A backup program question

[shadowr1ku]

Hello forum,

 

I have a somewhat complicated setup that a friend of mine has. My friend and his wife are trying to share an ExHDD on their network so they can both access files as they please. However, he wants to have a backup on both said ExHDD and on the computer itself. I told him that doesn't sound right, and I figured if anyone tries to access a drive while backing up it could be interrupted. Is there such a way to make 2 backups or am I justified in my skepticism? 

 

Of course I will clarify as much as I can.

[Electronics Wizardy]

So the backup goes to the external hdd and somewhere else?

 

Yep you can use a drive when its backing up, it makes a file list before the backup, and won't touch any files you have added. Or better yet uses snapshots on supported systems.

[Mira Yurizaki]

It depends. In my case with making a backup, I just have something copy and paste files over from the source to destination. As long as the source files aren't being written to, then it backup copy should be updated.

 

I also have two backups, but I make my backups in stages. So I make one backup copy, then make the other.

[shadowr1ku]

16 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

It depends. In my case with making a backup, I just have something copy and paste files over from the source to destination. As long as the source files aren't being written to, then it backup copy should be updated.

 

I also have two backups, but I make my backups in stages. So I make one backup copy, then make the other.

I tried to explain that, but they don't want to lose whats in the drive if it goes out, which still doesn't make sense

16 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

So the backup goes to the external hdd and somewhere else?

 

Yep you can use a drive when its backing up, it makes a file list before the backup, and won't touch any files you have added. Or better yet uses snapshots on supported systems.

Its really dumb. One backup goes to the only ExHDD and another backup goes in a folder somewhere on the computer itself, so if the ExHDD goes there is a copy of it. I don't understand either, more complicated than it needs to be

[Mira Yurizaki]

Just now, shadowr1ku said:

I tried to explain that, but they don't want to lose whats in the drive if it goes out, which still doesn't make sense

So what exactly are they trying to do?

[shadowr1ku]

27 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

So what exactly are they trying to do?

From my understanding, have their one ExHDD back up his C drive, while that said exHDD has a back up thats saved onto the C drive plus files they share between two computers.

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 minute ago, shadowr1ku said:

From my understanding, have their one ExHDD back up his C drive, while that said exHDD has a back up thats saved onto the C drive plus files they share between two computers.

Well, having a backup on the same physical media as the local copy is bad practice to start...

[shadowr1ku]

3 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Well, having a backup on the same physical media as the local copy is bad practice to start...

Exactly, I knew from gut feeling that something like what they think is good is just overcomplicated with very poor results

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 hour ago, shadowr1ku said:

Exactly, I knew from gut feeling that something like what they think is good is just overcomplicated with very poor results

It's not that it's overcomplicated, but that sort of setup doesn't exactly qualify as having a backup copy. If the drive dies, then not only do they lose the local copy, but they lost the backup.