besr free backup app?

[tonywalker23]

i have .mac and use backup but im not going to rebuy it i dont think.

i also dont like the way apple keeps adding files to back up that have been modified (that is probably confusing sounding) . . . my backup ends up being bigger in GB than my home folder actually is. for example, it will save each and every version of whatever.abc when all i want is the latest version.

can any recommend anything. all i want is for my home folder to have an exact copy on my backup drive (with copying the whole home folder each time, its about 60 gb)
maybe something that just backups files that have changed or whatever

thanks

 

[EricNau]

A lot of people like Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes an exact, bootable copy of your internal HDD.

...but it's donation-ware, so if you use it, you really should make a donation.

 

[eva01]

A lot of people like Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes an exact, bootable copy of your internal HDD.

I use that and apple's Backup software

 

[zweigand]

You can also try iBackup (if you like the way Apple's Backup is set up) ..or the free App SilverKeeper (from Lacie)

Both can be found at MacUpdate.com or VersionTracker.com

 

[Max on Macs]

I think Apple Backup .Mac is the best option personally. Why would you not want it to keep old versions? Isn't the point of backup (as well as to keep your stuff safe from failures) to make sure you don't screw something up that you needed to keep? I have used it for this purpose a couple times, but maybe I'm wrong. I just go in and delete some of the older backups every couple weeks when I'm sure I don't need them.

 

[wmmk]

A lot of people like Carbon Copy Cloner. It makes an exact, bootable copy of your internal HDD.

...but it's donation-ware, so if you use it, you really should make a donation.

carbon copy ROCKS ON!!! im trying to to an applescript daemon then buy an external so that i can have the peace of mind of knowing that i will always have a bootable image of my HD. one awesome thing about windoze it system restore. then again, with the stability of mac os x, stuff like that isn' needed

 

[zweigand]

carbon copy ROCKS ON!!! im trying to to an applescript daemon then buy an external so that i can have the peace of mind of knowing that i will always have a bootable image of my HD. one awesome thing about windoze it system restore. then again, with the stability of mac os x, stuff like that isn' needed

what are you wanting to do with applescript exactly?

 

[student_trap]

i use super duper! and it is just fantastic software, very easy to use

 

[jdechko]

one awesome thing about windoze it system restore.

It's good to a point, but some companies abuse it too much. Like Dell has stopped including restore disks with its computers (at least on my office machine). So if I need to restore a piece of software that came with my computer, I have to roll it all the way back to the first time I've used it. And along with it, I lose all of my other applications that I've installed. (the files and documents don't go away, but all of the applications that have been installed are wiped from the registry... so instead of installing one piece of software, you have to install a lot. what a pain in the neck.

 

[nutmac]

i use super duper! and it is just fantastic software, very easy to use

Although SuperDuper isn't free (it's pretty cheap though), it's the ONLY backup software you should use. According to plasticfuture's comparison of popular backup solutions, SuperDuper was the only software that was able to create EXACT backup.