"Jere Lull" wrote in message
news:2007101522343316807-jerelull@maccom...
On 2007-10-15 20:19:47 -0400, "Alex"
said:

Given the importance of a navigation computer to a cruiser, it makes
sense to have a current "image backup" of the hard drive that can be used
to quickly restore the computer so all applications, charts, etc., are
immediately available.

Oh yeah -- and test the backups! (g)

Even better, "mirror" the internal drive so you can BOOT from the backup!
And do it periodically, spot-checking recent files and programs. Our Mac
will synchronize the external to match the 30 gigs of internal data in
about half an hour. I expect Windows will do about the same thing.

To my knowledge, a Windows PC won't boot from an external hard drive. It
will boot from an internal CD or DVD, but I don't think it will recognize a
USB or FireWire remote drive. I believe a Mac will boot from an external
drive, further proof that Macs are for wimps and people who want to get work
done, while Windows machines are for us macho geeks who enjoy pointless,
frustrating challenges. (g)

With a Windows system, one could create a bootable external drive with the
intention of swapping it for the internal drive in the event of a failure.
In a desktop machine it's relatively easy to pop the cables and install a
mirrored hard drive, making that the boot drive. But in a laptop, at sea in
the cabin of a pitching boat, that kind of surgery could be a bit dicey.

Alex