[Ham-Computers] RE: HD backup

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

John, W0IKT, PM'd me and I thought I'd reply here (with permission) for
people's benefit (or detriment <g>).  Questions are preceeded by ">>>"
and answers are in-line after the questions...this seemed more
efficient.  Apoligies to those who would rather see a "reply on top"
post.  Immediately below this, I put the background info, then comes the
question/answer section.

  - Aaron, NN6O


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Background info:

My Dell Dimension 8300 XP had a XX GB HD and a place for another one.
My XP also has a Zip 250.  Although there is likely another power
connector for a second HD, there is no wide data cable; there are two
and one each runs from the motherboard to the XX GB and Zip 250.

Unless I am willing to remove the Zip 250, whereupon I'd be able to
install a second (useful) HD, neither Ghost of RAID are an option.
------------------------

Questions:

>>> Am I correct?

It sounds like you have a motherboard that has two IDE/ATA controllers
(most motherboard do, except for those with SATA connections).  Each
IDE/ATA controller can support two drives, a master and a slave (aka
primary and secondary), so you should be able to add two more drives
without any problems.  It sounds like the IDE/ATA cables used in your
system only support a single drive - not a problem as you can just
replace the cable with one that supports two drives (three connectors
total).  If you have room for another internal 3.5" HD, then you can
install it and use a two-drive cable to connect it to your motherboard.
I would suggest that the second HD be installed on the secondary
controller as the "Primary" (aka "master") drive.  The ZIP drive should
then be configured as the "Secondary" (aka "slave") drive the same
cable.  The resulting connections would be:

  Primary controller - system HD as "Primary"
  Secondary controller - second HD as "Primary", ZIP as "secondary".


>>> An external HD of a huge size, say, XXX GB does not allow me to boot
if the XX GB goes down, right?

Depends.  Some systems allow booting off a USB device.  Unfortunately,
there is no standard boot protocol for bootable USB devices.  Suffice it
to say, it's possible, but it's BIOS dependant.  "Brand name" systems
(such as HP/Compaq and Dell) have better support for bootable USB
devices than "generic" or DIY systems.  I have a bootable USB "FlashKey"
that works on all the Compaq and Dell systems I work on that support
booting from USB devices.  However, it won't boot on my brand new
motherboard at home as the boot protocol isn't the same.  Basically, in
the "Wintel" world, there are two "types" of storage formats -
partitioned and non-partitioned (RAW).  Floppy disks are "RAW" - they're
not partitioned.  HD's are partitioned because operating systems use to
have limits as to how much data could be accessed.  Partitioning is
really no longer needed in today's environment - it's just a legacy
(compatibility) thing from the past  In fact, WinXP supports "dynamic"
disks which technically aren't "partitioned".  ZIP disks can be either
(they can be treated as a VERY large floppy (RAW), or partitioned and
treated like a HD).  USB FlashKeys fall in the same category as ZIP
disks - they can be either.  This is where the problem lies - some
BIOS's only boot from "RAW" USB devices and others boot from
"partitioned" USB devices.  Or, the BIOS expects a specific format based
on what kind of USB device it is (HD, FlashKey, Floppy, ZIP, etc).  Dell
and HP both boot from "partitioned" USB devices (except USB floppy
drives, which are RAW).  My motherboard at home supports USB-FDD,
USB-HDD, USB-ZIP, but not USB FlashKey.  The "partitioned" USB FlashKey
should look like a USB-HD, but it won't boot.  Such are the ways of
"generic" systems.  Fustrating to say the least.


>>>The external might be wonderful for storage, purposes, but little
else, right?

Same as above.  But, you can also use the drive to perform "sneaker net"
data transfers if you don't have a LAN (network).  Makes it convenient
to transfer those photos from one computer to another or taking files
from home to work or a friends house.


>>>At the moment I am happy with Eazy Backup 3 from ajsystems.com, and I
run it weekly, archiving to Zip and to CD-R.

Sounds like you have a good data backup procedure in place...more so
that I have!  Even though I have a 100GB tape backup unit, I have so
little "down" time on my computer that it's hard to find a time to
perform the backup - I really need to practice what I preach!  For
reference, I use Retrospect Backup and I would highly recommend it to
anyone.


>>>What am I missing, Aaron?

Not much.  Hopefully, the answers are above.  Let me know if you need
more info.


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