# Fastest Method To Transfer/Backup Data To External Drive



## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Once a week I backup all my Libraries to an external SSD (from my internal SSD)

I simply use copy/paste from File Explorer (I'm using Windows 10 Pro)

The transfer rate varies from 50Mb/s to 140Mb/s and seems to take a long time (10-20 mins).

40Gb of data

Is there a speedier way to do this.

Also, if my internal drive was M2, would this make any difference.

Tommy


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

A free backup 3rd party app would do it automatically.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

1) What is the make and model number of the external drive?

2) How do you have the external drive connected to your computer?


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

SpywareDr said:


> 1) What is the make and model number of the external drive?
> 
> 2) How do you have the external drive connected to your computer?


Hi SpywareDr
It's a Toshiba DTB410 (1Tb) drive and I use the USB Cable supplied with the drive.
Tommy


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

The USB 2.0 interface can do up to 480 Mb/s and USB 3.0 up to 5,000 Mb/s.(5 Gb/s).

Internally the Toshiba DTB410 contains a 5,400 RPM (read _s-l-o-w_) hard drive.


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

SpywareDr said:


> The USB 2.0 interface can do up to 480 Mb/s and USB 3.0 up to 5,000 Mb/s.(5 Gb/s).
> 
> Internally the Toshiba DTB410 contains a 5,400 RPM (read _s-l-o-w_) hard drive.


Thanks SpywareDr
As far as I am aware, I am connecting from USB3 to USB3
UPDATED: I thought the Toshiba was an SSD.
If I would replace the external backup drive, what would be the speed I should be looking for?
I assume as I am backing up TO the external drive, then it is WRITE speed I should be paying attention to.

Tommy


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

If you don't need portability, then an internal SSD drive would be the quickest transfer rate


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

spunk.funk said:


> If you don't need portability, then an internal SSD drive would be the quickest transfer rate


Thanks spunk.funk

I have a preference to have an external backup.

Tommy


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

For sure. A SSD is roughly 100 times faster than a HDD.

SATA Revision 2.0 3 Gbit/s 300 MB/s 
SATA Revision 3.0 6 Gbit/s 600 MB/s

USB 2.0 high speed 480 Mbit/s 60 MB/s 
USB 3.0 SuperSpeed 5 Gbit/s 500 MB/s 
USB 3.1 SuperSpeed+ 10 Gbit/s 1.212 GB/s 

What is the Difference Between SSD and HDD?


> SSD vs HDD Speed
> 
> Hard drive speeds are measured in MegaBytes per second or MBps. There are several factors that affect SSD vs HDD speeds.
> 
> ...


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks SpywareDr
Am I incorrect that the Toshiba is NIT a SSD?
Any recommendations for an external SSD for backup purposes?
Tommy


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

tomohawk said:


> Thanks SpywareDr


You're welcome. 

--



tomohawk said:


> Am I incorrect that the Toshiba is NIT a SSD?


Toshiba.com > *Toshiba Canvio® Basics Portable Hard Drive*

--



tomohawk said:


> Any recommendations for an external SSD for backup purposes?


TechRadar.com *Best portable SSD of 2021: top external solid state drives*


> 1. Samsung T5 SSD
> Our pick for the best portable SSD
> ...


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks again


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Sorry, but can I ask a follow up question so that I get my thinking sorted out.
Assume USB3 connection to PC.
You mentioned earlier RPM indicated a slow speed
The spec of the Toshiba states "Interface Transfer Rate Up to 5 Gbit/s (USB 3.0)"
I'm kinda confused.
Am I interpreting the specs wrong?
Also, when I buy an external SSD, what kind of transfer rate should I be looking for.
Tommy


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

A SATA III connection is capable of transferring data at up to a maximum of 5 to 600 MBps. However, the RPM of the HDD platters determines the throughput. A hard drive with a 5,400 RPM is only capable of around 100MBps.


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Appreciate the clarification. Thanks


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)




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## HavFun (Oct 26, 2009)

Copy-Paste is slower than using ANY half-reasonable backup software. However, you won't experience a huge reduction in time-to-backup by switching to backup software. The REAL fast way to backup is to use intelligent backup software that looks at dates files were last backed-up and if the file on the computer is the same file already on the backup drive, the software moves on to the next tile without doing the unnecessary data transfer. THAT ability can speed the backup considerably. There are dozens of free backup software options. You just have to use care to download the app from a safe location like download.com or a few others. Another advantage to backup software is that you can set most of them up to do "background" backup where the software backs-up files at top speed when you aren't doing anything with the computer, but the software slows down if you start doing other things that require moving data. That way you can let the backup run in the background without interrupting anything else you do.


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## SoCalBryan (Jun 28, 2020)

tomohawk said:


> Once a week I backup all my Libraries to an external SSD (from my internal SSD)
> 
> I simply use copy/paste from File Explorer (I'm using Windows 10 Pro)
> 
> ...


Is this a laptop or PC? 

If its a PC then you could get a hot swap bay then just plug in a backup harddrive. This is what I do. Then store the hard drive in a safe place. Just got this Silverstome Hot swap adapter for new new PC.

Next I use TeraCopy version 2.3 for all my copying. It has two great featues fast copying and most import it verifies all the files with CRC checking to make sure you get an exact copy.

Nothing is as fast an as accurate for copying IMO, whether PC to USB or Laptop to USB. I don't like the new user interface of version 3.8.2. 

If your making a backup to another drive Teracopy is the Bees Knees.


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks for the auto backup advice HavFun and SoCalBryan. It sounds like a nice solution, except that I use POP3 for my e-mail (I'm not getting into the IMAP argument). I open Outlook app when I log on each morning and I close it when I'm logging off. This locks the PST file, so it would never get backed up.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

Macrium Reflect is one backup program that uses the Shadow Copy service included in Microsoft Windows. It allows creating backup copies of files even when they are in use.

More info:







Shadow Copy - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org










Macrium Reflect - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org





Macrium Reflect Free​


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks SpywareDr


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

No problem.


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## SoCalBryan (Jun 28, 2020)

So I did some surfing for you and found these:

Free Outlook backup software

Safe PST Back  supports shadow coopy

Handy Backup Quick and Hot Outlook Backup Using the Volume Shadow Copying service

This one is a paid version but it's main webpage has an in dept explanation of why the Outlook backups can be slow:

Backup4all


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks SoCalBryan


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

tomohawk said:


> I open Outlook app when I log on each morning and I close it when I'm logging off. This locks the PST file, so it would never get backed up.


 Your Outlook Data file (.PST) is saved automatically every time you close Outlook. The default location of the Data file C:\Users\[UserName]\Outlook. If you create any Personal Folders in Outlook to save your Emails, they will create additional .pst files. Introduction to Outlook Data Files (.pst and .ost) Any backup program that backs up your User files, also backs up the .pst files automatically.


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks spunk.funk

Can I clarify - As I said earlier, I currently use Windows File Explorer to "back up" my important data files. I do a simple copy/paste. I *cannot *do this for my PST files when Outlook is open. I currently have three PST files (one for each e-mail address and one for my Personal Folders)
I assumed that any backup app would encounter the same problem (and therefore am looking at above comments re Shadow Copy)


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

You cannot backup any file that is open, If you had Adobe Acrobat open, you couldn't backup that PDF files. Same with Outlook, and the same with Shadow Copy, just close all programs before backing up,


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

spunk.funk said:


> You cannot backup any file that is open, If you had Adobe Acrobat open, you couldn't backup that PDF files. Same with Outlook, and the same with Shadow Copy, just close all programs before backing up,


Thanks spunk.funk. Post #20 above suggests that "open" files can be copied, so I'm now confused.

Tommy


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

A .pst file is not like an open .Txt file or .pdf, When Outlook is open, it locks the .pdf because new Emails are coming in or being sent. Copying a .pst file while Outlook is open can corrupt the data at it's worst and you will have incomplete data at best. this can be avoided if you just close Outlook while copying and use OWA for Email until the copy process has completed. Can copying a .PST file while outlook is open corrupt said PST.


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

spunk.funk said:


> A .pst file is not like an open .Txt file or .pdf, When Outlook is open, it locks the .pdf because new Emails are coming in or being sent. Copying a .pst file while Outlook is open can corrupt the data at it's worst and you will have incomplete data at best. this can be avoided if you just close Outlook while copying and use OWA for Email until the copy process has completed. Can copying a .PST file while outlook is open corrupt said PST.


Thanks for the clarification spunk.funk. That's very handy to know.

I have started the copy/paste (File Explorer) when Outlook was open (by mistake) and the copy simply fails with a notification that the file is in use.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

This is a built in safety feature of Outlook. It's called Message Error Prompt.


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## SpywareDr (Jun 15, 2013)

Microsoft has had a service available since Windows XP called Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS). This is a copy-on-write driver that intercepts disk writes before they actually happen. The current contents of the disk are written to a shadow copy buffer before the write takes place. This enables a disk image to represent an exact point in time and not be affected by disk write activity during image creation.

Macrium Reflect uses VSS to enable disk images to be created and files to be backed up when in use.









Shadow Copy - Wikipedia







en.wikipedia.org


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks everybody


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## Sophus (Feb 4, 2011)

I've used Macrium Reflect for years without problem. All tests show it works great, and the 2 times I've had to recover real system using MR backup files worked flawlessly. And yes...don't ASSUME a backup program works. You should verify backups can in fact be 100% restored in a suitable test.
In addition, in combination with scripts and Windows scheduler, MR can become extremely powerful and convenient, with automatic unattended scheduled monthly, weekly, and daily backups, and distribution to off-site storage as well, with emails sent to appropriate personnel as needed if they need to do something specific.
Depending on the type of data you backup, MR's compression feature MAY also significantly reduce the time required to backup the data by reducing the volume of data backed up before getting sent to the storage media and/or over the network to storage media. However, already highly-compressed files (like video files) benefit least from this feature.

Equally important in my opinion...
I also use Uninterrupted Power Supplies that provide at least 30 minutes of power if AC mains power is interrupted. That is enough time to kick-off automated scripts to do an incremental backup of critical files, if not the entire system. I use both APC and CyberPower 1325VA (~800Watts) Sine-wave UPS units. Keep in mind the more power your system and accessories consume, the less time a given UPS will provide power to them during a power failure.


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## tomohawk (Dec 29, 2009)

Thank you Sophus


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