Can someone explain backups for me?

[mistercrabb]

Sorry about this, it seems like it should be really simple.
I have 4 Win7 machines that I would like to backup to a network drive (Home Server 2011).
The Microsoft backup utility is completely useless because I'm using Home Premium, so I can't use that.

So I have been trying to find some freeware that can accomplish this. First of all I wanted to perform full and differential backups of whole hard drives but apparently this isn't possible without spending ~£400 on a 5-license backup program.

So, a backup of the users folder appears to be my only option. Except the free backup utilities I have tried so far just throw errors at me. Either to do with locked files, or they just don't have access to folders due to user permissions.

Do I have to make a new user account to run the backup program, and then give it ownership of the whole /users directory to get rid of the permissions problem ?
I really don't want to do that, and I'm sure I'm approaching this wrong as I have 4 computers that I can't backup.

So far I've tried Macrium reflect, Syncback free, and a couple others I can't remember.

Can anyone help? Sorry again for what is probably a very simple problem. I just want to be able to regularly backup my computers for free (whole HDD differential backup preferably, otherwise just the users directory).

Cheeers.

 

[KIA]

http://www.acronis.co.uk/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

 

[tribz]

I think the home premium version works fine with Home Server backup unless I'm misunderstanding you.

http://www.addictivetips.com/window...e-backup-options-in-windows-home-server-2011/

 

[mistercrabb]

http://www.acronis.co.uk/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

£130 is a bit higher than my intended budget of £0...

I think the home premium version works fine with Home Server backup unless I'm misunderstanding you.

http://www.addictivetips.com/window...e-backup-options-in-windows-home-server-2011/

Sorry I forgot to add, I am running an apache server on my home server, which meant I had to kill the microsoft http server, which means I can't use the connector utility which in turn won't allow me to register PCs with the server. So the backup program won't see the computers to backup. Even if I corrected this it doesn't look like there's an option to specify where it saves backups?

 

[zakblood]

h88p://www.downloadcrew.com/article/11973-gfi_backup_freeware_edition_2011

might fit your budget and works with your setup

 

[KIA]

£130 is a bit higher than my intended budget of £0...

Incremental system imaging isn't free.

 

[mistercrabb]

Incremental system imaging isn't free.

I know, which is why I said I would settle for just mirroring the users directory..
I just don't understand why Windows won't allow freeware backup programs access to the entire users directory on all 4 of my computers.

Is there some obscure permissions setting I have to change in windows to allow this?

Edit: Since my last restart Syncback free seems to be able to backup the entire /users directory on at least one of my PCs. I have no idea why as I haven't changed anything...
Now it just won't save to the network drive that I have full permissions for. I hate networks -_-

 

[matthab]

Time for you to learn robocopy.

 

[thenewoc]

I'd look at crashplan as you can use the free version to backup to an alternative system and with the paid version to the cloud.