USB External Hard Drive Questions

cbwilsha · 03-08-2005, 06:30 PM

Notice a Western Digital 80GB USB 2.0 Hard Drive on sale today at $70. I have several questions regarding using it for backing up completely the Hard Drives of my computer and that of my wife also. Mine is a new Dell running XP about a month old that has USB 2.0. My wife's is a Dell about 5 years old running W98SE that has USB connections but I doubt that it is 2.0. My computer has about 7GB now and my wife's has about 4GB so space is not a problem.

1. Can I back up COMPLETELY the hard drive of each at different locations on the drive?

2. I believe the answer to that question is yes but this is where I get lost. If I were to have a complete failure of one of my hard drives, how do you get the backup on the USB drive to now run the computer? First, how would you even get it to boot so you could go about your normal business?

3. Assuming there is some way to do the above, it seems another option would be to install a new hard drive in the computer and then transfer the back up on the USB drive to a new Drive C.

4. Am I making this job unnecessarily complex and is it really fairly simple to do?

If anyone could help with some clarification for me, I would appreciate it.

Thanks very much.

C.B.

crazijoe · 03-09-2005, 06:37 AM

The easiest way to do this is to use a third party software like Norton Ghost.
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/

cbwilsha · 03-09-2005, 08:48 AM

Joe--Will ghost duplicate the hard drive c completely to the point of even being able to run the machine from the external drive if necessary?

BTW, thanks very much for your response.

C.B.

P.S. I guess I ought to warn you that you're dealing with a 77 year old codger who's having some difficulty understanding all this stuff!

crazijoe · 03-09-2005, 10:12 AM

What Ghost does is creates image files and you can move them from drive to drive. You wouldn't be able to run off the image. The way it works is you would ghost an image of you drive and save the image to the external drive, CD, DVD, etc.. When you need to restore the image you would boot with the emergency ghost floppy, you will create from the program, and it will restore the image to your computers hard drive.
You cannot boot to an OS that is on an External HD. Windows will re-initialize the USB ports while it is booting and the drive will become off line.

cbwilsha · 03-09-2005, 11:15 AM

Thanks very much, Joe, for your help. I have a much better understanding now of what I can and cannot do.

BTW, I already have Norton Ghost along with their Systemworks but just haven't installed it. I think I might get that USB external drive and use ghost with it as you suggested. I can also install it on my wife's computer and back up hers also.

C. B.

crazijoe · 03-09-2005, 11:56 AM

That's the same way I have my Ghost (with the System Works CD). I might add it works perfectly.

03-08-2005, 06:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
cbwilsha Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 56 OS: Vista, XP	USB External Hard Drive Questions Notice a Western Digital 80GB USB 2.0 Hard Drive on sale today at $70. I have several questions regarding using it for backing up completely the Hard Drives of my computer and that of my wife also. Mine is a new Dell running XP about a month old that has USB 2.0. My wife's is a Dell about 5 years old running W98SE that has USB connections but I doubt that it is 2.0. My computer has about 7GB now and my wife's has about 4GB so space is not a problem. 1. Can I back up COMPLETELY the hard drive of each at different locations on the drive? 2. I believe the answer to that question is yes but this is where I get lost. If I were to have a complete failure of one of my hard drives, how do you get the backup on the USB drive to now run the computer? First, how would you even get it to boot so you could go about your normal business? 3. Assuming there is some way to do the above, it seems another option would be to install a new hard drive in the computer and then transfer the back up on the USB drive to a new Drive C. 4. Am I making this job unnecessarily complex and is it really fairly simple to do? If anyone could help with some clarification for me, I would appreciate it. Thanks very much. C.B.

03-09-2005, 06:37 AM	#2 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	The easiest way to do this is to use a third party software like Norton Ghost. http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/ __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

03-09-2005, 10:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	What Ghost does is creates image files and you can move them from drive to drive. You wouldn't be able to run off the image. The way it works is you would ghost an image of you drive and save the image to the external drive, CD, DVD, etc.. When you need to restore the image you would boot with the emergency ghost floppy, you will create from the program, and it will restore the image to your computers hard drive. You cannot boot to an OS that is on an External HD. Windows will re-initialize the USB ports while it is booting and the drive will become off line. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

03-09-2005, 11:56 AM	#6 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	That's the same way I have my Ghost (with the System Works CD). I might add it works perfectly. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

03-09-2005, 08:48 AM	#3 (permalink)
cbwilsha Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 56 OS: Vista, XP	Joe--Will ghost duplicate the hard drive c completely to the point of even being able to run the machine from the external drive if necessary? BTW, thanks very much for your response. C.B. P.S. I guess I ought to warn you that you're dealing with a 77 year old codger who's having some difficulty understanding all this stuff!

03-09-2005, 11:15 AM	#5 (permalink)
cbwilsha Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 56 OS: Vista, XP	Thanks very much, Joe, for your help. I have a much better understanding now of what I can and cannot do. BTW, I already have Norton Ghost along with their Systemworks but just haven't installed it. I think I might get that USB external drive and use ghost with it as you suggested. I can also install it on my wife's computer and back up hers also. C. B.