Windows 10: Backup options and questions

I recently added a SSD and an old HDD to my computer I will call the old HDD "HDD2" and the newer HDD "HDD1". I was able to successfully copy Windows to the SSD and HDD2 from HDD1. I then removed Windows from HDD1, which I am keeping for "data". I want to use HDD2 for backups, temporary files, and, the RAM swap file - that is, no "ongoing" data. Both the SSD and HDD2 are partitioned with Windows and other non-Microsoft programs i.e. TextPad, CDBurnerXP in separate partitions. There are several things that I want to do to cover myself in the case of SSD failure or failure of Windows on the SSD, and, I want to automate these things as much as possible.

1. copy the SSD Windows partition/files to the HDD2 Windows partition
2. the HDD2 Windows partition should be bootable and not just an image file, in case of SSD failure
3. copy the SSD non-Microsoft programs partition/files to the HDD2 non-Microsoft programs partition
4. copy various folders on HDD1 i.e. email to HDD2 backup folders

I have tried various backup utilities and batch file commands and I am not getting everything I want. I don't want to "sync" in real time or create all-inclusive image files. While I can run backups from utilities or Task Scheduler, when I go to see if it ran properly, basically it tells me that it ran but doesn't generate anything like error codes when something goes wrong like a missing folder, typo on a folder name, or, failure because of a disk error. I know how to copy a partition, but, it takes nearly 2 hours to copy the Windows partition - which is why I want to automate this to happen in the middle of the night.


For #1, I can use various utilities that copy partitions, but, they don't seem to allow me to do that automatically in the middle of the night. When doing #3 and #4, xcopy in a batch file works to backup the various other folders, but, when I go to the destination folder, there isn't a "date" in File Explorer that tells me the last time each file was copied there so that I can verify the files copied correctly. Yes, I could delete the contents of the destination folder first, but, that doesn't allow me to recover a file that I accidentally deleted before this backup.


For now, I don't want to use an external HDD or a thumb drive to restore Windows. Basically, if the SSD fails, I want to boot up from HDD2 and run everything as normal as possible until I can fix the SSD. I would prefer a Windows/Microsoft solution as opposed to a third-party utility. Also, sometimes those third-party utilities mix up their definitions of "clone", "image", "copy", "backup", "mirror", etc.


Any suggestions for automating what I want?

:)

 

issue with backup options Windows 10

Hi David,

I will certainly help with the issue you are facing with backup option.

To assist you better, kindly provide the information:

• 
  How exactly are you trying to perform back up? Is it from the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) or File History?
  
• 
  Which drive have you selected to back up? Is it an external drive or a network drive or a local drive of the system?
  
• 
  When you say 'only allows me to do another backup with the same options', which options are you referring to?
  
• 
  Are you unable to select a different drive for a backup from the backup destination list?
  

If you are using a Backup and Restore (Windows 7) option then, I suggest you to follow the steps mentioned below:

• 
  Type backup and restore in the search bar and press enter.
  
• 
  Click on setup backup option.
  
• 
  Click on refresh button to check if the drives are visible in the
  backup destination list.
  
• 
  Choose the drive which you want to back up and click on
  next.
  

If you are trying to use file history I suggest you to un-plug it and restart your computer. Re-plug the external drive and check if the file history options are available.

Please get back to us with the information to assist you further.

Thank you.

 

Using network hard drive for backup

It depends what sort of backup you want to do. If you're happy just backing up regular files, then there are a bazillion (really, that many!) different bits of freeware to do that. There is a good list here:

Download Back Up Tools for Windows - MajorGeeks

and pretty much all of them can do network backups. Some even have fancy options like encryption. Really, the most useful thing is just being able to schedule them and know they ran OK.

You may also want to make a system image backup too, and you'll find that software in the very same list.

I don't have Windows 8 as yet, so I'm afraid I can't suggest any for that platform. Personally, I use Clonezilla for image backups.

 

Radeon Overlay not displaying all options

Ok, I got a question. The options to hide the overlay are confusing. What are the steps to turn on the overlay in-game? Not interested in logging much at the moment. Is Alt-R part of turning it on/off?