Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Versioned Boot Camp Backups under Windows
If you run Windows under Boot Camp frequently, and create or modify
lots of files there, then making versioned backups of your Windows
files is important for the same reason as doing so for your Mac files.
You can do this in many ways, but I suggest choosing one of three main
approaches (listed here in the order I think you should consider them):
•
Use a cloud-based sync service with versioning support.
If the files you're creating in Windows are mostly on the small side,
you could store them in a folder that you sync with a service like
Dropbox or SugarSync (see the sidebar
What about Cloud Storage
and Syncing Services?
). They'd be automatically synced to the
cloud, with multiple versions stored there, and you would avoid
having to do any extra work to keep the files backed up. On the
minus side, this would work only for a limited set of files—not for
every file on your Windows volume.
•
Run cross-platform, network backup software:
If I were
setting up versioned backups for my own Boot Camp volume,
I'd use CrashPlan. The Windows version is almost identical to the
Mac version, and I can use my existing account, storing backups on
any combination of CrashPlan's cloud-based storage, a local drive,
another computer I own, or a disk shared by a friend. If you're
already doing network backups with Retrospect, that's another
good choice—but keep in mind that the computer functioning as
you backup server can't be the same Mac that's running Boot Camp.
Other programs could work, too, but all things being equal I like the
idea of using the same software and storage media for backups on
all my computers.
•
Run Windows-only backup software.
There are oodles of
Windows-only backup programs—more even than on the Mac
(and that's saying something). I have no personal experience with
backup software that runs only on Windows, but I've read good
things about
StorageCraft ShadowProtect Desktop Edition
($89.95),
which goes beyond mere imaging to offer the sort of detailed control
over versioned backups that my favorite Mac backup programs do.
