48GB SSD Express Card With SD Backup

[MacWorksLLC]

Intending to use this Wintec FileMate 48GB Ultra ExpressCard Solid State Drive 3FMS4D48M-WR as my boot drive and point to myUser folder on my Hard Drive. Any experience using SD in this capacity? Will it find the SSD and the internal drive and combine the data into one backup?
Thanks

[sjk]

Originally Posted by MacWorksLLC

Will it find the SSD and the internal drive and combine the data into one backup?

SD! won't combine two or more volumes into a single backup. It'll treat each volume/partition on each drive/device separately.

[dnanian]

Right - as sjk says, you'd need two volumes on your backup, one for each source volume. Then, schedule two separate backups, one for each source to its corresponding destination.

Note: if you don't name your backup drive the same as the original, your "link" to your Home folder on the other drive will not point to the backup - it'll point to the original drive. This is likely a good way to get yourself in some trouble, so be very careful.

[sgmiller]

Can you expound a bit on this. I am not clear about which drive would need to be named what. (I also plan to do this).

Also, I plan to create the SSD boot drive by cloning my internal hard drive with a copy script that excludes my user folder and then pointing to that user folder after the boot drive is created. Does that make sense?

[dnanian]

I don't know what part is confusing you, but if you have a two-volume backup, and you've linked from one to the other, the link is named-based. As such, it's going to point to the drive named in the link -- which could be the original drive.

In general, this is a great way to get yourself into a lot of trouble. I wouldn't advise it.

[sgmiller]

Maybe I am confused because I am only thinking about how to do this but never have done it.

To avoid any possible confusion, let me just ask how you would advise backing a setup as described (SSD boot drive, user folder on internal drive)

[dnanian]

It's not the backup that's the problem, it's booting from the backup. So, apart from saying "please don't do this it's unwise" (I'd suggest keeping your user folder on the SSD, and storing your data, as needed, on the other drive) I'd advise not booting from a backup that's been done that way...or, at the very least, having a user with a normal user folder that you're going to use when booting from the backup.

[sgmiller]

That’s not going to work because I willl only have 48gb on the SSD as it is an Express card drive.

As I understand what you are saying, it should be ok if I create a second user account on the SSD for purposes of booting?

[dnanian]

That's what I'd do. (Although I wouldn't do this at all, as I've said.)