Mimicing a Raid Setup with OS/software?

[Kaham]

Hey everyone,

I was looking into the possibilities of creating a reliable backup system for my documents, ie papers for school, work etcetera.

Now I know there are programs and utilities like Northon Ghost, or even scripted events that you can use in Windows to copy all files from a folder to a different folder, however the flaw here is that the folders will not be backed up until like late at night or whenever you schedule it. This nearly got to me when my HDD got corrupted with some work not backed up yet. Luckily I hadn't made huge changes

The other option would be running the discs where I save my files in Raid 1 (isnt that the mirrorring?), and then I'd have a backup of my files on the second disc, in case the first harddrive breaks. However, this is a highly inefficient choice for me, as I only need to backup my Documents folder this way (about 1gb max). So I'd basically waste a HDD and I'd have to completely reinstall for this minor tweak.

Therefore I was wondering if it is at all possible to have Vista act like some sort of Raid 1 setup and save all files to 2 places by default.

Example: if I hit the save button in word, and save my file to my "Documents" folder, would it be possible to have my OS write this file to both C:\Gebruikers\Bas\Documenten (=C:\Users\Bas\Documents on english OSes), AND to G:\Bas\Documents Backup at the same time?

Ive already found a way to change the location of the Documents folder (rightclick on documents, select properties -> locations tab), however, this only accepts a single line as destination folder. Plus, I need windows to only open the c:\ files by default. So this didnt get me very far.

Is there anyone with suggestions on this matter, or other ways of realtime backups?

PS. sorry for the wall of text ;)

[Sparda]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-v...hadow-copy.aspx

[Kaham]

Hmm that does look like a solid solution, however I forgot to mention the fact that im using Home Premium. So unless anyone has a better option, I'd have to upgrade to Ultimate or Business to make this work.

[Sparda]

It is the only option that Windows has to offer. Other wise you could just set up a scheduled task to copy one directory to another directory.

[Kaham]

It is the only option that Windows has to offer. Other wise you could just set up a scheduled task to copy one directory to another directory.

Yeah, the latter is what I am using now, this didn't save my files completely when my HDD corrupted though, as I had to fall back to the previous version of the file. Thanks for having a look anyway, guess I'll go buy Ultimate then.

[Sparda]

A hardware based RAID is the best option. You can get RAID controllers fairly cheap.

[Kaham]

A hardware based RAID is the best option. You can get RAID controllers fairly cheap.

Hmm you might be right there, it just feels wrong to add another disc and waste 80 gb of storage, just because I need my documents backed up.

It does seem to be cheaper though... Already have a controller (got some spare parts), so I'd just need to find me a disc that's suitable for running in a raid setup with my current one.

Thanks for the advice :)

[MRGRIM]

Well you won't be "wasting" the other disk; you'll be building some redundancy into your PC. You’re thinking about it all wrong...

Your working on some data, walk away to get a coffee, come back and your disk has died, the only way to recover from that scenario would to be your last backup – not forgetting, reinstall OS, APP’s and Data – yawn (I would reapply a recent image)

However with a Mirror you would either need the raid controller to fail (Ouch!) or both disks (Ouch!)

Try having a look at something like Microsoft Sync Toy, otherwise you’ll need to setup NTBackup as a scheduled task that runs every hour or so.

The new version of Norton Ghost is nice, and I think it would probably do the job you’re talking about; it also takes about 13 minutes to image a 40GB drive

[Kaham]

Your working on some data, walk away to get a coffee, come back and your disk has died, the only way to recover from that scenario would to be your last backup – not forgetting, reinstall OS, APP’s and Data – yawn (I would reapply a recent image)

Yeh I know that it would be another safety measure, however, having a nice image of my OS and apps, that wouldnt be my main concern. The reason i called it a waste was merely because I am quite paranoia about losing my work again, and admit, another drive just for that is kinda overkill . I fully agree on the fact that it makes the system more stable/reliable though, so I am indeed thinking of a raid setup. (The cost of a harddrive seems to be less than the backup software anyway)

The new version of Norton Ghost is nice, and I think it would probably do the job you’re talking about; it also takes about 13 minutes to image a 40GB drive

I dont know... I am running Northon Ghost 14 at the moment (which is, as far as i know) the latest available in stores here, and my PC seems to have quite some hard times when it starts running. It has little issues when it simply has to back up for the first time, but when it comes to incremental backups (which I run every 6 hours on my documents folder), it starts to slow down quite a lot.

Anyway, seeing I'd have to schedule Northon (or similar software) to run every hour or something like that, I guess you guys are right about the Raid 1 solution. Thanks for helping me making my mind up :)

(Edit: spelling)

[VaKo]

Microsoft ImageX (part of Windows Deployment Services) is a very nice imaging solution. I've just built a deployment server at work using it and its pretty much idiot proof. Worth looking at.