New computer time (help)

[TravelGal]

Ya'll know that I know just enough to be dangerous but not enough to walk into a store with confidence.

I need a new laptop. I must buy it this year to maximize expenses for income tax purposes. What to get???? Dual core. beyond that??????

Price range up to $1,000 more or less, preferably less, but well, you know....

Important:

Large hard drive (at least blowing away this 30 mb. dammit but gig at first. lol)
Processing speed
Very good to excellent video (to export to TV)
Ability to run several programs at once (Word, Excel, content rich websites)
15" screen
DVD or ?
Usual ports: printer, microphone, speakers, camera
Whatever else I'm forgetting/don't even know about.

I don't play video games, swap mega-files, or download music. Battery life is not hugely important but weight is. The lighter the better.

Is this do-able on my budget? What else do I look for? Any brands you like? I'm not a fan of Dell or Gateway.

From my first computer 12 years ago until now I had all my computers built for me at PC Club. The went bust so I don't have any place to go for honest advice except here to OC. (I try to read PC World but my eyes glaze over.)

OH, and any recommendations for external hard drives or back up services? Clearly, I don't have all that much. 3 computers with a total of less than 1 gig.

[Stu]

Ya'll know that I know just enough to be dangerous but not enough to walk into a store with confidence.

I need a new laptop. I must buy it this year to maximize expenses for income tax purposes. What to get???? Dual core. beyond that??????

Price range up to $1,000 more or less, preferably less, but well, you know....

Important:

Large hard drive (at least blowing away this 30 mb. dammit but gig at first. lol)
Processing speed
Very good to excellent video (to export to TV)
Ability to run several programs at once (Word, Excel, content rich websites)
15" screen
DVD or ?
Usual ports: printer, microphone, speakers, camera
Whatever else I'm forgetting/don't even know about.

I don't play video games, swap mega-files, or download music. Battery life is not hugely important but weight is. The lighter the better.

Is this do-able on my budget? What else do I look for? Any brands you like? I'm not a fan of Dell or Gateway.

From my first computer 12 years ago until now I had all my computers built for me at PC Club. The went bust so I don't have any place to go for honest advice except here to OC. (I try to read PC World but my eyes glaze over.)

OH, and any recommendations for external hard drives or back up services? Clearly, I don't have all that much. 3 computers with a total of less than 1 gig.

for those specs you should be more in the 4-500 range.

[TravelGal]

for those specs you should be more in the 4-500 range.

Well that's good news. "Let's buy two" (with apologies to Ernie Banks)

But what do I buy? There must be some specs to look for on the video cards??

[Stu]

Well that's good news. "Let's buy two" (with apologies to Ernie Banks)

But what do I buy? There must be some specs to look for on the video cards??

what type of video will you be outputting to your tv? hd movies? youtube?

[Methanolandbrats]

Find a local computer shop and have one built to order. It will be cheaper, upgradeable and come loaded with useful software.

[nrc]

It's not clear from your post, but it sounds like you're looking for a laptop.

I have a hard time recommending laptops. Just when I think I have one that I can recommend they either change it completely or I have some kind of problem. My current HP, which I've had a couple of years of good service from, now has video problem.

My view on laptops is that they are going to break. It's just a question of when. So buy one with a good warranty and the features that you need from a company with a good reputation for customer service. Consider an extended warranty. Normally I never buy extended warranties, but I make an exception for portable electronics with hard drives.

This article (http://archive.laptopmag.com/Features/Tech-Support-Showdown.htm) rates Apple, Lenovo, Fujitsu as tops in tech support. I really liked the old Thinkpads when it was IBM, but I can't vouch for them since.

For backups I like Western Digital's MyBook series of external USB drives. They're cheap and I've had no problems. I can't vouch for the software they provide with them since I do it myself. :)

[Methanolandbrats]

Backup............... Get a WD My Book, One TB for $125. Use Acronis to back up all your puters to that drive.

[Indy]

Mac.

[TravelGal]

Find a local computer shop and have one built to order. It will be cheaper, upgradeable and come loaded with useful software.

I'd like to do that. What I'm looking for is advice on what to ask them to put into it.

Boss, yes, it's a laptop I need to buy. It is still working well enough but I need to keep one at my mother's so I figure I'll leave this and buy a new, nicer one. (I am tired of taking it through TSA inspections every 6-8 weeks when I visit my mom and I need the room in my carryon for incidentals since I've left enough clothes there that I don't need to check luggage on visits to her.) I sure miss PC Club because they made good stuff and, as you say, they had great customer service. I have a 3 year old desktop and TravelGuy has a 6 year old desktop from them. Neither have ever crashed (nor has this laptop). Now they are getting a bit creaking and the shop's gone. :cry:

Stu, video to TV would be almost entirely TV shows I've missed. Now that there's no Race Director, that is. Various sites have episodes to download and I'd like to run it through the TV rather than squinting at the laptop.

Two votes for My Book for back up. :)

Indy, I considered chucking the PC's altogether and getting 3 new Macs. My wallet rebelled.

[SurfaceUnits]

Check out the Lenovo IdeaPads
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=C46D71ACFD7C4475B8E490358F8CA8C3


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146497
This one has all you listed and a little more for $550 AR

Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T3200 processor ( 2GHz 667MHz 1MB )
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
15.4 WXGA TFT LCD Glossy 1280x800 with integrated camera 1.3MP
Intel Integrated Graphics X4500
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
250GB 54004
DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) 24X Max
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 5100
6 Cell Lithium-Ion
One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)7

Video Port 1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI
Dolby Home Theatre 2 Certification Array
Built in Microphone with Echo Cancellation and Noise Reduction
4 stereo speakers + 1 sub-woofer
6-in-1 card reader(SD/SD pro, MS/MS pro, MMC, xD)

[opinionated ow]

Whatever you do, don't touch ACER with a forty foot barge pole!

[TravelGal]

Before I posted, I reread a lot of stuff and read again your battles with your Acer, OOW. Definitely put me off the brand even though it appears to be reasonably okay for other buyers.

Surface Units, you're a doll. I copied this and will either buy it online or use it as a basis to hit the local stores once the shopping madness dies down a bit.

Anyone have any other thoughts?

My last thought is, am I going to shoot myself in the foot by having one computer with Vista and two with XP Home on the same network, all working the same 3 printers? Any compatibility issues?

[FTG]

am I going to shoot myself in the foot by having one computer with Vista and two with XP Home on the same network, all working the same 3 printers? Any compatibility issues?

No.

Most notebooks, regardless of brand, are made by a handful of Chinese companies (so whatever you buy may end up coming off the exact same manufacturing line as an Acer anyway.) you're not running any intensive applications, so you'll be fine as long as you DONT run Vista on a cheap computer that's barely capable of running Vista.

[TravelGal]

Thanks FTG. It concerned me because (totally unrelated, I'm sure), I bought a new router from NewEgg when my last one konked out. Linksys no longer supported that model and even using the expert help from OC, when a port quit, it was finished. Nothing has worked properly since installing the new, improved, highly sophisticated one. It seems to route to whatever it pleases, not the devices hardwired into it. There are workarounds but I'd rather the dang thing just worked!

[SurfaceUnits]

Lenovo manufactured IBM's computers for years and bought the company when IBM decided to sell out.

[dando]

Check out the Lenovo IdeaPads
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=C46D71ACFD7C4475B8E490358F8CA8C3


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146497
This one has all you listed and a little more for $550 AR

Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T3200 processor ( 2GHz 667MHz 1MB )
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
15.4 WXGA TFT LCD Glossy 1280x800 with integrated camera 1.3MP
Intel Integrated Graphics X4500
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
250GB 54004
DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) 24X Max
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 5100
6 Cell Lithium-Ion
One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)7

Video Port 1 x VGA, 1 x HDMI
Dolby Home Theatre 2 Certification Array
Built in Microphone with Echo Cancellation and Noise Reduction
4 stereo speakers + 1 sub-woofer
6-in-1 card reader(SD/SD pro, MS/MS pro, MMC, xD)

Great specs, but I can't find any review 411 on it. In any case, that's a goodie config.

-Kevin

[OW]

Most if not all Laptops have an extra Video port....

Since great laptops (as suggested are $4-5-600) ...
Buy an extra 22" lcd ($2-250) and you will love the extented display real estate when you are home.

I do it all the time.

OW

[TravelGal]

Great specs, but I can't find any review 411 on it. In any case, that's a goodie config.

-Kevin

Me either. What I'm seeing seems to be newer versions @ $150 more.


Most if not all Laptops have an extra Video port....

Since great laptops (as suggested are $4-5-600) ...
Buy an extra 22" lcd ($2-250) and you will love the extented display real estate when you are home.

I do it all the time.

OW

Excellent idea. Travel Guy will do this for certain.

Update: Having looked through the Sunday ads, I can find the WD My Books in all sizes and configurations. The 1T with Acronis software seems to come up to less $$$ than the 1T Mirror Edition Dual-drive with RAID but I am preparing myself to buy the latter for ease of use. It seems to be made for people like me who do not want to mess with software (the Acronis got fairly awful reviews on its site) and has all the newest bells and whistles.

Still looking at laptop ads. Will hit the stores later today, armed with Surface Unit's specifications.

[G.]

This (http://officedepot.shoplocal.com/officedepot/Default.aspx?action=browsepagedetail&storeid=2279600&rapid=628615&pagenumber=1&listingid=-2090600008)caught my eye (for the parents), but a bit more researching is required...

Sorry. Maybe fixed??


$399.99
After $75 Instant & $105 in (2) Mail-In Savings
( In Store Price $504.99)
thru Dec 6
15.4" SCREEN
2GB MEMORY
160GB HARD DRIVE
- nVidia® Ge-Force™ graphics card, Wireless-G networking, Windows® Vista Premium
Model CQ50-210US

[cameraman]

This (http://officedepot.shoplocal.com/officedepot/default.aspx?action=entryflash&SiteID=145&PretailerID=-99860&CityStateZip=&sid=0tix8QF9SNLvrf41yrLJYqR&odserver=www.officedepot.com)caught my eye (for the parents), but a bit more researching is required...

That links to the weekly ad. The entire weekly ad.

[G.]

That links to the weekly ad. The entire weekly ad.
Sorry, I was mucking around and got lost.

If it still shows the whole add, then it's a cache thing on my end, and you're on your own.

I must say though, if it does still have the full ad, try looking at the first page (cover) up at the top. That outta do it.

[Robstar]

I'd also think about getting extra RAM if you're going to be running Vista... You should notice a huge increase in speed...

[TravelGal]

I'd also think about getting extra RAM if you're going to be running Vista... You should notice a huge increase in speed...

This is pretty much what the guy at Circuit City told me. I got to Office Max, Best Buy, and Circuit City. Of course, I couldn't find exactly what S U had listed but I did see Y530-5243U. The knowledgeable young chap (not on commission) said the key points were that Vista runs better with at least 3G memory and the Core 2 Duo with 64 bit processor. [edit: and the 4 GB for the Vista, of course.] I agreed. You all know I don't buy computers often so I'd like to get the incoming technology instead of the outgoing. 320GB hard drive is only 10.6 times larger than the one I'm typing on. LOL!

Intel Core 2 Duo T5800
• Built-in 802.11n wireless
• Burns DVDs/CDs• 320GB hard drive
• 4GB of DDR2 memory
• Face verification security

[ChampcarShark]

My $0.02

I recently bought a laptop, about a year ago, to replace one whose video port went bad.

I was a little skeptical with Vista, but after filling the RAM with the max memory, 2 gigs, and stripping all the extras, like games, special offers, trial software etc. etc., I have had no problems running office 2007, flv video, and open office presentations.

Have converted a few flv downloads into DVD thru the included Roxio My DVD, after converting the flv to WMV (using WinFF), but it is a little time consuming.

I use it mainly to write and create power point presentations, hook it up to a projector and sometimes watch downloaded flv videos.

Got it at $700 at circuit city, original config. Compaq, 1 GB memory, 60 GB hard drive, DVD double layer burner, lighscribe. AMD processor.

[Insomniac]

Not sure if you bought one yet, but I'll toss in some thoughts.

The newer Centrino 2 CPUs can easily play back HD video.

160-320 GB HDs should be common. (HD size doubles roughly every 18-24 months, so 10x bigger than your current drive is a significant increase.)

I see where nrc is coming from on the warranty (I did the same thing on my laptop), but if you're buying a laptop for $500, it may not be worth another $300 to extend the warranty to 3 or 4 years. There's no telling when something might break (in my opinion, it's either random or an across the board flaw requiring a recall or class action suit) but for near the cost of the warranty you could replace the laptop (with a newer/faster one) if repairing it is cost prohibitive.

The lighter you want, generally means more $$$ and smaller screen sizes.

[cameraman]

We have bought several HP Compaq 6910P notebooks for the lab over the last couple of weeks and everyone seems quite happy. I don't know what they cost but they seem to be quite nice.

They were $749.
PC Connection 8726113 to be exact

2GHz Intel Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / 2GB DDR2 SDRAM / 80GB Hard Drive / DVD-ROM:saywhat:
14.1in 1280 x 800 Display / ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 / IEEE 802.11a+b+g
Windows Vista Business, Win XP Pro / 4.7lb(s) / 3 Years Warranty

It has only a DVD-ROM though. It can't burn a disk so I am at a loss as to why people bought them:confused:

That strikes me as just idiotic.
Whatever

I use a 17" MacBook Pro
with Windows XP pro if need be.

[TravelGal]

I have not done the deed yet because I was busy yesterday and am under the weather today. I appreciate the comments from Insomniac and Cameraman. I can be excitable and buy too much so it's good to have some levelheaded advice.

Right now my main concern is what to get for a back up. I looked at the WD My Books. At least 20 of them. At first I liked the 1T Mirror drive (two 500's). Very pricey. I finally decided that is not as important as reliability and the ability to network it. I like the router/back up in one unit a la Linksys. :) Any comments on that idea -- besides having a professional install this so I don't have a stroke trying to make it work?

[SurfaceUnits]

Check out something like this:

Buffalo 500GB (NAS) USB 2.0 External Hard Drive ( HS-DH500GL )
500GB Capacity, 10 / 100 / 1,000Mbps Transmission Speed (LAN) 480MBps Transmission Speed (USB), USB 2.0 Hi-Speed/LAN Interface Type
http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp=42514835&navid=155441524 (for example only) Recertified 90 day warranty only

More NAS storage
http://www.smarterdeals.com/hardware/goods-sc_id-6590.html

[KLang]

I've had a Buffalo NAS for a couple years now. No problems so far.

I also attached a USB drive (you can use two) to the NAS and the NAS backs itself up to the USB drive. Double protection.

[Insomniac]

I have not done the deed yet because I was busy yesterday and am under the weather today. I appreciate the comments from Insomniac and Cameraman. I can be excitable and buy too much so it's good to have some levelheaded advice.

Right now my main concern is what to get for a back up. I looked at the WD My Books. At least 20 of them. At first I liked the 1T Mirror drive (two 500's). Very pricey. I finally decided that is not as important as reliability and the ability to network it. I like the router/back up in one unit a la Linksys. :) Any comments on that idea -- besides having a professional install this so I don't have a stroke trying to make it work?

The mirroring is nice because it gives you reliability. The data is on both drives and the likelihood of both dying simultaneously (or before you can replace the dead drive) is low. The drawback being you cut your storage in half (2 500GB drives = 500GB of storage) which drives up cost per GB. One other benefit is your data is read much faster.

An all-in-one solution will usually be more expensive, but you generally get something that is quick and easy to set up and software to automate back-ups. (Note that you can DIY and there is a lot of good, free backup software, so it isn't the exclusive domain of all-in-one products.)

Do you want to backup your data, share the data with other machines 24/7. If you don't need to share the data 24/7, you may not need network attached storage. A portable hard drive would likely work well for you. You leave it connected to the machine and if needed you can hook it up to other machines to get data from it. You could also back up data to DVDs for redundancy/safe keeping off site.

The Linksys NAS doesn't seem to get the best reviews. The biggest complaints being it is slow and loud. The D-Link DNS-323 seems to be a good one, but it does cost more. Also note for both, you still need to purchase and install (it's straight forward) drives.

[TravelGal]

D-Link DNS-323 seems to be a good one, but it does cost more. Also note for both, you still need to purchase and install (it's straight forward) drives.

Looks yummy, a few carping reviews notwithstanding. If I purchase this, I need two SATA drives. Any particular manufacturer?

I'm always concerned about compatibility and see a few things about Windows not reading the external drives correctly. This will be backing up 1 Vista and 2 Windows XP Svc Pack 2 computers. Any issues?

[G.]

All this hijax about backups reminded me that it's been too long.

So I back it up.

Final tally:
Full Backup run time = 12 hrs
data to be backed up = 144 GB
data actually backed up = 0 B
USB ports that work ok, like they used to = 0

Puter case rattling noise (or is it the drive...?) = more ominous.

:D

I got some stuff to fix.

Been meaning to get a better ext. HD...

[Insomniac]

Looks yummy, a few carping reviews notwithstanding. If I purchase this, I need two SATA drives. Any particular manufacturer?

I'm always concerned about compatibility and see a few things about Windows not reading the external drives correctly. This will be backing up 1 Vista and 2 Windows XP Svc Pack 2 computers. Any issues?

I generally don't recommend any brands for hard disks. Between all the people I know, I bet I can ask them all about a particular brand and there will be a group of people who would swear that brand is terrible and others who would say they've never had a problem.Looking at D-Link's web site, they have a list (http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=2399&question=DNS-323) of drives that they have tested and others have reported as working.

You should be OK with a NAS solution. Generally the drives are simply mapped as network drives which as far as I know, all modern OSs do no problem. The product support page (http://support.dlink.com/products/view.asp?productid=DNS-323) seems to make it very straightforward to do, explicitly listing XP and Vista as supported OSs for the bundled software.

[nrc]

For NAS storage I've had my eye on ReadyNAS (http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage.aspx) from Netgear. One of the nicer but more expensive consumer NAS units.

[Insomniac]

For NAS storage I've had my eye on ReadyNAS (http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage.aspx) from Netgear. One of the nicer but more expensive consumer NAS units.

You aren't kidding. When I finally have to upgrade I was planning to just build a storage server. 8 bays, start with 3 1TB drives in RAID 5. Seemed simpler, cheaper and much more functional. I'm surprised you're looking at all-in-one solutions.

[nrc]

You aren't kidding. When I finally have to upgrade I was planning to just build a storage server. 8 bays, start with 3 1TB drives in RAID 5. Seemed simpler, cheaper and much more functional. I'm surprised you're looking at all-in-one solutions.

I've considered something home brew, but I don't want another computer running all the time. Right now I just have a small box running with a couple of USB drives hanging off it. An appliance would be nice.

The benefit of the ReadyNAS is that they use their own RAID scheme called XRAID. XRAID provides automatic growth of RAID sets just by swapping in larger drives. They also have better support for non-Windows clients than most consumer NAS solutions.

[SurfaceUnits]

LENOVO is having a hugemongous sale that ends at midnite

http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=BEIsFo4E5SdCRI4GCM6KmraoJ0da-euGCu4EKrv2D5gXwo1cIABABGAEgpKmsAygCMAE4AVCUm9CNA2 DJ3q-I9KPAEMgBAcgCseazBtkDejOBrlDJ9ErgAxA&ggladgrp=2841273904036621995&gglcreat=15748560324787347797&sig=AGiWqtwaYUkPAowHjb_NffOJ4nSHEgcI0Q&q=http://shop.lenovo.com/us/landing_pages/sales/YPWWP%3Fcid%3Dus%7Csemd%7Cggl%7Cus_ibm_thinkpad_ec _en%7Ct1131%7Cs%26%26s_kwcid%3Dibm%2520lenovo%2520 think%2520pad%7C2596485421

Deep Discounts & Free Shipping on All ThinkPads w/ Intel Technology.

[SurfaceUnits]

If any of you are in the market for something ultra portable(3.5lbs) and cheap, checkout manu recertified Thinkpad tablet for $380.00

https://www.ecost.com/Detail.aspx?EDP=43021928

[Insomniac]

I've considered something home brew, but I don't want another computer running all the time. Right now I just have a small box running with a couple of USB drives hanging off it. An appliance would be nice.

The benefit of the ReadyNAS is that they use their own RAID scheme called XRAID. XRAID provides automatic growth of RAID sets just by swapping in larger drives. They also have better support for non-Windows clients than most consumer NAS solutions.

Yeah, that is the drawback of a 2nd machine. I envisioned mine as the digital storage hub. HD movies, music, DVR storage, etc. I'll have to read up on XRAID.

[TravelGal]

Jeez, scared me to pieces with the notice of that sale but I check the Lenovo site and they are not selling the unit I bought yesterday. There is something pretty close for $80 less but it doesn't have as powerful a processor. It may have been a better bargain but at least I've got mine right here, sitting in its cute little box, waiting for me to get to it next week, rather than waiting for it to get to me next week (or the week after).

The laugh of the whole episode is that one prime reason we wanted a powerful laptop was to watch TV episodes on our TV. Come to find out, our TV cannot accept HDMI so we had to buy two (or was it three?) cables to do a workaround. Eventually we'll have to upgrade the TV to keep up with the computer. LOL LOL.

Also, I decided to defer the external hard drive and go with individual flash drives for each computer for the moment. I have very little data and simply didn't feel I had a handle on how to do use the mirrored, networked, external drives capably. Considering I dont do anything at the moment except back up on discs every 3 - 4 months (horrors!), these will be a great improvement until I'm ready to jump into the next phase.

I literally could not have done this without your help. Going into the stores armed with enough knowledge to define a small range of possibilities made the final choice actually fairly simple. Thank you all again. You're the best.

[SurfaceUnits]

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5800 ( 2GHz 800MHz 2MB )
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 6412
15.4 WXGA TFT with integrated camera AntiGlare 1280x800
NVIDIA GeForce 9300M 256MB
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz 8
320GB 54004
DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) 24X Max5
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 510010
6 Cell Lithium-Ion60
One year parts and labor (system battery: one year

Subtotal: $1,049.00
Sale Price: $764.10

eCoupon:
Apply
Note: The eCoupon code is case sensitive

[USPBMCIDEA] -$200.00
Estimated total: $564.10*

[G.]

An all-in-one solution will usually be more expensive, but you generally get something that is quick and easy to set up and software to automate back-ups. (Note that you can DIY and there is a lot of good, free backup software, so it isn't the exclusive domain of all-in-one products.)

Any faves?

[Insomniac]

Any faves?

I basically have a set of folders I backup to a DVDRW once a week. I just overwrite what was on it before. What are you looking to do? Do you want a record/archive of each backup? Just the most recent files?

I have friends who use SyncBack (http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware). It gets the job done and it can be scheduled. If you want to backup to DVD/CD media, it has to be formatted as UDF so the disc looks like a drive. Also, if you schedule it, the disc must be in the drive. (That's the reason I just do it manually with a burning program.)

[Methanolandbrats]

Acronis to Mybooks for backing up my whole network. Backs up all your drives and all your computers. Does it while you sleep. Drive crash? No big deal, bolt in a new one and image it back. Works great.

[G.]

I basically have a set of folders I backup to a DVDRW once a week. I just overwrite what was on it before. What are you looking to do? Do you want a record/archive of each backup? Just the most recent files?

I have friends who use SyncBack (http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html#freeware). It gets the job done and it can be scheduled. If you want to backup to DVD/CD media, it has to be formatted as UDF so the disc looks like a drive. Also, if you schedule it, the disc must be in the drive. (That's the reason I just do it manually with a burning program.)I am having trouble with my (rather small) ext. drive from Simple Tech. It came with BU SW that can compress, encrypt, etc.

Since I was having trouble with the drive, I just bought a new WD 1TB drive. It comes with nothing. I want to do occasional BU's, like once a month. I don't save tons to the HD, so that's prolly enough. I also have the habit of doing a BU, then storing the ext. HD in a firesafe.

A few residual copies would be nice, but I'm more worried about the int. HD going "poof". I'll also do BU's on 2 computers. Neither are heavily used. I keep all SD drives with pics (in the firesafe) and just do 'net, music, simple docs, homework for kids, etc.

Reminder is ok, don't really need auto-BU.

I'm a pretty low-HP user.

[KLang]

I've been trying out Acronis and it should do what you want if you don't mind the $50.

[Insomniac]

I am having trouble with my (rather small) ext. drive from Simple Tech. It came with BU SW that can compress, encrypt, etc.

Since I was having trouble with the drive, I just bought a new WD 1TB drive. It comes with nothing. I want to do occasional BU's, like once a month. I don't save tons to the HD, so that's prolly enough. I also have the habit of doing a BU, then storing the ext. HD in a firesafe.

A few residual copies would be nice, but I'm more worried about the int. HD going "poof". I'll also do BU's on 2 computers. Neither are heavily used. I keep all SD drives with pics (in the firesafe) and just do 'net, music, simple docs, homework for kids, etc.

Reminder is ok, don't really need auto-BU.

I'm a pretty low-HP user.

Seems like some simple software will do the job. You want something that you can select folders/files to backup and then just be able to do that when you want. You'd have to take the external drive over to each computer and run it, but you should be able to create folders on the 1TB drive (Computer1, Computer2, etc.) and then set up the same software on each machine, but choose the appropriate things to backup.

This will backup the most recent data and it will never be any bigger than the original files. If you want to say go back a couple months, then you want to look for incremental backup software (I'm not really familiar with any) that makes the initial backup then from then on the backups are just the differences. It's efficient (space wise) and gives you a historical archive.