What's a good, free tool for backing up data?

[RileyTheFox]

Hey. With all the recent news about the new Windows 10 updating beaning your files, I've decided I want to get a program to backup my data regularly. What's a good, free tool to do this? Also do you think it's safe enough to backup to a 1TB drive I've had for 5 years that I only keep programs and games on? I don't think the drive is in bad condition or anything, but it has definitely had its fair use over time.

 

Thanks.

[Ashleyyyy]

a drive that's had 5 years of use is in bad condition. 

[RileyTheFox]

8 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

a drive that's had 5 years of use is in bad condition. 

thanks for just completely ignoring the rest of the post. 

[Ashleyyyy]

2 minutes ago, EvilCat70 said:

thanks for just completely ignoring the rest of the post. 

i didn't ignore it. i read the whole thing. i don't know of any backup programs for Windows. i've never used any. 

 

and you asked this:

39 minutes ago, EvilCat70 said:

Also do you think it's safe enough to backup to a 1TB drive I've had for 5 years that I only keep programs and games on? I don't think the drive is in bad condition or anything, but it has definitely had its fair use over time.

the only reason i replied is that hdd's are mechanical and if a drive is 5 years old it's unreliable. 

https://www.prosofteng.com/blog/how-long-do-hard-drives-last/

i answered that question for you. 

[Techguy1993]

3 minutes ago, firelighter487 said:

i didn't ignore it. i read the whole thing. i don't know of any backup programs for Windows. i've never used any. 

 

and you asked this:

the only reason i replied is that hdd's are mechanical and if a drive is 5 years old it's unreliable. 

https://www.prosofteng.com/blog/how-long-do-hard-drives-last/

i answered that question for you. 

Well the drive could be o.k.. depending on how much it was used. I’m pretty sure the data from your link was from a company running them 24/7.

 

 

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, Techguy1993 said:

Well the drive could be o.k.. depending on how much it was used. I’m pretty sure the data from your link was from a company running them 24/7.

 

 

Exactly what I was thinking. I moved off of using the HDD as a main drive almost a year ago when I bought an SSD. Now it only keeps games and non-important programs on it. In other words, barely been used for the past year. 

[Ashleyyyy]

2 minutes ago, Techguy1993 said:

Well the drive could be o.k.. depending on how much it was used. I’m pretty sure the data from your link was from a company running them 24/7.

 

1 minute ago, EvilCat70 said:

Exactly what I was thinking. I moved off of using the HDD as a main drive almost a year ago when I bought an SSD. Now it only keeps games and non-important programs on it. In other words, barely been used for the past year. 

you can think anything you like. if you want to use a 5 year old drive as a backup disk then that's not my problem. I'm just trying to tell you that that isn't a good idea. 

[RileyTheFox]

Just now, firelighter487 said:

 

you can think anything you like. if you want to use a 5 year old drive as a backup disk then that's not my problem. I'm just trying to tell you that that isn't a good idea. 

I'm not backing up mission critical files here. Just pictures of my pets and a few videos I want to save in case Windows either goes berserk or my SSD dies (unlikely considering I only got it a year ago but whatever)

 

I don't have the time or money to replace my drive. So please don't insist that using a 5 year old drive is going to be the end of the world for me. 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

First, you should have your System files (OS and programs) on their own drive or partition and your data on another drive(s) or partition. There are many ways to back up data and which method is best depends on if you are backing System files or data. Segregating them allows you to use the best method for both.

 

For data to be reasonably safe, it must exist in three different places. For most people, this is on the computer, on an onsite backup drive and on an offsite backup drive. The onsite and offsite backups should be swapped out as frequently as practical to enusrre both are as up to date as possible,  For a drive to be a true backup drive, it must be kept powered down and disconnected from the computer at all times except while updating the backup.

 

If you are looking for an automated backup system, forget it. They require that the backup drive be connected to the computer at all times, rendering the backup subject to the most of the same perils the drives in the computer are subject to. 

 

For backing up the System files, an imaging program is best.  Merely copying them to another drive will not work. A drive image is roughly the equivalent of a photographic negative. Similar to how a photographic negative can be used to create a print, an image can be used to recreate the drive or partition back to the state it was in when the image was created.

 

There are several good imaging programs but the one I recommend is Macrium Reflect Free (I use an older, paid version). I also recommend making only full images and not differential images. I make new images only just before downloading and installing updates, making major changes to system settings, installing or removing hardware, and installing or removing software. Otherwise, making new images on a schedule, such as daily or weekly, is not needed.

 

While data can be imaged, it is slow and takes up far too much backup drive space. While imaging is necessary for backing up and restoring System files, folder/file syncing is much better for backing up data. A folder/file syncing program, when set to mirror mode (not the same as RAID 1, btw; RAID of any kind is NOT a backup), will compare your data drive or partition to your backup drive. Any new or changed files on the data drive or partition that are not on the backup drive will be copied to the backup drive. Any files on the backup drive that are no longer on the data drive or partition will be deleted from the backup drive. The result is essentially an exact copy of the original data drive or partition. The data drive or partition is never touched. Since only new, changed, and/or deleted files are involved, updating backups are considerably

 

Another feature many folder/file syncing programs have (and I strongly recommend using) is called versioning. When enabled, files deleted from the backup drive will be sent to a user designated versioning folder or drive. This will protect you from losing corrupted accidentally deleted files.

 

I use and recommend FreeFileSync for folder/file syncing. 

 

Any drive, no matter its age or how much it has been used, is subject to sudden and irrecoverable failure. Even new drives can fail. I've four drives arrive DOA or throwing too many error codes. However, most drives start failing starting near the five year mark, sooner if they have been used heavily. I strongly recommend that you replace that 1TB drive even though it's been lightly used for the past year. If you can't afford to replace it (been there, done that, couldn't afford the tee shirt, either), use it for now--any backup is better than no backup--and start saving shekels to get a new one (actually, two new ones) before that drive can die on you.