Is there a point in creating an image of your SSD and HD separately?

Thanks for the clarification and advice guys
And yes I am using Macrium :)

I will create image backup of my SSD, including all partitons
And manually backup data from my internal HD to an external

Out of curiosity, I bought a separate 2TB external HD specifically for my image backups using Macrium.
I also have another separate external HD which I had been using past year for University work, and recently manually backing up documents, photos etc.

People say to have more than 1 external HD to backup photos, documents etc. Can I use my '2TB HD image backup ' to also backup data? Or just use it for the SSD image?

C0zzie said:

People say to have more than 1 external HD to backup photos, documents etc. Can I use my '2TB HD image backup ' to also backup data? Or just use it for the SSD image?

You can use the 2 TB HD for any purpose you want.

The Macrium image of your SSD will just be another file on it, like a picture of grandma.

That file can co-exist on the same drive with any other files of your choice. I'd just put it in readily identifiable folder so you can easily find it if needed.

A 2 TB drive that is used ONLY for Macrium images might be a waste of space. If you have 300 GB occupied on C, the image file will be near 150 GB. That 2 TB drive would hold maybe 13 image files of that size. Do you need to keep that many? I keep only the most recent 2 or 3, which are about 18 GB each in my case.

You ought to make a backup of that Macrium file, just like you would any other important file. An ordinary copy of it.

Multiple backups is always a good idea. Some use the cloud. Some use internal and external drives. Some use USB flash drives for at least some of their data. Some rotate the backups with one drive always kept in a safe deposit box off site.

It all depends on your anxiety level and how big a deal it would be to lose your data.

I'd guess worldwide that most people have no backup whatsoever.

ah so I can use my image backup external 2TB hd, and also add documents to it.
I was somehow worried that when you boot the bootable CD, insert the external HD, and find the restore image I want, the documents also on the external HD will be a nuisance or get erased.

Ok thanks again :)

C0zzie said:

ah so I can use my image backup external 2TB hd, and also add documents to it.
I was somehow worried that when you boot the bootable CD, insert the external HD, and find the restore image I want, the documents also on the external HD will be a nuisance or get erased.

Ok thanks again :)

No. You'd just open Macrium, navigate to the image file on the external, and tell Macrium to restore that file to the destination of your choice.

Do yourself a favor: pretend your SSD fails one minute from now and do what you have to do to convince yourself that you know what to do by walking partway through the procedure. You need to understand the menu choices and need to confirm your "boot disk" will boot.

I thought if PC fails, e.g it wont boot up, you load the Rescue CD, insert the external HD with the images, select correct image and restore.
Or is the "open Macrium, navigate to the image file on the external, and tell Macrium to restore that file to the destination of your choice" a procedure for if your PC still loads normally, but something isnt right and you want to restore an old image?

Yes I confirmed that my bootable CD works when I just installed the SSD 3 weeks ago. That is the only thing I have 'tested'.
But I will definitely look into the Macrium manual more.

C0zzie said:

ah dang! I just realised something obvious from reading @ignatzatsonis's last paragraph.
My SSD contains my OS (Windows 10), general softwares (HD tune, Spotify, CCleaner), editing softwares (such as Maya, Photoshop, Unity etc) and 1 Game (might add more to it)
My 2TB internal HD is only a storage drive which contains; -Documents -Downloads -Music -Pictures -Videos
I also have all of this backed up manually (copy and paste) onto an external HD (that I used for University)

So...I actually don't need to create an image of my HD if its just a storage right...?
I only need to create an image of my SSD, whether its before an Windows Update (that rolls out every Tuesday I think), or if I make big changes, like software edits etc.

I used to think that but I haven't seen any Windows update for weeks (attachment). Thanks for the tip-off about next Tuesday. I will make a manual Macrium image of my SSD (C drive) before bedtime on Monday.

Attachment 152473

BTW, I backup my internal HD (Documents, Pictures etc.) regularly using FreeFileSync. It backsup only the changes that have occurred since the last BU, so is very quick despite holding 650 GB in total.

"just a storage"! Mine holds decades of images, and is backed up a second time on another drive.