Number 240 - May 2003

Better Backups
by Steve Bass, Pasadena IBM Users Group
After using tapes and zip drives for backups, I finally decided to just back up to another hard drive. To simplify the process, I installed two mobile mounts and connected IDE cables so that the upper mount or drawer is an IDE1 master and the lower drawer is an IDE2 Master. I purchased two drives of the same capacity. Both are jumpered as masters. The original is in the upper drawer, and the backup will be placed in the lower drawer.    I use "Drive Copy" which with installation generates a 3.5" floppy "Drive Copy" boot disk. The boot disk is used to start the copy process. Make certain that your 2 hard drives are labeled such that you will copy from the original to the backup, and not from the backup to the original.    Remove the backup and set it aside for that sad day when the original fails or is infected with a virus. The reason that I like this approach is that if the original drive fails, I can just power down and remove it from the drawer and insert and boot the backup, which is already jumpered as a master drive, and you are immediately up and running. If you were using a tape	you have the problem of trying to salvage the original from the tape, hoping that it works. The same is true of Zip disks.    I will usually start the backup when I go to bed and it is done in the morning. The cost of a 2nd hard drive is probably cheaper than a tape drive or Zip drive and the cost of the tapes and zip disks just add even more cost. - Clifford Ford (kb6ia@earthlink.net)    Steve Bass is a Contributing Editor with PC World and runs the Pasadena IBM Users Group. He's also a founding member of APCUG. Check PCW's current edition at www.pcworld.com/resource/toc/ index.asp and sign up for the Steve Bass online newsletter at www.pcworld.com/bass-letter.    There is no restriction against any non_profit group using the article as long as it is kept in context, with proper credit given to the author. This article is brought to you by the Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG) an International organization to which this user group belongs.
Number 240 - May 2003