Windows PC Backup Options

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depot44
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Windows PC Backup Options

Post by depot44 »

Hi,
I'm new to the QNAP NAS and was hoping for some advice/information. My TS-453 Pro is up and running, and is being used for home use only. Installation was very simple and I've managed through some things successfully, such as getting Plex server up and running and serving movies to my TV.

My question is regarding the best applications to use for backing up my Windows v8.1 PC. The good news is that there appears to be numerous backup options, but I'm not really sure which would be best used for my situation. I basically want to do two things:

1. Backup my Windows 'Documents' and 'Pictures' folders to the NAS. Ideally, any changes made in these folders would automatically get copied/updated on the NAS. Doesn't matter whether this gets done immediately, or on some scheduled basis, such as once daily. It would be great if these folders could then be accessed remotely, either when I'm logged into some other PC, or through my smartphone/tablet. QSync sort of looks like it's close to this, except that I'd have to copy/move all the current contents of these folders to the QSync folder. I'd really rather just 'mark' these folders for copying to the NAS rather than start moving them around. NetBak also looks like it might do something like this, but I'm not sure if the NetBak files would then be remotely accessible?

2. Backup as much of the entire PC as possible. Essentially, copy everything on my Windows PC to the NAS for a complete backup, with the idea I could do a restore if something happens to my PC hard disk. I don't need to access this backup remotely. A scheduled daily update that would update just the changes would be ideal. The NetBak utility looks like it might also do this, but I wasn't sure if that was the fastest and most efficient option.

I'd appreciate any advice from users that are doing something similar.

Thanks, Ken
larryschwenk
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Re: Windows PC Backup Options

Post by larryschwenk »

You have many third party options including the Windows built-in backups. Everyone will have a favorite.

Since I store most all data on my NAS, my actual SSD on my computer is only about 120GB used. I went for the total failure solution many years ago, Norton Ghost, which is now Symantec System Recovery 2013 Desktop. At 1:00am every day, it does a complete image of my computer. That way I can restore my computer to exactly the way it was in case something fails. And I don't have to worry about backing up individual files or anything. My image backup from this morning was 64GB and I have it set to keep the last 10 days of backups; backup takes about 30 minutes with a comparison check via gig connection. The images are simple and you can always "peek" inside any backup image to pull out individual files too. I do full images every day, so I don't even mess with the incremental either.

An image backup is more than just a file backup. It copies everything. So you could replace the hard drive and restore the image and your system should fire right up.

And yes, I've used it a couple times in the past 8 years or so for full recovery (super easy) and more often to find a file that I "modified" and wanted to go back to the original version :DD Just go to file explorer, double click the image and it opens right up for "drag and drop". It's not free, about $100 or so, but you can always find it on sale or coupons too. Small price to pay in the big picture of things.
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pwilson
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Re: Windows PC Backup Options

Post by pwilson »

There are many ways to do it. Have you considered using Windows Backup & Restore 7?

To back up PC data with Windows 7:
  1. Follow the instructions in Microsoft Support article: Back up your files to launch Backup and Restore and configure automatic backup from Windows 7 to your NAS.
    Image
  2. When you are prompted to select a location to save your backup, click on Save on a network to locate your NAS on the local area network.
    In the window that appears, enter \\NAS-name\Shared_Folder_Name or \\NAS-IP\Shared_Folder_Name, and then authorize using the credentials of a NAS user who has the "Read/Write" privilege to the specified shared folder.
  3. Click OK and follow onscreen instructions to complete the setup.
Note:

Since Windows7's Backup and Restore will create a system image along with your backup data on the NAS, it might take a while to create the first backup. Subsequent backup tasks will take much less time because only new or changed information will be added to the backup data.

To restore backed up data to your PC:

Follow the instructions in Microsoft Support article: Restore files from a backup to find and select the files you want to restore, and then restore the files to your PC.

Patrick M. Wilson
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depot44
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Re: Windows PC Backup Options

Post by depot44 »

Larry,
thanks for the information. I'm coming from a Windows Home Server which did it's own version of a Ghost image. I was hoping there was some similar app available in the QNAP app store. Since there doesn't seem to be, I'll look into the Norton Ghost solution as a replacement for that.

Patrick,
thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, Windows v8 dropped the Windows v7 Backup/Restore option with something less capable called FIle History. In Windows v8.1, they've now also dropped the File History feature.

Again, thanks for the replies.

Ken
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pwilson
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Re: Windows PC Backup Options

Post by pwilson »

depot44 wrote:Larry,
thanks for the information. I'm coming from a Windows Home Server which did it's own version of a Ghost image. I was hoping there was some similar app available in the QNAP app store. Since there doesn't seem to be, I'll look into the Norton Ghost solution as a replacement for that.

Patrick,
thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, Windows v8 dropped the Windows v7 Backup/Restore option with something less capable called FIle History. In Windows v8.1, they've now also dropped the File History feature.

Again, thanks for the replies.

Ken
Yes, I provided bad advice. I am sorry about that. I abandoned Windows after Windows 7, so my information on Windows 8.1 was lacking. I apologize for my error.

Patrick M. Wilson
Victoria, BC Canada
QNAP TS-470 Pro w/ 4 * Western Digital WD30EFRX WD Reds (RAID5) - - Single 8.1TB Storage Pool FW: QTS 4.2.0 Build 20151023 - Kali Linux v1.06 (64bit)
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TomThumb
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Re: Windows PC Backup Options

Post by TomThumb »

depot44-

I have the same model (ts-453pro), with windows machines which require backup.

I will use RealCopy Disk-Imaging software to backup my windows machines. This is a free software, backs up files in native format, has a scheduler, does Incremental/FUll backups, backsup the system state, supports all Windows desktop versions and all Windows Server editions.

An alternate paid software with same features is AX64 backup software.

I will install the IT management station from QNAP and do a pxe boot image as well. Just some ideas.

Roger
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tariqnisarahmed
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Re: Windows PC Backup Options

Post by tariqnisarahmed »

pwilson wrote:There are many ways to do it. Have you considered using Windows Backup & Restore 7?

To back up PC data with Windows 7:
  1. Follow the instructions in Microsoft Support article: Back up your files to launch Backup and Restore and configure automatic backup from Windows 7 to your NAS.
    Image
  2. When you are prompted to select a location to save your backup, click on Save on a network to locate your NAS on the local area network.
    In the window that appears, enter \\NAS-name\Shared_Folder_Name or \\NAS-IP\Shared_Folder_Name, and then authorize using the credentials of a NAS user who has the "Read/Write" privilege to the specified shared folder.
  3. Click OK and follow onscreen instructions to complete the setup.
Note:

Since Windows7's Backup and Restore will create a system image along with your backup data on the NAS, it might take a while to create the first backup. Subsequent backup tasks will take much less time because only new or changed information will be added to the backup data.

To restore backed up data to your PC:

Follow the instructions in Microsoft Support article: Restore files from a backup to find and select the files you want to restore, and then restore the files to your PC.
Thanks so much for taking the time to put detailed information and images in your post, Patrick. I have Win 7 service pack 1, and it is fully updated. But when I go to backup and restore, I do not see an option to backup to the network.
QNAP 12-20-2015 backup and restore.PNG
I have been able to use map network drive to copy content from my hard disk to the QNAP. But that is a stopgap as opposed to a functional backup solution. The first batch of files are copying in the background while I type: 182 GB have still got about 12 hours to go.

Any advice would be welcome.
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Toxic17
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Re: Windows PC Backup Options

Post by Toxic17 »

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but you reopened a post over a year ago.

http://forum.qnap.com/viewtopic.php?t=116613

why dont you just use NetBak with a mapped drive? http://docs.qnap.com/nas/4.2/SMB/en/ind ... lities.htm

http://download.qnap.com/Storage/Utilit ... 0.0209.exe
Regards Simon

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tariqnisarahmed
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Re: Windows PC Backup Options

Post by tariqnisarahmed »

Thanks, Simon. No worries. Patrick really was an impressive contributor. I appreciate knowing that he has passed.

I think I tried NetBak, but I want to schedule back-ups of my laptop drive, and it seemed that NetBak would make complete back-ups of the entire drive from scratch each time. That did not seem workable. I am currently trying to wrangle CrashPlan to work with my QNAP.

Thanks again!
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