I not grasping the understanding of a Dynamic Disks and was hoping some can
make it clearer for me. I read the "Help & Support" on my system, but still
not clear.
I have a second hddrive I want it to mirror my main hddrive. Would this do
the job. No budget for a tap or external data center as for the moment.
Or with my limitation what is the best approuch for backing up my entire
system in case the main drive gets damage and I need to restore it.
Eric Miller wrote:
> My System:
> OS XP Pro x64
> AMD Athlon 64 3000+
>
> I not grasping the understanding of a Dynamic Disks and was hoping
> some can make it clearer for me. I read the "Help & Support" on my
> system, but still not clear.
>
> I have a second hddrive I want it to mirror my main hddrive. Would
> this do the job. No budget for a tap or external data center as
> for the moment.
> Or with my limitation what is the best approuch for backing up my
> entire system in case the main drive gets damage and I need to
> restore it.
AFAIK - Windows XP Professional is only capable of creating RAID 0 striped
arrays on itself - it cannot use Dynamic Disks on the Windows XP System
itself to create/utilize a RAID 1 (mirrored) array. So - in ytour
situation - it's no help.
Not to mention that software mirrors are of little use in most cases - as
the majority of time it is not the hardware that fails - but some software
mishap - and if you are mirroring - well - the copy has the same issue.
Better to use the second drive and synch the IMPORTANT files (to you) to
that drive. That way - worst case - you have to reinstall the OS and
applications - but you are less likely (unless the whole machine melts) to
lose the stuff that actually makes your machine unique... YOUR stuff.
Thanks for clearing it up for me. Then I have another question regarding
dynamic disk. I did create the second hd as a dynamic disk and in addition I
opted for it to be compressed.
I used MS Backup util to created a ARS and completed the back up of the main
hd. The backup file is on the dynamic disk.
Will I encounter any problems using the second hd this way or should I
change it back to a NTFS and repeat the backup?
"Shenan Stanley" <newshelper@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:eo9VyMx1HHA.1188@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Eric Miller wrote:
>> My System:
>> OS XP Pro x64
>> AMD Athlon 64 3000+
>>
>> I not grasping the understanding of a Dynamic Disks and was hoping
>> some can make it clearer for me. I read the "Help & Support" on my
>> system, but still not clear.
>>
>> I have a second hddrive I want it to mirror my main hddrive. Would
>> this do the job. No budget for a tap or external data center as
>> for the moment.
>> Or with my limitation what is the best approuch for backing up my
>> entire system in case the main drive gets damage and I need to
>> restore it.
>
> AFAIK - Windows XP Professional is only capable of creating RAID 0 striped
> arrays on itself - it cannot use Dynamic Disks on the Windows XP System
> itself to create/utilize a RAID 1 (mirrored) array. So - in ytour
> situation - it's no help.
>
> Not to mention that software mirrors are of little use in most cases - as
> the majority of time it is not the hardware that fails - but some software
> mishap - and if you are mirroring - well - the copy has the same issue.
> Better to use the second drive and synch the IMPORTANT files (to you) to
> that drive. That way - worst case - you have to reinstall the OS and
> applications - but you are less likely (unless the whole machine melts) to
> lose the stuff that actually makes your machine unique... YOUR stuff.
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
Eric Miller wrote:
> Thanks for clearing it up for me. Then I have another question
> regarding dynamic disk. I did create the second hd as a dynamic
> disk and in addition I opted for it to be compressed.
>
> I used MS Backup util to created a ARS and completed the back up of
> the main hd. The backup file is on the dynamic disk.
>
> Will I encounter any problems using the second hd this way or
> should I change it back to a NTFS and repeat the backup?
It *is* NTFS (more than likely. It is no longer a BASIC disk - but a
Dynamic one.
Personally - I see you gaining nothing and possibly causing yourself issues
in the future leaving things the way you have them now. You should (given
you are not trying to make one large partition - striping - for any
performance gain (loss in most cases - as the software overhead is so
great)) likely make all your disks BASIC and leave the dynamic disks out of
the equation altogether.
"Eric Miller" <development@biblescholarsoftware.net> wrote in message
news:ejewh5x1HHA.2752@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Thanks for clearing it up for me. Then I have another question regarding
> dynamic disk. I did create the second hd as a dynamic disk and in addition
I
> opted for it to be compressed.
>
> I used MS Backup util to created a ARS and completed the back up of the
main
> hd. The backup file is on the dynamic disk.
>
> Will I encounter any problems using the second hd this way or should I
> change it back to a NTFS and repeat the backup?
>
<snip>
I advise you *not* to use a dynamic disk. If you had a serious system
problem and needed to slave a dynamic disk into another machine...it would
not be readable.
Also...on any NT-based machine if you have the ability to use disk
compression...then the drive is NTFS...
it's considerably safer than the old win9x compression of a fat16 volume.
Finally...I also advise against using MS backup...simply copy over any data
you need to back up.
If you need to backup your entire OS...then use imaging software
> "Eric Miller" <development@biblescholarsoftware.net> wrote in message
> news:ejewh5x1HHA.2752@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>
>>Thanks for clearing it up for me. Then I have another question regarding
>>dynamic disk. I did create the second hd as a dynamic disk and in addition
>
> I
>
>>opted for it to be compressed.
>>
>>I used MS Backup util to created a ARS and completed the back up of the
>
> main
>
>>hd. The backup file is on the dynamic disk.
>>
>>Will I encounter any problems using the second hd this way or should I
>>change it back to a NTFS and repeat the backup?
>>
>
>
>
> <snip>
>
>
> I advise you *not* to use a dynamic disk. If you had a serious system
> problem and needed to slave a dynamic disk into another machine...it would
> not be readable.
I agree and I don't think that the OP should use Dynamic Disks unless he
has compelling reasons to do so. That being said, it should be noted
that healthy Dynamic Disks can be moved and imported to other machines
and that they will be readable, search on Microsoft.com for "Import
Foreign Disks".
"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message
news:ePPFmF21HHA.3760@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> philo wrote:
>
> > "Eric Miller" <development@biblescholarsoftware.net> wrote in message
> > news:ejewh5x1HHA.2752@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> >
> >>Thanks for clearing it up for me. Then I have another question
regarding
> >>dynamic disk. I did create the second hd as a dynamic disk and in
addition
> >
> > I
> >
> >>opted for it to be compressed.
> >>
> >>I used MS Backup util to created a ARS and completed the back up of the
> >
> > main
> >
> >>hd. The backup file is on the dynamic disk.
> >>
> >>Will I encounter any problems using the second hd this way or should I
> >>change it back to a NTFS and repeat the backup?
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> >
> > I advise you *not* to use a dynamic disk. If you had a serious system
> > problem and needed to slave a dynamic disk into another machine...it
would
> > not be readable.
>
> I agree and I don't think that the OP should use Dynamic Disks unless he
> has compelling reasons to do so. That being said, it should be noted
> that healthy Dynamic Disks can be moved and imported to other machines
> and that they will be readable, search on Microsoft.com for "Import
> Foreign Disks".
>
> John
Thanks for the clarification...
At any rate...the dynamic disk will complicate things a bit.
On Sat, 4 Aug 2007 19:03:08 -0700, "Eric Miller"
<development@biblescholarsoftware.net> wrote:
> My System:
> OS XP Pro x64
> AMD Athlon 64 3000+
>
> I not grasping the understanding of a Dynamic Disks and was hoping some can
> make it clearer for me. I read the "Help & Support" on my system, but still
> not clear.
>
> I have a second hddrive I want it to mirror my main hddrive. Would this do
> the job.
No, a dynamic disk is not the same as mirroring.
Mirroring is RAID1. You may have support for this on your motherboard.
Check your documentation (but also read below for advice *not* to use
RAID1).
> No budget for a tap or external data center as for the moment.
>
> Or with my limitation what is the best approuch for backing up my entire
> system in case the main drive gets damage and I need to restore it.
RAID 1 (mirroring) is *not* a backup solution. RAID 1 uses two or
more drives, each a duplicate of the others, to provide redundancy,
not backup. It's used in situations (almost always within
corporations, not in homes) where any downtown can't be tolerated,
because the way it works is that if one drive fails the other takes
over seamlessly. Although some people thing of RAID 1 as a backup
technique, that is *not* what it is, since it's subject to
simultaneous loss of the original and the mirror to many of the most
common dangers threatening your data--severe power glitches, nearby
lightning strikes, virus attacks, theft of the computer, etc. Most
companies that use RAID 1 also have a strong external backup plan in
place.
Here's my standard advice on backing up:
First of all, almost everyone should be backing up regularly. It is
always possible that a hard drive crash, user error, nearby lightning
strike, virus attack, even theft of the computer, can cause the loss
of everything on your drive. As has often been said, it's not a matter
of whether you will have such a problem, but when.
Essentially you should back up what you can't afford to lose--what you
can't readily recreate. What that is depends on how you use your
computer and what you use it for.
It takes time and effort to backup, but it also takes time and effort
to recreate lost data. If you back up daily, you should never have to
recreate more than one day's worth of last data. If weekly, there's
potentially a lot more to recreate. You should assess how much pain
and trouble you would have if you lost x days of data, and then choose
a backup frequency that doesn't involve more pain and trouble than
that you would have if you had to recreate what was lost.
Some things (photographs, for instance) can never be recreated, and
more frequent backup may be wanted for them.
At one extreme is the professional user who would likely go out of
business if his data was lost. He probably needs to back up at least
daily. At the other extreme is the kid who doesn't use his computer
except to play games. He probably needs no backup at all, since worst
case he can easily reinstall his games.
Most of us fall somewhere between those extremes, but nobody can tell
you where you fall; you need to determine that for yourself.
Should you back up Windows? Should you back up your applications? Most
people will tell you no, since you can always reinstall these easily
from the original media. But I don't think the answer is so clear-cut.
Many people have substantial time and effort invested in customizing
Windows and configuring their apps to work the way they want to.
Putting all of that back the way it was can be a difficult,
time-consuming effort. Whether you should backup up Windows and apps
depends, once again, on you.
How to backup? What software to use? There are many choices, including
the Windows-supplied backup program. Which choice is best for you
depends at least in part on the answers to some of the questions
above.
Finally what backup media should you choose, and how should it be
stored? There are many choices, including CDs, tape, zip drives, and
second hard drives.
I don't recommend backup to a second non-removable hard drive because
it leaves you susceptible to simultaneous loss of the original and
backup to many of the most common dangers: severe power glitches,
nearby lightning strikes, virus attacks, even theft of the computer.
In my view, secure backup needs to be on removable media, and not kept
in the computer. For really secure backup (needed, for example, if the
life of your business depends on your data) you should have multiple
generations of backup, and at least one of those generations should be
stored off-site.
My computer isn't used for business, but my personal backup scheme
uses two identical removable hard drives,I alternate between the two,
and use Acronis True Image to make a complete copy of the primary
drive.
I also use a pair of 1GB thumb drives for making more frequent backups
of my most critical data (like financial information). For that I just
drag and drop.
--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Thank everyone for the excellent advice. I have done so and change
everything back. What image software do you recommend that will image my
drive without shutting down the system.
I did use Ghostpe before on my other system using Win2K Pro, but on my
second drive had to be FAT32 to save the image, plus shutdown the system.
I have not checked up on the lastest on this type of software.
"philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:eLYZxs21HHA.4672@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> "John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message
> news:ePPFmF21HHA.3760@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> philo wrote:
>>
>> > "Eric Miller" <development@biblescholarsoftware.net> wrote in message
>> > news:ejewh5x1HHA.2752@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> >
>> >>Thanks for clearing it up for me. Then I have another question
> regarding
>> >>dynamic disk. I did create the second hd as a dynamic disk and in
> addition
>> >
>> > I
>> >
>> >>opted for it to be compressed.
>> >>
>> >>I used MS Backup util to created a ARS and completed the back up of the
>> >
>> > main
>> >
>> >>hd. The backup file is on the dynamic disk.
>> >>
>> >>Will I encounter any problems using the second hd this way or should I
>> >>change it back to a NTFS and repeat the backup?
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > <snip>
>> >
>> >
>> > I advise you *not* to use a dynamic disk. If you had a serious system
>> > problem and needed to slave a dynamic disk into another machine...it
> would
>> > not be readable.
>>
>> I agree and I don't think that the OP should use Dynamic Disks unless he
>> has compelling reasons to do so. That being said, it should be noted
>> that healthy Dynamic Disks can be moved and imported to other machines
>> and that they will be readable, search on Microsoft.com for "Import
>> Foreign Disks".
>>
>> John
>
>
> Thanks for the clarification...
>
> At any rate...the dynamic disk will complicate things a bit.
>
>
Thanks Ken, for the clarity, I shall do recommendations.
"Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in message
news:3b2cb3180hf6e9502uvpdjd2ktmjn3lckr@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 4 Aug 2007 19:03:08 -0700, "Eric Miller"
> <development@biblescholarsoftware.net> wrote:
>
>> My System:
>> OS XP Pro x64
>> AMD Athlon 64 3000+
>>
>> I not grasping the understanding of a Dynamic Disks and was hoping some
>> can
>> make it clearer for me. I read the "Help & Support" on my system, but
>> still
>> not clear.
>>
>> I have a second hddrive I want it to mirror my main hddrive. Would this
>> do
>> the job.
>
>
> No, a dynamic disk is not the same as mirroring.
>
> Mirroring is RAID1. You may have support for this on your motherboard.
> Check your documentation (but also read below for advice *not* to use
> RAID1).
>
>
>> No budget for a tap or external data center as for the moment.
>>
>> Or with my limitation what is the best approuch for backing up my entire
>> system in case the main drive gets damage and I need to restore it.
>
>
> RAID 1 (mirroring) is *not* a backup solution. RAID 1 uses two or
> more drives, each a duplicate of the others, to provide redundancy,
> not backup. It's used in situations (almost always within
> corporations, not in homes) where any downtown can't be tolerated,
> because the way it works is that if one drive fails the other takes
> over seamlessly. Although some people thing of RAID 1 as a backup
> technique, that is *not* what it is, since it's subject to
> simultaneous loss of the original and the mirror to many of the most
> common dangers threatening your data--severe power glitches, nearby
> lightning strikes, virus attacks, theft of the computer, etc. Most
> companies that use RAID 1 also have a strong external backup plan in
> place.
>
> Here's my standard advice on backing up:
>
> First of all, almost everyone should be backing up regularly. It is
> always possible that a hard drive crash, user error, nearby lightning
> strike, virus attack, even theft of the computer, can cause the loss
> of everything on your drive. As has often been said, it's not a matter
> of whether you will have such a problem, but when.
>
> Essentially you should back up what you can't afford to lose--what you
> can't readily recreate. What that is depends on how you use your
> computer and what you use it for.
>
> It takes time and effort to backup, but it also takes time and effort
> to recreate lost data. If you back up daily, you should never have to
> recreate more than one day's worth of last data. If weekly, there's
> potentially a lot more to recreate. You should assess how much pain
> and trouble you would have if you lost x days of data, and then choose
> a backup frequency that doesn't involve more pain and trouble than
> that you would have if you had to recreate what was lost.
>
> Some things (photographs, for instance) can never be recreated, and
> more frequent backup may be wanted for them.
>
> At one extreme is the professional user who would likely go out of
> business if his data was lost. He probably needs to back up at least
> daily. At the other extreme is the kid who doesn't use his computer
> except to play games. He probably needs no backup at all, since worst
> case he can easily reinstall his games.
>
> Most of us fall somewhere between those extremes, but nobody can tell
> you where you fall; you need to determine that for yourself.
>
> Should you back up Windows? Should you back up your applications? Most
> people will tell you no, since you can always reinstall these easily
> from the original media. But I don't think the answer is so clear-cut.
> Many people have substantial time and effort invested in customizing
> Windows and configuring their apps to work the way they want to.
> Putting all of that back the way it was can be a difficult,
> time-consuming effort. Whether you should backup up Windows and apps
> depends, once again, on you.
>
> How to backup? What software to use? There are many choices, including
> the Windows-supplied backup program. Which choice is best for you
> depends at least in part on the answers to some of the questions
> above.
>
> Finally what backup media should you choose, and how should it be
> stored? There are many choices, including CDs, tape, zip drives, and
> second hard drives.
>
> I don't recommend backup to a second non-removable hard drive because
> it leaves you susceptible to simultaneous loss of the original and
> backup to many of the most common dangers: severe power glitches,
> nearby lightning strikes, virus attacks, even theft of the computer.
>
> In my view, secure backup needs to be on removable media, and not kept
> in the computer. For really secure backup (needed, for example, if the
> life of your business depends on your data) you should have multiple
> generations of backup, and at least one of those generations should be
> stored off-site.
>
> My computer isn't used for business, but my personal backup scheme
> uses two identical removable hard drives,I alternate between the two,
> and use Acronis True Image to make a complete copy of the primary
> drive.
>
> I also use a pair of 1GB thumb drives for making more frequent backups
> of my most critical data (like financial information). For that I just
> drag and drop.
>
>
>
> --
> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
> Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Dynamic Disk Help!.... 
Linear Mode
