Copying to Seagate FreeAgent

Nikiya

Hello! After a lot of consultations and research I bought a Seagate Freeagent to back up mi files. The package contained a Desktop drive and two cables. The instructions could not be simpler.... my PC told me the USB port I had used was not high speed and it would be slower, but apparently there are no high speed ports so that's it.
The light on the side of the driver lit up, but that is all.... no message, no windows ....How on earth do you copy? I thought it would happen automatically but nothing seems to be happening. If there is software to download why isn't that on the instructions? Will there ever be a device with useful instructions!!!
Thanks a lot for any help!

Matt_A_2

Can't say I'm familiar with the software that comes bundled with FreeAgent drives (if any), but from having a quick poke around the interweb, and what you've put in your post, it doesn't look like there is any.

If you want to automate your backups to run every day then I'd suggest using SyncBack Freeware, a good little utility which allows you to schedule backups to happen daily / weekly / monthly to suit your needs.

If, on the other hand, you're not creating a massive amount of data, and possess a diligent nature, then you could just drag and drop the files you want from your PC to the external drive once per week using Windows Explorer.

Nikiya

Thanks Matt. I want to copy all my files, since I never managed to do a back up before. Bought DVDs (twice!) on the advice of the PC world staff, but never managed to copy anything onto them. Now, after several consultations, I bought an external drive. I am traveling tomorrow and have not got much time, nor do I want to research other options given that this is not my field of knowledge...

penrhyn

What operating system have you got on your PC?
If its XP then your new drive should install itself when you plug it in.
Go to My Computer and see if you have an additional drive.
If so you can simply open it and drag and drop the files you want to back up into it.
Windows XP pro has a backup programme built in, XP home does not but it can be found on your installation disk , if you have one.
If not you can learn about it here



http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx

Nikiya

Yes, the new disk is installed, and I have confirmed it is NTFS... however, when I drag "My documents" to the new disk, it only creates a shortcut!! Does not copy....

Nikiya

I have gone to that page, Penrhyn.... too complicated for me... and it tells you what to do with DVDs, not with an external drive which is ready and empty!

Nikiya

Sorry, my OS is WIndows XP home....

oldagetraveller

Can't really help much other than to advise I have the same Seagate ext'l HDD and XP Home.
When the drive was initially connected and powered up I got the usual "found new hardware" etc. and it was ready to go. It shows up in my computer next to "C" drive as Seagate (I).
For backing up bits and pieces it's just like any other device where you have the choice of saving to and select Seagate, obviously if it's connected and switched on!
For regular back up of my docs and settings I installed the backup facility from the XP cd. That works fine using a wizard every week.
If it's not showing in "my computer" then I would have thought it's not installed properly? Do you get the "what do you want to do" window when it's first connected and switched on?
Also used the same drive to back up my daughters docs etc. and it worked fine with usb1 but takes about twice the time!

penrhyn

Assuming you have your installation disk:

Install Backup on Windows XP Home Edition

Users of XP Home Edition that have tried to back up their systems may have been surprised to find that the Backup utility is not included in the default installation of Windows XP Home Edition. No Backup icon is present on the Start menu in Windows XP Home Edition, nor is Backup listed in Add Remove Programs for Windows XP Home edition. No mention of the utility is made anywhere during the installation, but it is included with Windows XP Home Edition. It's just necessary to do a manual install to prepare it for use.
To Manually Install the Backup Utility

• Insert the CD Rom and navigate to CD-ROM Drive:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP
• Double-click the Ntbackup.msi file to start the wizard that installs Backup
• When the wizard is complete, click Finish.

Pasted from the eldergeeks website.

If you don't have the installation disk you can download the NTBackup file from here

http://www.winxptutor.com/ntbackup.htm

It will work for external drives, I have used it before.

Hope this helps.

Nikiya

Thanks a lot guys! I managed to drag "my documents" to the new disk and in one of the many attempts it COPIED!!!
Penrhyn I will study your useful instructions and try them to copy on to DVDs on my return. I am leaving tomorrow and that is all I have time for now.

oldagetraveller

Nikiya - if you do as penrhyn suggests and activate the XP backup it will lurk in "accessories" "system tools" and after clicking on it a wizard starts, you can choose then what to back up and to where, you can also set up a scheduled backup. If the Seagate is connected it should find that and list. Just click on it and "my documents and settings", if that's what you want to backup, away it goes. A progress window appears with the file count and time elapsed and to go. It's very easy - even a computer illiterate like me can do it!!