It fails a few criteria of what "backup" should be. Number one is a write protect. There are many others that I'll let you ponder.
2. It's a fast way to scoop up copies of what's on the machines.
3. It's also a fast way to spread a virus...
Think carefully before you do this.
Bob
I need a better way to backup the 4 computers in my office. 3 of them run WinXP and 1 runs Win98 (it's used for scanning & fax receiving). They are networked peer to peer through a LinkSys 4 port router. I currently use CD's to backup the data only (not the programs).
I am hoping for something that duplicates the hard drive so if a computer died or internal hard drive failed I could transfer the contents to a new computer or hard drive without having to reinstall all of the original software then restore data.
I am intrigued by the Maxtor One Touch II because of its simplicity and also by the fact that I can unplug it to isolate it from lightning strikes, etc. However, it's a little pricey to buy 4 of them, especially when I have less than 100MB of data on all 4 computers combined. I am not a techie but I would imagine it would need a separate partition for each computer.
Am I dreaming? What would you suggest? Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Chowhound
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