Which Hard Drive Backup Software?

[elgrayso]

I have a 5TB external hard drive which I use to store media files on like music and videos. I don't have a large enough second harddrive to duplicate a direct complete backup, but I have a 3TB and a 2TB.
I was wondering if I could use software to split the files between the two backup drives.
I would like to set up a preference to pre-determine where I want the files to go (and only have to set this up once), so that way every couple of months I could plug in the backup drives and basically hit "start".

PS:
I would a prefer software solution rather as opposed to manually replacing the folders because I would like to only replace files that have changed or have been deleted (in which case it would not keep a backup) and create an exact copy. This would save time in the transfer and not have to re-copy the same files each time.

 

[snorkelman]

Carbon Copy Cloner

you can set source and destination and in the schedule specify that the backup only takes place when both drives are attached

so if the 5TB is attached and you plug in the 2TB it'll carry out that back up

likewise if you plug in the 3TB while the 5TB is attached


in both above back up tasks, you can have it prompt for confirmation that you want to carry out the back up, have it ignore you attaching the drive if you're attaching the drive again within x days since the last backup occurred etc

turn Safety Net option to off and it'll only copy files that have changed since last back up, and should remove any files from destination that are no longer on the source etc

 

[Alrescha]

If you are comfortable with Terminal, you can do this with software included with OS X, e.g:

rsync -av yoursourcedirectory /Volumes/yourbackupdisk

If you would like to delete files on the backup disk that have been deleted from the source, add "--delete", e.g.:

rsync -av --delete-after yoursourcedirectory /Volumes/yourbackupdisk

If you prefer a GUI, there are some front-ends for rsync such as the free BackupList+:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/21413/backuplist

A.

 

[Weaselboy]

+1 for CCC to do this. The whole thing can be automated and saved as a "task".

Just to expand a bit on what snorkelman said, you could setup CCC to copy folders A B C to disk 1 as one task, then folders D E F to disk 2 as another task.

 

[elgrayso]

yes that all sounds perfect. i will get CCC!
i have already done it manually (drag and drop) the first time, will i need to start from scratch next time when i use CCC? or will it work as long as the folder structures are the same

 

[Weaselboy]

yes that all sounds perfect. i will get CCC!
i have already done it manually (drag and drop) the first time, will i need to start from scratch next time when i use CCC? or will it work as long as the folder structures are the same

As long as you select the same folders, you don't need to start over. CCC will compare what is there and only move over new data/changes.