Full Backup of Internal Drive

WD External and Portable SSD Portable SSD
1

I don’t think this can be done but I have to ask.

I have a 750 gb internal hard drive and just bought a WD 1tb My Passport Ultra drive.

I see the two options for backing up information are “category” or “file.”

Is there any way to completely backup my internal drive to the passport drive?

Sorry if this has been asked before; I did a search and couldn’t find it anywhere.

Thanks,

Robert

2

Do you mean a system image so you could restore the entire system? What OS are you using?

Joe

3

Yes, that’s what I mean; a system image with the ability to restore the entire system.

I’m using Windows 7.

Robert

4

I would get a third party program. Paragon,EaseUs and Macrium all have free versions. I use Acronis True Image, they have a try and buy option. I also partitioned my HD with the system on one and the data on the other. That way you can  rrestore the system without bothering the data.

Joe

5

Could you please provide me with the exact name of the Acronis software?  I noticed there seem to be a few versions.  Also, I checked on Amazon and the one Acronis software I looked into got some pretty poor ratings.  Maybe there’s a different release or version I should check.

If my understanding is correct, I would use the Acronis software in place of the SmartWare from WD - right?

Thanks,

Robert

6

It’s Acronis True Image  http://www.acronis.com/ I’m using an older version and didn’t have a need to upgrade. They have a very good forum is youu need help. 

Joe

7

Joe,

Just a final thought before I close out this post.

My understanding as to what it comes down to is, do I use SmartWare Pro and do a category backup and not worry about the operating system or to use sofware like Acronis to backup the entire system.

When I first bought my PC I made a recovery disk to go back to the original factory settings.  So, if I were to lose everything, I guess I could use that to recover the OS and then use the SmartWare backup for the data files.

I’m trying to understand if the Acronis software is better for backing up the entire system as compared to using a recovery CD.

Sorry to bother you and thanks for your patience.

Robert