Anna wrote:
> "Anonymous" <com@com.com> wrote in message
> news:5q1Xj.3224$ah4.2192@flpi148.ffdc.sbc.com...
>> I've had similar replies, including the suggestion to use the
>> Acronis Workstation version, rather than Home.
>>
>> Like you, my years of Ntbackup usage have been quite
>> positive, meeting all my needs for a backup.
>>
>> However, although Ntbackup will easily protect against
>> accidental loss, it is either unable, or quite cumbersome
>> at providing recovery, or bare metal restore.
>>
>> I have to admit that the backup product from CMS looks
>> quite attractive though. Because I like the idea of simply
>> rebooting the backup image for a quick recovery. Watch
>> this video:
>> http://www.cmsproducts.com/video/desktop_backup.html
>>
>> Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with E/SATA, and support
>> would require my upgrade. But, I'd get the functionality
>> described, in addition to the significantly higher speeds.
>>
>> One of the Amazon reviewers complaints on Acronis TI
>> Home was that E/SATA was not currently supported. I
>> guess I would've thought a backup product would simply
>> rely on the OS for peripheral access.
>>
>> I'm currently investigating this "boot from backup" on an
>> external drive issue. What it takes? (E/SATA, Firewire,
>> etc?), and what I've have to upgrade. But, I like the idea.
>>
>> Not only is it easier, but simple testing of a crash recovery
>> requires no intermediate restore. Much less exposure to
>> error.
>>
>> Additionally, because the backup image is stored in native
>> format(non-composite), even lost file restores are easier.
>> And FAT limitations are avoided for users of that archi-
>> tecture.
>>
>> Thanks.
>
>
> I'm sure you understand that when we talk about eSATA or just plain SATA
> in
> this context of backup programs, we're simply talking about the HDD that
> will be involved in the backup and/or restore process. And that HDD will
> be
> a SATA (not a PATA) HDD. The distinction between SATA & eSATA is simply
> the
> connector that a SATA HDD will be connected to. The "e" in eSATA stands
> for
> "external". A number of motherboards are equipped with an eSATA port and a
> number of desktop computer cases are similarly equipped. The eSATA port is
> considered a more secure SATA connector than the "regular" or "normal"
> SATA
> connector and the eSATA data cable will be equipped with an eSATA
> connector,
> not a "regular" SATA connector. But for all practical purposes a SATA HDD
> will perform just as well connected to either type of port - SATA or
> eSATA.
>
> The important point to remember here is that connecting a external SATA
> HDD
> to *either* a SATA or eSATA port will give the user SATA-to-SATA
> connectivity (as opposed to USB connectivity for example). Obviously we're
> presuming that the PC has SATA capability, i.e., it supports SATA hard
> drives.
>
> Having SATA-to-SATA connectivity is most advantageous when using an
> external
> SATA HDD as the recipient of the backed up contents of one's internal
> day-to-day working HDD. There are two significant advantages...
> 1. The data transfer rate is considerably higher than, for example, a USB
> external HDD device.
> 2. Assuming the SATA HDD contained in a SATA external enclosure is the
> recipient of the cloned contents of the user's internal HDD through the
> use
> of a disk-cloning program, e.g., the Acronis one that has been mentioned,
> the SATA HDD will be a bootable device even though it's being used in an
> external capacity. The system will treat that drive as an *internal* HDD
> because of its SATA-to-SATA connectivity notwithstanding the fact that it
> is
> physically external to the machine.
>
> (BTW, that CMS device you mention is really nothing more than an external
> enclosure that provides both USB & SATA connectivity. There are scores of
> similar enclosures on the market. You can simply install your own SATA HDD
> into the enclosure.)
>
> The Acronis True Image program that has been recommended to you is a fine
> program with many satisfied users. You should consider it, especially
> since
> there's a trial version available.
>
> However, for a variety of reasons, the disk-cloning program we greatly
> prefer is the Casper 4 program. If you (or anyone coming upon this thread)
> want some details about that program I'll post such.
> Anna

Just to be complete, Anna, you should point out that he doesn't HAVE to use
SATA or eSATA for backups, however. He could instead just use his
existing setup, and get an external USB HD enclosure (containing a regular
PATA hard drive) for backup purposes too (i.e., for storing and restoring a
backup image). That's what I'm doing over here, and it works great.
Granted, it's not as fast, but it doesn't really take me that long, either.