Backing up over a network

spleenharvester · 15 May 2009 at 16:56

I'm tempted to buy a 250gb SATA-II disc and put it in an enclosure, for backup. I want to backup this PC, my laptop, and my brother's PC to it - they are all on a network. How would I go about doing this? Would I need an Ethernet enclosure? thanks.

Paul11 · 15 May 2009 at 16:59

you have 3 options

1) get a usb drive and move it from pc to pc to back up to it

2) get a usb drive and leave it on one pc and let the others access it over the network

3) get a NAS drive and put it on your router and let all pcs access it over the network

i would say it sounds like a NAS drive on your network would be the best option as you could all access it and backup to it as and when you wanted, you could even automate a backup routine with syncback, syntoy or robocopy

and then it doesnt need any of the others pcs to be on to access it. .

spleenharvester · 15 May 2009 at 17:04

#2 was my plan, yes. But how would I go about doing it? I have a 2.5" 30gb drive here I can try stuff out on.

Paul11 · 15 May 2009 at 17:18

if you already have the network set up

put the external drive on to a pc, and share it (right click, sharing) and allow it be seen on the network

then the other pcs should see it in the network neighbourhood

you can also map a drive letter to it on the other pcs so it shows up in "my computer" as a drive

remember, you will have to leave it and the pc its connected too, on the whole time for the other pcs to have access to it

spleenharvester · 15 May 2009 at 17:26

Q - I am using Win 7, how do I get to the sharing network area? Looks like it wasn't connected after all.

Paul11 · 15 May 2009 at 17:29

my computer
network
network and sharing center

should all be in there

im just popping out , ill look in more detail when i get back (if no one else has posted by then)

spleenharvester · 15 May 2009 at 18:31

Ok,
I have got the drive shared over the network - problem is, if I try to access the PC with the hard drive attached, it asks for a username and password, which I did not set. If I right click I just get an option to create shortcut. How do I stop this?

miniyazz · 15 May 2009 at 19:15

Have to disable password protected sharing in Network and Sharing Centre or suchlike. Else it's your username/password. If you don't have a password and disabling the password protected sharing doesn't work, could try setting one then using control userpasswords2 for automatic logon or something..

spleenharvester · 15 May 2009 at 19:39

Thanks, fixed the problem.
However, I'm trying to map the drive and it seems to be getting somewhere, however two problems - 1) It will show as "disconnected" until I access it, and from then on it will be connected and 2) It will not show up on the other PCs, but only in my PC in My Computer. I can access via the shared folder but it does not show up in My Computer on the other PCs.

miniyazz · 15 May 2009 at 21:12

In the properties of the mapped drive (or when you connect, something like that) there's a connect at startup checkbox, which should obv be checked, that should sort that out.
As for the other PCs, you'll need to map the drive on those computers too, in a similar way, probably via shared folder.

spleenharvester · 15 May 2009 at 21:36

Will try the mapping thing thing in a minute. However, I can't find the startup option :confused:

EDIT: tried the mapping thing, but just get "Cannot access Z:\ - Access is denied" I have given full permission etc.

JonJ678 · 15 May 2009 at 21:49

NAS is a better call for slightly higher cost, it'll be plug in and forget rather than needing one computer on all the time.
Plus, whatever terrible thing kills your data, it's unlikely to get your router. It might however get a usb hard drive

miniyazz · 15 May 2009 at 22:24

I've not needed to map a network drive since XP, friend of mine has a couple mapped on Vista though, should be the same on 7. Can't remember quite where the option is, just know there is one.. so maybe some1 else can help you there!

spleenharvester · 15 May 2009 at 22:53

I've disabled firewall and enabled just about every permission there is, but I still get "Access denied" when it is accessed from the other PCs. I can access the PC and look through the shared folders but the hard drive is just giving the error.

spleenharvester · 15 May 2009 at 23:31

Christ, I'm sick of this, I'm going to bed. Might give it another try in the morning - Sick of trying to remove permissions which don't appear to exist.

JonJ678 · 16 May 2009 at 00:42

Windows shares are a lot easier if you use the same username, and ideally password on each machine. In fact I've never managed to do it any other way.

Under XP, there is a console command available
net use x: \\vboxsvr\data will map folder shared under the name data, as drive x:, from the computer named vboxsvr. The \\ then \ are important, as is x: rather than x:\
I'd be surprised if this is not valid under later versions of windows, it's definitely worth a shot.

spleenharvester · 16 May 2009 at 12:24

Thanks for the suggestions, didn't work though.
I've got to the bit where it says "permissions for External Hard Drive (\\SOUTHBOUND29)", and if I try to add a new permission I get the dialog box with "Location..." in it. When I click this only my computer shows, and none of the networked PCs. How can I fix this? thanks.