Need Simple weekly backup of main drive - too many opionions makes con

The simplest way to get a bootable backup onto another HDD would be to use cloning software. Macrium Reflect Free (do not download from the homepage; this page is safer to download from). Macrium Reflect is best known for imaging but its cloning ability is also excellent. A clone is an exact copy of the original drive.

There are better ways to make backups but, since you stated you aren't interested, I won't discuss them here.

As I said, cloning is the simplest way to accomplish what you want. If you have a large amount of data, it will be slow, especially when going over USB. Any other options are going to get a bit more complicated than you are likely to be comfortable with and may involve extra hardware, especially to get a bootable backup. Bootable backups aren't necessarily the best form of backup.

The main point is to get some kind of a viable backup and cloning can accomplish that. You are to be commended for wanting to backup your computer instead of waiting until after you have a fatal disaster.

seven66226622 said:

Thanks, Im guessing I can use slave drive as my usb replacement to help speed things up a bit. Just keep the slave in a slot and remember to never use it.

Actually, using a slave, or any other internal drive, would be a bad idea. Keeping your backup separate from the machine is much safer. An internal drive is subject to being corrupted by the same viruses, hardware failure, etc. that could take out your computer. Keeping the backup disconnected from the computer when not making a backup is the best way to protect it from those dangers.

seven66226622 said:

True

Your comment about the usb 3.0 taking forever has me wanted better transfer speed now that I think about it.

The only way to get anything faster than USB 3.0 would be to use an internal type drive in an external dock that uses an e-SATA connection. I wouldn't worry about it, though. Use what you have and just let the clone run overnight; that's what I used to do.