Super Duper For Windows?
 

Hello All :(

Super Duper works great for my MAC's

But I often use a PC - is there anything out there for a PC that works as reliably?

Thanx
Mike

There's really nothing that can do what SuperDuper! does for Windows, mostly because Windows won't start up from a drive like that. But there are various imaging programs (e.g. Ghost, Acronis True Image) that do similar things.

Hi Dave

Just to understand this;

You say that Ghost, or Acronis True Image will copy and erase files to help you update, and at the same time backup your files?

I don't care about the 'boot' issue - I'd like to find something easy to use that will UPDATE, by copying and erasing/updating, (just like Super Duper Does).

Will these programs do that?

Thanx Dave
Mike

You'll have to look at those programs to see, Mike. They're image-based backups, often with deltas.

"often with deltas" ?

Dave please explain

Mike, let me encourage you to research the tools on their own web site(s), that way you can get up to date information directly from the source.

It would be nice if SD could be used to clone my boot camp partition :-)

Sorry, not something we have planned. Supporting FAT32 and NTFS in an intelligent way would seriously dilute our focus. You're better off with a Windows backup program that's designed for Windows and thoroughly tested for it, IMO...

Plus you'd have to compete in an already crowded (and confusing, IMO) market.

Hopeful that SD support for boot camp has changed
 

I will receive in the next day or two Windows 7 to install via Boot Camp.

Examining past messages on Boot Camp, you have stated that SuperDuper will not back-up or clone Boot Camp partitions ... but use WinClone 2.2 for that. The big problem here is that twoclones.com is history, even if I could find a copy somewhere, I am extremely reluctant to use WinClone because of the non-existence of the developer's web site.

Given that state-of-affairs, is the only alternative just using Disk Utility to create a disk image of my Boot Camp partition?

By the way, I noticed someone's post that if I were using Parallels Desktop, SuperDuper would work there ... however, any change at all in the contents of the Windows data causes a complete re-do, i.e., smart update does not apply.

John Love

Sorry: no support for BootCamp, and no plans to do Windows volume copies.

If you use VMWare's images, they tend to 'band' their updates (with 'undoable disk' support), and thus less data is copied each time...

Okay, now what
 

Dave, I apologize for the length of this reply .. it's just that I'm trying to ask very exact questions .. so thanks in advance.

1) when SuperDuper clones my internal hard drive, does it just skip over the Boot Camp partition and pretend it's not there? and the same question in reverse, that is, when SD restores my internal hard drive, does it just skip over the Boot Camp partition and just leave it alone? I think the answer to both is "yes" because SD would consider each partition a separate drive.

2) do you endorse my proposed approach to use Disk Utility to just create a disk image of the Boot Camp partition?

3) I apologize for the following seemingly dumb question, but the truth is that it's been like-forever since I've partitioned any drive, internal or external (with large HDs being so inexpensive). I'm hoping that my memory isn't that awful when I recall that Disk Utility addresses a 2nd, or nth, partition as a separate drive.

That being said, let's assume some nasty software glitch makes my entire internal drive unusable. Obviously the primary and Boot Camp partitions are still in tact, but their contents aren't. Are the next steps the ones I should take:

(1) restore the primary partition with SD
(2) restore the Boot Camp partition with Disk Utility

1. We're always copying a partition to another partition. If you haven't selected a partition to back up, we never touch it.

2. I don't have any opinion on copying Windows volumes: it's not something I do, and I'm reluctant to offer advice other than "Don't use boot camp", which I've said previously.

3. I can't comment on the Disk Utility part, but certainly restoring one partition with SD! is what you'd do...