ajfries Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) Our main computer is 6...almost 7 years old. It's a Vista and I'm sure it's just going to up and die on me any day now. I have all of the photos from the kids' entire lives on that thing. I have them backed up to Mozy, and I have a lot of the pictures on Shutterfly, but I think maybe an external hard drive would be a good idea. I've never had to restore files from Mozy, so I don't fully trust it. Are all external hard drives created equal? I'm thinking I'll get one with 2TB of storage & see how far that gets me. ETA: Also, my home computer is a Vista while the one at our business runs on Windows 10. I wonder if I can get a hard drive that is compatible with both? Edited February 13, 2016 by ajfries 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 We have a low end Western Digital 2 TB external hard drive. USB. It works perfectly. We also have a Western Digital 1 TB external hard drive that I bought and intended to use, but we gave it to my Stepson, so I bought this one, before I began using the 1 TB drive. I use a free program called "Clonezilla Live", which I burned to a CD and I boot from the CD and I make "System Image" backups of the entire hard drive. I have restored, once or twice, and it works perfectly. I strongly suggest that you always backup your sfuff. Your Data is the most important thing on your hard disk drive, and it is unique and possibly priceless to you. Reinstalling your Operating System, Application Programs and Utilities can be a PITA. That is why I do the System Image backups of the entire hard drives. You express concern, because of the age of your hard disk drive. A month ago, I bought a Brand New hard disk drive, for my wife's newer laptop. The hard disk drive in that laptop now passed the "SMART" test and the Short Diagnostics, but it Failed the Long (Read Only) Diagnostics. I bought a new Seagate drive for it. I know that drive was Brand New, because when I finished with it, it only had 1 or 2 POH (Powered On Hours). The Brand New hard disk drive Passed the SMART and Short Test, but it Failed the Long (read only) Diagnostics, as did the old drive in that laptop now. So, I ordered another Seagate drive for that laptop. This one is "New Other" (it was pulled from a new Lenovo laptop and they probably installed an SSD into that laptop). I asked the eBay Seller to run those Diagnostics on it, before shipping to me. It is in Miami now and I will run the Diagnostics on it when I receive it, before Restoring what is on the drive now in that laptop onto the "New Other" hard drive. In other words, I have 2 SATA hard drives here, one is Used and one is Brand New, that have failed the Long (Read Only) Diagnostics and I cannot tell you if they will die, completely, after 5 minutes of additional use or 5 years of additional use. The 3 important words for you are: Backup, Backup and Backup P.S. If I needed to buy another External USB hard disk drive today I'd go with a Western Digital or a Seagate. I think when I bought the WD 2 TB drive, last July it was $70, including shipping in the USA. I bought it on eBay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 If you use "Clonezilla Live" to make System Image backups, it will copy the entire hard disk drive. It doesn't matter if it is some version of Windows, Linux, Apple, etc. I suspect that the difference between the low end 2 TB Western Digital I am using and a more expensive line of their external HDDs is the Software that is bundled with the more expensive ones. I suspect the only internal differences are the model numbers in the Firmware. However, i am not positive of that. NOTE: If you are not able to get the "Important" (Security and Stability) Windows Updates for your Windows Vista box, you need to upgrade that one to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I have a 2TB Western Digital, and I've had zero problems with it. I don't know about Vista, but it's worked fine on both Windows 7 and Windows 10. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) I've had mostly good luck with WD, but I did have a 1 TB MyBook drive fail. I was told at the time (2008ish? Lanny might remember. 1 TB drives were the largest on the market at the time and fairly new, shiny, and what the cool kids had) that larger drives are more likely to fail, so I replaced it with a 500 gig. I would not worry about a 2 gig drive today, but I would suggest that you purchase two of them in case one fails, or at the very least get a 2 gig for your main backup and something smaller for an emergency backup of your most important files, such as family pictures, emails from deceased family members, etc. I believe that 6 TB is today what 1 TB was then. I have two 3 TBs and one 4 TB for my main files (the 4 TB has all my videos and music which would be a nuisance to replace, but could be done with enough time and money) plus 500 gig, 1 TB, and 1.5 TB emergency backups for more important files. I back up weekly and use a GNU/Linux program called LuckyBackup, which pretty much automates the process so all I have to think about is plugging in the drives and clicking a button on the software. I'm sure somebody else can advise you about a similar program for Windows. Your hard drive will probably come formatted as NTFS, which can be read by any version of Windows or GNU/Linux. Apple may or may not require a different format--it did at one time. Your operating system is no longer supported by the microsoft corporation, as you undoubtedly already know, and is a security issue. Your computer hardware, however, may still have plenty of life left in it. I am very happy with my own new-to-me Lenovo X60, which is ten years old. You might find that LXLE: http://www.lxle.net/ will meet your current needs. It will not cost you any money and you can run it off of a USB stick or CD without making any changes to your hard drive. Edited February 13, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) I never 'upgraded' to Windows 7 because everyone I talked to hated it and I was (I am) afraid I would do something wrong and lose all my files. Just from a precursory search, upgrading from Vista to 7 requires an external hard drive, anyway. I guess my main concern is if I back up my Vista files onto an external hard drive, will they still be able to be "read" by Windows 10? I'm just not going to be able to justify buying Windows 7 (or 10) for my ancient computer. Edited February 13, 2016 by ajfries 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 If I was going to buy another 2 TB External HDD, today, I would probably buy one of these, from NewEgg on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/WD-2TB-White-My-Passport-Ultra-Portable-External-Hard-Drive-USB-3-0-WDBBKD00-/381527097368?hash=item58d4c98018:g:zI8AAOSwl8NVgCX5 This series comes with some Software that I would not use, but you may find the Bundled Software it comes with to be very useful, if you do not use "Clonezilla Live" to make System Images of the entire hard drives as I do. I can't remember if the 2 External drives I bought on eBay were from NewEgg or from Adorama. I've bought things from both companies on eBay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) I guess my main concern is if I back up my Vista files onto an external hard drive, will they still be able to be "read" by Windows 10? Yes. Edited February 13, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I never 'upgraded' to Windows 7 because everyone I talked to hated it and I was (I am) afraid I would do something wrong and lose all my files. Just from a precursory search, upgrading from Vista to 7 requires an external hard drive, anyway. I guess my main concern is if I back up my Vista files onto an external hard drive, will they still be able to be "read" by Windows 10? What? Who were you talking with? Windows 7 is probably THE most stable version of Microsoft Windows available at this time. That said, last May we bought (unexpectedly) a Refurbished Windows 8.1 laptop for DD. I read up about Windows 8.1 before it arrived from the states and DD hasn't had any problems with Windows 8.1. Possibly that has to do with the way I configured Windows 8.1, when I did the OOBE (Out of Box Experience or first boot of an operating system). I assume that Windows 10 uses the NTFS file system, as do Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, so you shouldn't have any issues there. P.S. Windows Vista has the same kind of (horrible) reputation that Windows ME (Millennium Edition) had. Both were hated... P.P.S. I assume that if you Upgrade your Windows Vista box to another OS that you will need to buy a license for that. A Microsoft COA (Certificate of Authenticity) which has the 25 digit "Product Key". Also, you will need a DVD to install from. Or, you can buy that together, in a bundle. WIndows 7 will be supported by Microsoft (for Security and Stability issues, which are the only ones I care about) until 2020 as I recall. Windows 8.1 will be supported for 3 years after that. If Windows Vista is not being supported for Security/Stability Updates, you could be in deep stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) If you need to use the drive with Windows 10, make sure you buy one with the Win10 seal on the package. Not all the older drives will work right with Win10. That being said, my 2TB Seagate has saved my sanity more than once. I have it plugged into my work laptop (I work from home) and it backs things up nightly. More than once I have deleted something and then was able to recover from the external drive. I also have a 1 TB Toshiba that is my little work horse. I back up computers to it before each major upgrade or change, just in case. 3 years old and still runs fast and reliable. External drives are cheap compared to losing your stuff. Edited February 13, 2016 by AK_Mom4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 What? Who were you talking with? Windows 7 is probably THE most stable version of Microsoft Windows available at this time. That said, last May we bought (unexpectedly) a Refurbished Windows 8.1 laptop for DD. I read up about Windows 8.1 before it arrived from the states and DD hasn't had any problems with Windows 8.1. Possibly that has to do with the way I configured Windows 8.1, when I did the OOBE (Out of Box Experience or first boot of an operating system). I assume that Windows 10 uses the NTFS file system, as do Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, so you shouldn't have any issues there. P.S. Windows Vista has the same kind of (horrible) reputation that Windows ME (Millennium Edition) had. Both were hated... P.P.S. I assume that if you Upgrade your Windows Vista box to another OS that you will need to buy a license for that. A Microsoft COA (Certificate of Authenticity) which has the 25 digit "Product Key". Also, you will need a DVD to install from. Or, you can buy that together, in a bundle. WIndows 7 will be supported by Microsoft (for Security and Stability issues, which are the only ones I care about) until 2020 as I recall. Windows 8.1 will be supported for 3 years after that. If Windows Vista is not being supported for Security/Stability Updates, you could be in deep stuff... Maybe we (they?) were talking about 8.1? Honestly Lanny, I'm really ignorant about computers (which you've already gathered, I'm sure). I just want to surf the web & save my pictures :D As long as I can do that, it's all good. And my Vista still does that :D I don't foresee upgrading the Vista; it's just not necessary (that I can see?). That computer isn't getting any new documents or pictures put on it, I just need to get what I have on there off in a way that will let me view/use the files on my 10. Does that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I'm just not going to be able to justify buying Windows 7 (or 10) for my ancient computer. LXLE is not something to buy. You do not need to pay money for a safe and modern operating system for your older computer. Your functional older computer does not need to go here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 LXLE is not something to buy. You do not need to pay money for a safe and modern operating system for your older computer. Your functional older computer does not need to go here. So I just download this LXLE and ??? Because really, there is nothing wrong with my Vista (or so I thought)...I'm planning on running it til it dies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) Oops! We cross posted! :) I need to go now, but do you need help burning the .iso or anything? There are LXLE forums if I'm not explaining myself well enough. Edited February 13, 2016 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 This is from the ubuntu forums, but it should work for LXLE, which is derived from ubuntu: How to create a bootable USB stick on Windows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 and in case you'd rather use a dvd or have difficulty at boot time: Try before you install guide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 And in case I'm putting the horse before the cart: Easily burn an .iso image on Windows Vista Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Cart before Horse, I think. I cannot more strongly recommend AGAINST applying a new OS to your aging machine without a good backup of your files. Very Bad Idea. 1 - Buy an external drive and use either the software that comes with the drive, the Backup utility in Vista or something like Clonezilla Live (easy) to make a good backup of your machine. Then, if you decide to go down the LXLE route or the upgrade route or just leave it all alone for now.... your files will be backed up and protected. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 What is a live gnu/linux CD and why you should use one Normally, a computer boots from the hard drive. However, a computer can also boot from removable media like CDs and USB drives. Live Linux systems take advantage of this feature and run the entire OS from such a media, and the biggest advantage of this is that you don’t need to install anything to your hard drive. Everything runs off of CD, DVD or USB drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I have a Passport external drive and use it as my main drive for all MY data. The memory in my PC is all apps and so on. Then I back up my external hard drive to our server. The thing that is nice about an external drive is that you can detach it and put it in the safe when you travel or whatever without your computer. I'm thinking of getting another one and using it as my backup instead of the server because the net is slooooow for backup...and then I could put that backup in the safe, or give it to a friend for safe-keeping off-site. I would hate to lose the data I have on my PC at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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