Take care: Windows backup fries your SSD

ritsmer wrote on 7/19/2012, 10:23 AM
Got an innocent looking message from Windows 7: "You need to backup your files"

As I make 3 full backups every night using GFI Backup to 2 independent NASs plus 1 internal backup HDD I just clicked-away that message - or so I thought.

When I started the machine this morning it was S L O W - and the resource monitor revealed a lot of shadow copying etc etc going on.
Thought it might stop some time I let it run and went to town.

Returning 6 hours later the backup was still running - and still with a disk use of my new SSD disk at some 99-100 percent read and write.

So I Googled "slow Windows backup shadow" and found that Microsoft has made the worst and unusable backup mankind ever saw.

Other users told about 15+ hours backup - one unlucky guy even some 65 hours.

I could not restart windows, so I had to pull the power plug (that did the job) and then I checked the scheduler settings for the Windows Backup.

And: just clicking away the "You need to backup your files" obviously schedules that shitty Windows Backup to start at several occasions - like "Every time a user logs in" etc.
I disabled that, of course.

This is really the worst experience I have ever had with Windows and its patronizing behavior - and I wonder how much life-time the 6 hours running 100% percent read/write on my new SSD that incident has stolen.

Take care for totally unnecessary Windows patronizing multi-hours backups - especially if you have got a SSD that it might fry...

Comments

Soniclight wrote on 7/19/2012, 1:51 PM
I don't have SSDs yet but never have used Windows Backup. As with many here at this forum, I've been using Acronis True Image for years -- but in my case, I don't like the last couple of versions. I use the free old workhorse version that comes bundled with hard drives (essentially v.11). Not as one-button or slick looking but works like a charm. Simple, efficient. And one can go and pull out individual files from the backup when needed, no need to restore the whole thing if not needed.
Gary James wrote on 7/19/2012, 2:14 PM
I use the Windows 7 Pro Backup feature to "Create a System Image", and the free SourceForge Areca Backup for performing file level backups. I have a dual 2 TB external eSATA drive bay, so my System Image backups are done in 30 minutes.

A System Image is the only way to totally recover from a Hard Disk failure. This is essentially a snapshot of your hard drive. In the event of a crash, replace your bad C: drive, boot from your Windows 7 DVD, run the Restore From System Image backup option, reboot, and you'd never know you had a problem. Everything comes back exactly as it was before the crash.
Webhorse wrote on 7/19/2012, 3:36 PM
.... sidenote

you can read a (almost) infinite amount of times from your SSD, as long as it dont change any data. If it was reading your disk, and writing data to the NAS's, it would not have any effect on the SSD lifecycle.

What kills the disk is writing data - when the data changes from "0" to "1" or there other way. it have a liminited amount of times that can be done. But reading dont harm it.

.. our SQL server farm would be long gone in a matter of days, if that was trye :)
riredale wrote on 7/19/2012, 4:17 PM
...and from what I've read, while it's true that an SSD has a finite life, that life is many years. I suggest it will be turned into scrap long before it could no longer be usable.

And count me among the other users who rely on Acronis (in my case, TI10) for bare-metal restores. I've experimented on my system and trashed it five ways from Sunday, knowing that I could always get it back.
FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 7/20/2012, 12:04 AM
What else I like about Acronis is the "Acronis Drive Monitor" which reads the hard drive' SMART parameters athen displays your drive health status and is free.

Question, does "Drive Monitor" read SSD drives?