once a month. Sometimes more often if major changes take place.

Then I test it extensively make sure I can boot off of it.

Furthermore, have a second machine that's clone of the primary machine, hardware and software wise. that's also gets internally cloned exactly like the primary.

so if I experience catastrophic software failure, unable to boot, I boot off the clone SSD. That's basically in sync with the primary, might lose a few weeks of changes but the core OS is intact. If the changes are really critical, back them up to an internal drive which is shared between the primary/clone ssds.

If I experience catastrophic hardware failure, switch over to the clone machine. At that point I have the option of using the OS that's on it, that's somewhat out of sync ( but not really) or I can just swap the SSDs into it from the failed box and be where I was before the crash.

Basically that's 1 primary and 3 copies of the operating system and hardware is essentially 1:1 except that the clone machine lacks a bluray disk player.

SoFine409 · 29 Jun 2021

If you experience a failure near the end of the month then you'll lose nearly a months worth of work. And cloning takes a relatively log time.
I use Macrium Reflect with an external drive or NAS. Since I have the paid version (free will only do incrementals for a 30 day trial period) I run an incremental backup at the end of each day (It just takes a few minutes) then a differential backup every Sunday and a fresh full backup every month or so.

Another strategy might be, if you have an extra drive in your PC of an external drive, is to use FreeFileSync to mirror important folders like Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, Outlook, MobileSync. This takes only a few seconds to do at the end of each day or after important edits.

I use both methods just to be sure I'm double covered because I have data I can't afford to lose.

FroggyTheGremli · 29 Jun 2021

Just remember, if your SOURCE drive dies near the end of the cloning operation... you have nothing for that month. Both the CLONE and the SOURCE will be dead meat.

Railtech · 29 Jun 2021

Given I have UEFI machines I use Full disk image backup for OS System disk and Windows File History for user data to another disk. In addition I use DISM disk image tools to create a clone of the System OS disk whenever I create a Full backup. I also use SyncToy 2.1 for user data to a third disk.

Steve C · 30 Jun 2021

It's far safer to use scheduling of full / differential / incremental images

dictum · 30 Jun 2021

Samsung SSDs, latest-greatest takes 25 minutes to clone. That's 2TB. Less with 1TB disks. I do not have any spinning rust disks.

The 2TB have higher TBW rating, it would take me millennia to wear out the disk. 4TB is what I really want but it would take over a grand to upgrade the entire machine to 4TB. And then cloning would take over an hour.

If I have any critical files, I dump them to yet another disk this way I don't have to wait a month.

If the source dies during clone and assuming the target SSD is hosed also, I take the second clone machine and clone it to the primary that's failed.