External Vs Internal HDD for back up?

[BomberAF]

Does an external HDD have any benefits over an extra internal HDD for backing up data?

I think if the truth be known that an internal HDD providing it's not a partition of the primary HDD would be the best but is this correct?

I was thinking about having as well as my 500GB HDD that has a partition which is also being used for automatic back ups another 80GB HDD for just copying and pasting the folders I want to back up, but using Bitlocker to protect. As well as that I was going to buy another 500GB HDD which will be used for automatic back ups as well.

So in total I have 2 locations on 2 separate drives for Norton Ghost to use for automatic back ups and an other separate HDD for just copying folders to which has been encrypted using BitLocker.

Will this be alright or should I add either another internal HDD or an external HDD?

 

[BCXtreme]

Well, I've always recommended external HDDs, so that the data will still be protected in the event that heat or motherboard issues mess up more than one internal HDD.

 

[Barman58]

A major consideration for disaster recovery planning should always be to store at least one current back-up "off site" to protect against major external failures - fire, flooding, Theft etc.

 

[Ztruker]

I use both. I have a 2nd internal I backup to every night using Acronis True Image. I also have an external I backup to every 2-3 months.

The internal is nice for scheduled backups. I don't like to use the external drive for this as I don't like to leave it running all the time.

 

[xarden]

Internal SATA, or external eSATA would be faster than external USB2. But if its an overnight job, it wouldnt matter.
But as Barman said, its best practice to use external, as you can then store that safely away off-side or somewhere where it wont get stolen or damaged.

Just had a colleague walk past just now. She mentioned Apple have a backup solution called Time Machine. Apparently theres a version that works the same, but for Windows. 'Oops! Backup' I think its called... I havnt researched this myself, so dont quote me on this. Im just going off what I've been told about it. But it will make secure periodic backups of all your files, and save each backup individually. So you can go back and see what that file was doing last week, and the week before without having to rollback. Its software based, so you will need a internal drive for it to work.

 

[BomberAF]

Thanks chaps for the advice. I do also use an of site back up location but it isn't very good so I will check out the Apple based one, and I think I will also buy an external HDD just incase the heat inside my PC causes problems.

 

[BomberAF]

Can someone please tell me what the pro'sand cons are for both Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost?

Is one better than the other, as Norton is a bit more Expensive?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

If you use either Seagate or Western Digital drives, you can download a free copy of Acronis True Image from Seagate or WD.

I think the only restriction is that at least one of your drives must be Seagate or WD. If not, I don't think the app will install at all.

I haven't used Ghost in at least 5 years.

Having said that, I prefer Macrium Reflect Free Edition. It's free, quick, and has an intuitive straightforward interface.

The only drawback to Macrium is that you MUST use the Linux boot CD to restore an image. Not to make one, but to restore one. You can make the CD in 5 minutes or so after you install Macrium. Test it to make sure it is bootable and you are ready to roll.

It's just as well it works that way. You may not be able to get into Windows to restore an image anyway and should always figure that maybe you will have to use the boot disc.

 

[Bill2]

Here's a comparison.