Re: Best full-system backup utility?
To me, it's really a philosophical question. Since the days of MS-DOS 3.x, I have subscribed to the "back up your data, not your software" theory. That theory says that your software (a) can always be re-installed if needed, and (b) changes fairly often anyway, so it "ages"* when backed up.
Therefore I have always segregated my data (some Windows software has required special twiddling at the time of installation and first use, to accomplish this) from my installed software, and focussed my backup efforts on making sure there's a valid copy of all my data somewhere safe. The principle "somewhere" is on a second or third hard drive on the same machine. But, recognizing that there are some catastrophes that take out the entire system (and/or the house that it lives in), really important stuff should be on long-lived media at some other address.
Therefore, my answer to "which utility" question is
* Downloaded software that is prized should be copied to a safe second location prior to installing. Those old downloaded tarballs and zip files have saved my sorry butt more than once.
To me, it's really a philosophical question. Since the days of MS-DOS 3.x, I have subscribed to the "back up your data, not your software" theory. That theory says that your software (a) can always be re-installed if needed, and (b) changes fairly often anyway, so it "ages"* when backed up.
Therefore I have always segregated my data (some Windows software has required special twiddling at the time of installation and first use, to accomplish this) from my installed software, and focussed my backup efforts on making sure there's a valid copy of all my data somewhere safe. The principle "somewhere" is on a second or third hard drive on the same machine. But, recognizing that there are some catastrophes that take out the entire system (and/or the house that it lives in), really important stuff should be on long-lived media at some other address.
Therefore, my answer to "which utility" question is
Code:
cp
* Downloaded software that is prized should be copied to a safe second location prior to installing. Those old downloaded tarballs and zip files have saved my sorry butt more than once.
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