How to backup ssd?

[Tweed]

How can I backup my ssd to a hdd? can i just clone it?

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, Tweed said:

How can I backup my ssd to a hdd? can i just clone it?

yes, or put it in reverse ;-)

[Gikero]

Are you trying to make a one time copy of the data, or do you want a scheduled backup?

[Electronics Wizardy]

what os are you running? There is normally a backup tool built into your os that you can use, and thats a muchbetter option that a clone as it shows all changes.

[Tweed]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

what os are you running? There is normally a backup tool built into your os that you can use, and thats a muchbetter option that a clone as it shows all changes.

windows 10

[Tweed]

22 minutes ago, Gikero said:

Are you trying to make a one time copy of the data, or do you want a scheduled backup?

which would you recommend? if i do do a scheduled backup, maybe onces every two months or something.

[kirashi]

1 hour ago, Tweed said:

How can I backup my ssd to a hdd? can i just clone it?

Are you wanting to backup just your data, or are you looking to clone the drive so you can recover your Windows OS, data, and programs? Asking because this will define what kind of backup solution I recommend. If you're just looking to backup your user data, then Windows 10's built-in File History option will happily backup user data to an external hard drive of your choosing, and is super easy to use. However, if you're after a complete system image / clone backup, I'd recommend using something open-source like CloneZilla, or the paid Acronis True Image for its' simplicity.

1 hour ago, Radium_Angel said:

yes, or put it in reverse ;-)

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.  

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 hour ago, Tweed said:

windows 10

Just use the windows 7 backup and restore then. It can make a image and file backups, and works well.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

How you backup any drive depends on what you have on it. System fils (OS and Programs) are best backed up using imaging. Cloning can also be used but your are limited to only one backup per backup drive. I recommend using Macrium Reflect Free for imaging. 

 

Imaging and cloning can be used to backup data but are inefficient due to being time consuming and space wasting. While imaging and cloning are the only way to transfer System files, data files can be simply copied from one media to another. One could do it manually but that is labor and time intensive and subject to user error.

 

A far better way would be to use a folder/file syncing program, such as FreeFileSync (which I recommend) or SyncToy. A folder/file syncing program, when set to Mirror (not the same as RAID 1), will compare the source drive to the destination drive, then copy any folders and files on the source drive that are not on the destination drive to the destination drive and delete any data on the destination drive that is not on the source drive. Better folder/file syncing programs have the option of sending deleted files to a user designated versioning folder or drive, which provides protection from accidentally deleted files and files deleted due to corruption of the original file.

 

If you have both System files and data files on the drive, they should be segregated by puting them on their own partitions. That is how I have the SSD inside my notebook arranged. It has four partitions: system Reserved, C:, E: (data), and the factory recovery partition. I use Macrium Reflect to image up my C: drive and FreeFileSync to backup my data on the E: partition to one backup drive. I also carry a clone on a separate drive in my notebook case so, if the drive in the computer irrecoverably dies, I can quickly swap them out in a matter of a handful of minutes.

 

You should always have more than one backup, generally an onsite backup and an offsite backup. I keep the offsite backup for my desktop machine in my safe deposit box at my credit union. In the case of my notebook, the E: partition is a mirror of all but the versioning folder of the E: drive so that serves as the offsite backup for my notebook. I use FreefileSync to transfer new and changed data between the notebook and the desktop.

 

I do not recommend using Windows backup. It has too few options, is inefficient for data backups, and is a bit finicky.

[Electronics Wizardy]

4 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

I do not recommend using Windows backup. It has too few options, is inefficient for data backups, and is a bit finicky.

Huh? It works fine for almost all home users. It does file and image backups, and works well for incremental backups.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

2 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Huh? It works fine for almost all home users. It does file and image backups, and works well for incremental backups.

Then why have I seen so many complaints about it? Also, it's basically imaging which is inefficient for backing up data.

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 hour ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Then why have I seen so many complaints about it? Also, it's basically imaging which is inefficient for backing up data.

Its imaging and file level backups. Images are great for restoring after a bad hdd or a system that won't boot.

 

What errors do you see? I have deployed it manytimes and it works well.