GoFlex, GoFlex Desk, GoFlex Pro, GoFlex Slim, & GoFlex Turbo

[liat2768]

I  got a seagate go flex desk 3t drive three days ago and hooked it up to back up my computer. I'm running windows 7 and have about 700G to back up.My spouse installed Memeo software and the seagate software as instructed.

nearly 72 hours later only about 60% was backed up and, for the entire time, my computer was slowed down to an uneblievably slow speed - even when I paused the back up the speed did not improve.

Is this an expected thing when backing up for the first time? Are there different software programs I should download to use with the external drive, if this  is a Memeo related issue? Or should I tweak the settings in some way?

At this point I have uninstalled all software associated with the hard drive and have disconnected it from the computer. The speed seems to be back to normal so it seems that the hard drive and associated software were the issue.

I'd really appreciate some advice on this.

[kenji57]

Yes the first backup will take longer since all the files have to be copied. Subsequent backups only copy over changed or new files so it will be quicker.

That applies to any backup software

I am not sure what backup software comes with the Goflex Desk however Memeo Instant backup (as the name suggests) backs up files instantly, so it is continually scanning your machine to see if you have made any changes. It is supposed to have smarts to tell check for mouse and keyboard and wait until you are not busy. The trouble with that is if you have processor intensive applications running, like rendering edited video, I'd rather use all my CPU on that task.

You can tweak the settings to only back up certain folders but personally I would rather run backups when I'm not trying to use the computer for other things. I un-installed memeo and run backups using the Robocopy command which is included in Win7 and as an add in for XP, but it does require command line inputs. Here's as an example command

ROBOCOPY "\\Goflex_Home\Goflex Home Public\ISO_images" "\\Goflex_Home\External Storage\Seagate\ISO images" /MIR /XX /XO

If you aren't comfortable with command line scripts then depending on the version of Windows7 you have, Windows Backup may be able to write to network drives.

There are also many other backup software packages.

I routinely wipe all Seagate supplied software from drives I get these days. The drives themselves are OK, the bundled software is the problem.