Can I install a second drive inside my machine to continually back up the first, in case it fails? I a Core Duo machine running XP SP2.
My whole business is on the machine and losing that data would be devastating.
2007-12-12 17:56:04 · 2 answers · asked by wcowell2000 6 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
Yes you can.
Need to check if it's using P-ATA or S-ATA drives so you buy right one, and what capacity is free.
If P-ATA you need either a spare connector on existing flat cable, OR a spare connector on board
If S-ATA you need a free S-ATA socket on motherboard
The you can set up software RAID in windows to "mirror" the original drive to the "backup" However should you have a fire/theft the other data is STIll GONE.
aLTERNATIVE OPTION
Buy 1 or 2 external USB drives. (Personally I like the Western Digital MyBook" range. Keep 1 in office and 1 elsewhere.
Each night run a "backup" to copy critical data to the other drive, and maybe once a week/month run a full backup with a drive imaging program that can access USB drives.
Each Friday, take the Ext drive elsewhere and on Monday bring the other one in, so in event of a fire the most you could ever lose is a week of data, as that is when last backup that is now !"!offsite" was made.
Remember there are more ways to lose data than a HDD failure
2007-12-12 17:59:32 · answer #1 · answered by stu_the_kilted_scot 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can, there is a backup utility built in Xp Pro, and you have to install it from the install disk if you have XP home.
2007-12-12 18:00:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋