Of course there are many ways to do that, but I recommend
setting up RAID1 which, in the case of a regular desktop
system, is a mirrored volume. Everything that is written to
one hard drive is written to the second one at the same
time. Note, this means that they are two individual drives
that are exactly the same and are replicated in real time.
i.e. One is not a copy of the other, they are both
originals. Client operating systems like Windows 2000 Pro
and XP Pro are unable to create mirrored volumes (some on
the internet claim it's possible but Microsoft says it's
not) but many newer motherboards come with that
functionality on-board. However, if the option is not on
board it's a simple matter to purchase a PCI RAID controller
for RAID1 and set it up and how smooth it goes depends
largely on the quality of the card. I should mention that
this is primarily known as a fault tolerance solution rather
than a backup solution but it appears to fit your client's
requirements v
ery closely. If one drive fails the computer keeps working
and depending on the card you get the failed hard drive can
be replaced and rebuilt by the card with little effort.
Another less transparent solution is cloning, I understand
there's software out there that will clone your drive on
scheduled intervals or when you logoff. That's all I can
think of right now. Hope that helps
Joe
-----original message-----
>>I am looking for options on a reliable backup
solution for a desktop machine. The user is requesting
"a transparent system which retains preferences,
programs, data, photos, songs---everything. System then
permits restoration and run as if nothing happened within
one hour.">>
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