Back Up To Flash Drive

[richc46]

I am looking for a good External HD, but most reviews indicate that they do not last too long and have other problems. I am proficient with a flash drive. I want to make a system image on an external drive, but a limitation of Windows 7 System Image is that you cannot put it on a flash.
If I download Acronis or another similar appl. would I be able to make an image on a flash drive?

 

[thefabe]

You should be able to. The only problem I can fore see is finding a flash drive large enough for the image. If I'm wrong please someone let us know. thanks

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Richard:

I just looked in my Acronis, which is the Western Digital version.

I could not find any direct reference to flash drives in the help file. It seems to mention only hard drives, CD, and DVD. I don't have a USB drive at hand to attempt it.

But it is possible that "regular" versions of Acronis don't have that limitation. I can't say.

Regarding looking for a good external drive--why not look for a good second internal drive?

I have used second internal drives for 10 years with no issues. They operate very quickly because they don't have to negotiate another interface. You might need external if portability matters to you, but other than that??? Internals are cheaper as well.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Richard:

Here is a paste from the Macrium Reflect help file:

Images can be stored on local or network drives, CD or DVD media, and removable drives connected using USB or Firewire (IEEE1394).

Make of that what you will. You might infer that the wording excludes flash drives? Macrium Reflect is a free download. I have made several images with it and can tell you that the interface is ultra-simple and well laid out.

Having said that, I have never attempted a restore, so I can't vouch for anything in that department.

Matter of fact, I would never vouch for any imaging product. I regard them all as a "cross your fingers and hope" solution and always plan on having to restore my system. I would NEVER repeat NEVER trust my data to an imaging application.

 

[tgcws]

I use an Antec 2.5 harddrive case for laptop harddrive. This case will accomidate up to 500GB laptop size harddrive. It runs off pc power and does not need external power. By putting a regular harddrive in the case you are not having to deal with the backup software that comes with most external harddrives. I have several for storage as well as data files that I work from.