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08-22-2013, 07:31 AM   #1
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External hard drive with automatic backup software

Just got myself a new Western Digital My Book 2 TB external hard drive for my PC running Win 7. It comes with WD SmartWare - automatic backup software.

How good is this software?

Is it recommended to use it or just backup myself in a manual way?

If I install it, can I bypass it or will take over the hard drive?

08-22-2013, 07:42 AM   #2
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I don't know how good the included software is, but if you are nervous about it just don't install it. I didn't install mine because I've used SyncBack for many years and can't imagine how anything could improve on that.
08-22-2013, 08:16 AM   #3
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I use the WD Smartware that came with my new Western Digital My Passport Ultra portable hard drive. It works fine and is very user-friendly but there are not nearly as many options for "fine-tuning" the backups like SyncBack has. I continue to use SyncBack for my backups on a nightly basis, but as a further redundancy, I use the WD SmartWare on a weekly basis. (I used to be employed as a network engineer and managed corporate data backup systems, so I'm particularly cautious about backups!)

So it may depend on how comfortable you are in wanting to tweak every little backup option, or if you want "set it and forget it" simplicity.

I have not noticed that the software takes up too much of my computer's processing power, time, or any other intrusive thing. It works in the background and does its thing.
08-22-2013, 08:39 AM   #4
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Using a quad core or above I think you will have no problems. When I tested it on my old system I thought the overhead a bit much. Now that I've updated I really should install it again.

I paired the MyBook with a Neos Max as an ultra cheap home server for music and photos on the telly. My wife always had the darn CDs in the car. Now I just find what I want and play it.

08-22-2013, 10:11 PM   #5
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I just do things the old fashioned way. I manually copy my files that I want backed up to the external rather than backing up everything. I have a lot of crap on my hard drive and I don't need twice as much.
08-23-2013, 02:32 AM   #6
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The backup software is OK, it's the drives I have a problem with. After having three WD's fail within a year and losing a lot of the data that was on one of them, I will never own another one.

I use Carbonite to back up. It's better than using an external drive from the standpoint that if I have a fire or someone steals my computer equipment, I can still retrieve my data. Had it not been for that, I would have lost all my digital pictures when the WD's died. It runs in the background and you never know it's there.
08-23-2013, 02:39 AM   #7
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If you're slightly techy then Robocopy is a good option and free as it is part of windows: Robocopy

Very flexible and simple to write a batch file to perform whatever you want it to. If you don't know how to do that then some info is here: ROBOCOPY - Create Backup Script - Windows 7 Help Forums

But basically create a text file and change the extension to .bat rather than .txt. Then right click and select edit and type your commands in. The /MIR option is good as that will mirror what is in your source, but be careful as it you delete something from your source it will also delete it from the backup so depends if you want that functionality. For example:

Robocopy c:\photos E:\photos /MIR

Above will mirror a photos directory on C (your local hard drive) to the directory on E (or whatever your USB drive is on). You can then build up commands for each directory you want to back up.

It may sound complex if you are not techy but spend a but of time practising it and you will save yourself money rather than buying a backup solution. You can then just run your batch file whenever you want to back up or if you know how to use task scheduler can have it run on a regular basis or at logoff for example.

I also recommend Free Onsite & Offsite Computer Backup - CrashPlan - Data Backup Software if you want to back up offsite although it costs money and depends if you are happy having your files in "the cloud".

08-23-2013, 07:22 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by thechumpen Quote
I also recommend Free Onsite & Offsite Computer Backup - CrashPlan - Data Backup Software if you want to back up offsite although it costs money and depends if you are happy having your files in "the cloud".
I have a subscription to Crashplan and I think it's the best value for cloud storage. Unlimited storage backup!
08-23-2013, 08:22 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by ronyzmbow Quote
Just got myself a new Western Digital My Book 2 TB external hard drive for my PC running Win 7. It comes with WD SmartWare - automatic backup software.

How good is this software?

Is it recommended to use it or just backup myself in a manual way?

If I install it, can I bypass it or will take over the hard drive?
i never use these back ups, but prefer to go a different route.

I use laplink to make an image of my data files and then successive back ups only overwrite modified files, or add new files. i have used this for 15 years now, and never lost data even with hard disk failures (other than data between the failure and last back up, which may be something like 1 days work at worst)

i have not looked at exactly how the WD back up software strores data, but many auto back up programs compress or encrypt data in the process, which is why i don;t like them. I prefer to be able to go to the back up drive and simply retrieve a file from a mirror of the location.
08-26-2013, 12:16 PM   #10
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I use an external HD with the auto back up function.
I use another external HD that I manually move a copy of photos and video.
And I use carbonite as well.
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