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iMac backup options

Truefan31

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Aug 25, 2012
3,590
836
So I have a 27 imac with 1 tb internal space. I have a 512 gb ssd external drive thru tb also that I boot from. On the internal drive I have a 255 gb partition for bootcamp windows.

So I'm thinking of a 3 tb drive to do backups an time machine. Do I need to create partitions to accommodate bootcamp or the ssd?
 
I use a Seagate ST3000DM001 HDD in the Inateck FD1003 HD Dock.

I have the 3TB in two partitions. The first partition (at the beginning of the HDD so it supports booting) is 256GB for a CCC clone of OS X.

The rest of the partition is used for general storage and Time Machine.

You do not need to create a separate partition solely for Time Machine, but there are situations where this is helpful. For example, some cloud backup services like Backblaze ignore partitions with Time Machine so if you want data on the same drive as TM to be backed up it needs to be on a separate partition.

The Inateck dock is UASP which really boosts USB3 performance.

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I also did a review of the FD1003 Docking Station back in May with benchmarks that you might be interested in checking out. :)
 
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Truefan31 said:
So do I need separate partitions for bootcamp
Click to expand...

You could do that I suppose, although I've never tried and I don't think Mac-based tools like CCC support cloning BC.

I backup BootCamp with Winclone 4. That way you get a nice image file you can park anywhere and it also has the added advantage of being able to restore to different partitions if need be.
 
SaSaSushi said:
You could do that I suppose, although I've never tried and I don't think Mac-based tools like CCC support cloning BC.

I backup BootCamp with Winclone 4. That way you get a nice image file you can park anywhere and it also has the added advantage of being able to restore to different partitions if need be.
Click to expand...


So it's prolly easier having a separate drive for bootcamp then using winclone.

Then have a drive for time machine and ccc images.
 
SaSaSushi said:
I use a Seagate ST3000DM001 HDD in the Inateck FD1003 HD Dock.

I have the 3TB in two partitions. The first partition (at the beginning of the HDD so it supports booting) is 256GB for a CCC clone of OS X.

The rest of the partition is used for general storage and Time Machine.

You do not need to create a separate partition solely for Time Machine, but there are situations where this is helpful. For example, some cloud backup services like Backblaze ignore partitions with Time Machine so if you want data on the same drive as TM to be backed up it needs to be on a separate partition.

The Inateck dock is UASP which really boosts USB3 performance.

----------

I also did a review of the FD1003 Docking Station back in May with benchmarks that you might be interested in checking out. :)
Click to expand...


Wow I just saw what u have. Like a cartridge system huh
 
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Truefan31 said:
Wow I just saw what u have. Like a cartridge system huh
Click to expand...

I like to call it a cradle.

There is no easier option in terms of installing, removing and replacing drives. It also supports 2.5" drives so you can pop in an SSD as well.

It is not a good option for those who need portability but for connecting to an iMac they're great.

I have another dual drive USB3 cradle from a Japanese manufacturer that doubles as a disk duplicator. When connected to the computer it will access any drives installed (non-RAID) and when not connected can be used to duplicate one drive to another.

cros2u3cp-thumb-autoxauto.jpg
 
I don't think you can backup up the bootcamp partition by time machine.

The easiest way to back up the whole bootcamp partition under OSX is by Winclone. However, I will say this is more like a system backup, not files (data) backup. e.g. If you accidentally delete one file, do you want to recover the whole partition from the image? Also, how many images you want to maintain? For data purpose, you may better choose some other backup software which can run inside Windows. I that case, most likely you need to partition your 3T HDD to allow windows software read/write (and avoid damaging the OSX stuff).

For OSX, use CCC to schedule clone your boot partition (ext SSD) to the internal HDD everyday as a backup boot partition. And then use time machine to backup all the data (excluding the backup boot partition) is a very safe way to do so. It basically maintain your iMac always bootable, and easy recover from any system failure or data lost.
 
Hmm so I wonder if I should maybe get 2 drives. One for bootcamp backups, one or two for osx/time machine.
 
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