While you can use a single disk to maintain multiple backups, we generally recommend dedicating one or more separate disks for this purpose.
There are two methods of cloning offered by Casper. Casper can be instructed to clone the entire contents of one hard disk to another hard disk, or clone a specific partition/volume to another partition/volume. When using the
Copy an entire hard disk method, Casper completely replaces the existing content of the destination device, master boot record, existing partition structure, etc. When using the
Copy a specific drive method, Casper clones only the file system format and content of one partition/volume to another, but does not otherwise modify or replace any existing partition structure on the destination device.
With this in mind, you can use the
Copy a specific drive method to create and/or maintain multiple backups and/or “other data” on a single backup hard disk.
To set up the backup hard disk, use the
Copy an entire hard disk option to make the
initial copy of the system hard disk (e.g., Disk 1) onto the backup hard disk. When prompted by the Copy Drive Wizard to specify how the additional space on the hard disk is to be used, select the second option,
Leave the additional space unallocated. Once this initial copy has been completed, you can change the volume label associated with the drive letter assigned to this first backup. For example, you might consider renaming it to "
Primary System Backup." You can change the volume label of a drive by right-clicking on the drive in
[My] Computer and selecting
Rename. This will make it easier to identify the backup partition when updating it and/or restoring from it.
After creating the first backup, use the
Copy a specific drive option to create additional backups. When prompted by the Copy Drive Wizard, select the option to
Copy to a new drive and then select the backup hard disk as the destination. Select
Make the copy as large as possible or
Make the copy the same size as it is right now. You also should enter a descriptive volume label for the backup when prompted by the wizard to select a name for the new drive – e.g. “
Alternate System Backup.” This will make it easier to identify the backup partition when updating it and/or restoring from it.
After you have created all of the additional backups that you want to maintain or that can be accommodated on the backup disk, you can use the
Create Drive option to create one or more additional partitions for “other data” if you have additional unallocated space on the backup hard disk.
To update an existing backup, select the
Copy a specific drive option and then select your computer’s system drive (e.g., “
Local Disk (C:)”) as the source and the drive associated with the desired backup to update on the backup hard disk as the destination (e.g., “
Primary System Backup (E:)” or "
Alternate System Backup (F:)"). To schedule the backup to be performed automatically, select the option to
Schedule the copy for later when prompted by the Copy Drive Wizard. You also can setup a 1-Click Cloning shortcut to perform the backup on demand.
To restore a backup, reconfigure the computer to boot and run from the backup hard disk, and then use Casper to copy the desired partition from the backup hard disk to your computer’s primary hard disk via the
Copy a specific drive option.
By using the
Copy a specific drive method to create and maintain the backups, any data located in any other partitions on the backup hard disk will be left intact.
THIS ARTICLE APPLIES TO:
- Windows 10
- Windows 8.x
- Windows 7
- Windows Vista
- Windows XP
- Windows 2000