# External Drive Vs. Flash Drive



## maddy (Oct 30, 2010)

I would like to create a mirror image (hope that's the right term) of my hard drive, so that in the event my hard drive failed I could easily be back up and running. I would want the back-up to contain all my program files, bookmarks, screensaver--everything--and to be fully bootable. Basically, I'd like to be able to plug the back-up drive into a USB port of a computer and to continue working like nothing ever happened. I plan to put the back-up drive away in a drawer and NOT to update it, so that in the event of a virus or corrupted files I know that I will always have a clean (albeit somewhat outdated) back-up. I will use CDs to make weekly copies of my data files, which tend to be small and which don't change all that much from day to day. 

My hard drive is 40 GB, and it's almost full. I see that they now sell flash drives that have that capacity. So I'm wondering--for making a bootable mirror image of my hard drive, should I opt for a high-capacity flash drive or an external drive? Is one more durable and reliable than the other? If an external drive is a better option, would any of the less expensive options be suitable for what I have in mind? Anything I should look out for? 

Thanks very much!


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Really, you should have two backups of important items. I like to have one backup that is online - there are a few different ways for this, but having the online backup insures you do not lose all should your computer and backup get ruined at your home. I think either external hard drive or flash drive is fine - storage is storage. Keep in mind should it all crash you will need to reinstall software, so make copies of your software and software downloads and also save any needed access codes.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

maddy said:


> I would like to create a mirror image (hope that's the right term) of my hard drive, so that in the event my hard drive failed I could easily be back up and running. I would want the back-up to contain all my program files, bookmarks, screensaver--everything--and to be fully bootable. Basically, I'd like to be able to plug the back-up drive into a USB port of a computer and to continue working like nothing ever happened. I plan to put the back-up drive away in a drawer and NOT to update it, so that in the event of a virus or corrupted files I know that I will always have a clean (albeit somewhat outdated) back-up. I will use CDs to make weekly copies of my data files, which tend to be small and which don't change all that much from day to day.
> 
> My hard drive is 40 GB, and it's almost full. I see that they now sell flash drives that have that capacity. So I'm wondering--for making a bootable mirror image of my hard drive, should I opt for a high-capacity flash drive or an external drive? Is one more durable and reliable than the other? If an external drive is a better option, would any of the less expensive options be suitable for what I have in mind? Anything I should look out for?
> 
> Thanks very much!


I wouldn't do either. I would get a new internal hard drive. Many new hard drives come with migration software that will transfer your entire hard drive to the new one, or you can use a commercial product like Norton Ghost.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

maddy said:


> I would like to create a mirror image (hope that's the right term) of my hard drive, so that in the event my hard drive failed I could easily be back up and running. I would want the back-up to contain all my program files, bookmarks, screensaver--everything--and to be fully bootable. Basically, I'd like to be able to plug the back-up drive into a USB port of a computer and to continue working like nothing ever happened. I plan to put the back-up drive away in a drawer and NOT to update it, so that in the event of a virus or corrupted files I know that I will always have a clean (albeit somewhat outdated) back-up. I will use CDs to make weekly copies of my data files, which tend to be small and which don't change all that much from day to day.
> 
> My hard drive is 40 GB, and it's almost full. I see that they now sell flash drives that have that capacity. So I'm wondering--for making a bootable mirror image of my hard drive, should I opt for a high-capacity flash drive or an external drive? Is one more durable and reliable than the other? If an external drive is a better option, would any of the less expensive options be suitable for what I have in mind? Anything I should look out for?
> 
> Thanks very much!


 I have a external drive it backups up like every hour. It is great And they are so inexpensive that I have my friends now getting these external drives and using them.
They are all formatted and ready to go. Even though I have a Mac even these external ones are formatted for them also. And at 320 gig for about 50 bucks these mini drives are fantastic.


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## maddy (Oct 30, 2010)

_Keep in mind should it all crash you will need to reinstall software, so make copies of your software and software downloads and also save any needed access codes.

_I thought that creating a "mirror image" of the hard drive would include all the programs, access codes, etc. Am I wrong about that?


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

arabian knight said:


> I have a external drive it backups up like every hour. It is great And they are so inexpensive that I have my friends now getting these external drives and using them.
> They are all formatted and ready to go. Even though I have a Mac even these external ones are formatted for them also. And at 320 gig for about 50 bucks these mini drives are fantastic.


For user files a good backup method is to simply store your user files (images, documents, etc.) in a Dropbox folder. That way the files are automatically duplicated at the Dropbox server as you create them. Automated off-premise backup is the best solution for user files.

Perhaps I don't understand the OP's problem. I thought the big issue was that he was running out of hard drive space.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

maddy said:


> _Keep in mind should it all crash you will need to reinstall software, so make copies of your software and software downloads and also save any needed access codes.
> 
> _I thought that creating a "mirror image" of the hard drive would include all the programs, access codes, etc. Am I wrong about that?


If maintaining a mirror image of the entire working hard drive is the objective then RAID mirroring is the preferred method. With RAID mirroring you'll install two identical hard drives, then create a mirror image of the working drive.

In normal RAID mirroring operation the system will write to both hard drives every time it has something to write. If either hard drive fails there is a full, bootable, and up to date hard drive to fall back on.

If you absolutely can't afford to lose your hard drive there is no substitute for RAID mirroring.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Bravo for considering backup and asking enough questions to begin to understand it.

Raid 0 (mirroring) is designed to prevent problems due to hardware failure. It does NOT offer protection against viruses or malware, which is a major reason for backups. Even more advanced RAID systems can fail when infected with viruses. I had a customer once that used RAID and did not understand this and spent thousands of dollars and months of frustration before finally recognizing he had a virus. 

I'll try to open up and examine your issues and the technology so that you can make a decision that works for you.

If your C:\ drive is getting full you are about to have a passel of problems. Windows uses a swap file on your C:\ drive when it runs low on the memory in the computer's memory chips. When it can't find enough memory, bad things happen.

40 gigs is nothing for memory these days. With more and more people storing video files and large image files plus having to deal with the bloat caused by updates, a 40 gig drive today is like a 2 gig drive in the early 1990s. Likewise, CDs offer minimal storage compared to a DVD or other forms of storage. I DO like optical storage on write-once disks because it cannot be erased or modified by rogue programs, malware, or even accident (other than physically damaging the disks). Storing a copy of precious photos and documents on CD and storing offsite is wise. I have copies of the source code for the programs I have written stored on CD in a bank vault.

The cost/value ratio of computer equipment is a bit crazy. I recently bought three refurbished gateway computers running XP for $100 each, shipping included. They came with 80 gig drives, which is the minimum size most buyers will accept. Buying memory or a drive to keep your old computer going/safe may not be the most cost effective or best way to go.

With backups, there are different needs. What you are describing is primarily a hot swap or Raid 0 scenario. I would advise against that if your drive is nearing capacity, primarily because that lack of space is a major problem that needs to be addressed first.

IMO, full system backups should NOT be made more often than once a month AND the full backups must immediately be isolated from the system completely AND there should be at least three full backups that get rotated out. Why? because a computer can often be infected _without you having any idea that it is infected_. Malware can lie dormant for extremely long periods and be triggered by a date, use of a particular program, etc. Rotating out three backups isn't foolproof, but gives you recovery opportunities that you might not otherwise have. **A note on any full backup - buy an extra drive and go through the full restore procedure to that drive immediately upon performing the first backup. Some backup programs can be glitchy, and the last thing you want to find in an emergency is that your backup program did NOT backup key operating files or make a true and restorable image of your system.

DATA backups can be ongoing and automated, with the caveat that unless the data is again isolated from the system or write-once optical, it can be corrupted or affected by viruses and malware.

I could write a lot more, but that gives a start.


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## maddy (Oct 30, 2010)

Just to clarify, I'm looking for the simplest way just to keep a bootable copy of my hard drive in a drawer. I find that my blood pressure rises by at least 40 points whenever I think about computers. I truly do not enjoy them--they're a necessary tool for my work, but that's all. That's why I'd much rather do a simple copy operation than buy a program that does something automatically or that makes my computer bigger and better. I find that whenever I try something new, I end up spending several hundred dollars and several days' time on a computer technician, making it questionable whether the computer is actually helping or hindering my work. Right now I can't handle another stress. Seriously.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Use Windows to make a bootable system disk on a CD. Copy your key data to a USB drive. That is about as simple as it will get. There are problems with it, but it'll probably get you by in more than half the cases.

I think we all have a love/hate relationship with computers.


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## TRellis (Sep 16, 2013)

Nevada said:


> If maintaining a mirror image of the entire working hard drive is the objective then RAID mirroring is the preferred method. With RAID mirroring you'll install two identical hard drives, then create a mirror image of the working drive.
> 
> In normal RAID mirroring operation the system will write to both hard drives every time it has something to write. *If either hard drive fails there is a full, bootable, and up to date hard drive to fall back on.*
> 
> If you absolutely can't afford to lose your hard drive there is no substitute for RAID mirroring.


True, but what happens when the RAID motherboard fails? That is what happened to me. Three times over a period of about six years. All of the data was safe and secure, but RAID motherboards are/were not that common and it always took a while to get my hands on one. 

All of my backups are large storage drives and they are all Solid State Drives (SSD). A bit more expensive than Hard Disk Drives (HDD), but worth the extra cost to me. I do not have to worry as much about jostling a SSD too much and damaging it.

TRellis


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## Savrens (Jun 23, 2007)

Maddy;

I understand what you are attempting. 

An image creates a zip file of your hard drive on a different drive - can be a flash (thumb) drive. you would have to install a new blank hard drive in your computer and reinstall your info from the zip file.

Cloning a hard disk requires a new hard drive too( equal size or larger). 

However; after cloning your drive to the new one, you can operate your computer from the new drive after making it the boot drive. The easy way to do this is to mount the new cloned drive in an empty bay in your computer and switch the cables from the old to the new drive. If you are satisfied with the security you could leave the old drive mounted in case and not connected. Otherwise remove it and store in a secure place.

If you are dealing with a laptop you can buy what I call the toaster. It has two slots and looks like a small two slice toaster. You slip one or two bare drives into it and operate as you would additional drives in your computer. 










My experience has been with Seagate and WD hard drives. You can download the cloning software from their sites. They are free and only work with their respective drives


However with a 40 gig hard drive I think you have an older computer. In older computers the interface (connections) were IDE rather than the current SATA interface. Google SATA vs IDE. If IDE the new SATA drives would be a problem.

A flash drive (thumb, stick etc.) can be used in lieu of a cd for a recovery disk but not as a clone of a hard drive.

If by flash drive you mean Solid State Drive, I would avoid them in an older computer. There were some problems. In an older computer I would stay with the regular mechanical drive. In a new computer I would definitely go with an SSD


I hope this helps


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