Backup Software Recommendation Please

artmanphoto

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I have three PCs running Windows seven professional 64 bit. Each machine has an external USB hard drive connected as a back up drive. Would someone please give me their recommendation for a good backup software package. I would like the back ups to be continuous, when a file changes the file will be backed up instead of backing up the entire machine once a day.

Thanks Bill
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Golden Mk. I.4
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
CPU
Intel i7 860 @ 2.80 GHz O/C'ed to 4.0GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P55A-UD3R Rev.1. Award BIOS F13
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengance DDR3 @ 661 MHz Dual Channel (9-9-9-24)
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA NVidia GTX 560 1024MB
Sound Card
Realtek Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS
Screen Resolution
1920*1080 and 1920*1080
Hard Drives
1*Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD;
1*OCZ Vertex 2 60GB SSD;
2*Samsung F3 SpinPoint 1TB in RAID0;
1*Samsung F1 SpinPoint 1TB;
2*Western Digital 1TB External USB 3.0
1*Western Digital 500GB External USB 3.0
1*Seagate 500GB External USB 2.0
PSU
Thermaltake ToughPower QFan 750W
Case
Thermaltake Element S VK60001W2Z
Cooling
Corsair H60 Water Cooling, 2*230mm and 2*80mm case fans
Keyboard
Logitech G110
Mouse
Logitech MX518
Golden, thanks for your information. I will take a look at the two you mention.
 

My Computer

OS
Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit
I prefer FreeFileSync in mirror mode. It's similar to SyncToy.

I do not recommend continuous backups for onsite backups. To have continuous backups, your backup drive has to be continuously connected to the computer. Drive failure isn't the only thing that can cause data loss. Viruses (and other malware), human error (such as accidental deletion), disasters (fire, flood, etc.), theft, hardware failure, power surges, etc. can all cause data loss. In the case of malware and user error, having your drive continuously connected would mean the loss would also affect your backup drive. The only way to reasonably protect from that is to connect the backup drive only when updating the backup.

Also, it's a good idea to have duplicate backups stored offsite. That will help protect from disaster and theft. To ensure the offsite backups are as up to date as possible, they should be swapped out with the onsite backups as often as possible.

A good compromise for an offsite backup that will also provide a pretty much continuous backup is to use a good, paid, cloud backup service (not cloud storage, especially the freebies). I personally prefer Carbonite.com. It will frequently automatically backup your data to its servers throughout the day. It also has 30 day versioning, meaning any file deleted or changed on your computer will be held for 30 days before being deleted.

Because of the sheer amount of data I have, having to recover all my data from Carbonite would take weeks or months so I maintain an account to supplement the physical offsite backups I keep in my safe deposit box at my credit union. That way, I can recover most of my data fairly quickly from the offsite backups and get any data that was changed or added after I put the backups in my safe deposit box from Carbonite, dramatically redusing the amount of time to achieve full recovery.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
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