Is it safe to transfer from one usb harddrive to another on the same pc?

[yoda313]

I am compiling a bunch of my videos I've gathered from over the years onto one of my 2tb harddrives. This is another backup and it will not be my sole backup as I'm keeping them on the original harddrives it came from and I have them on dvdr.

I am currently transferring them from source drive a to my computers internal harddrive and then after that is done copying them to my destination 2tb drive.

I am sure I can plug both drives in and transfer from drive a to drive b in one shot. However I am dealing with several gigs of data. I don't want to chance anything going wrong during the transfer.

I have successfully copied my data dvdrs to my destination drive without first copying the dvdr files to the pc and then to the drives. But I don't feel as confident going from usb to usb without a firm landing zone first.

These aren't irreplaceable it'll just be a hassle to start over if something wacky were to happen while going usb to usb.

Basically is it doable? Are there any pitfalls of doing this on-the-fly so to speak?

I only need to do this with a handful of more folders on the source drive so its not an endless project. But I would like to know for the future if its safe to go from drive a to drive b over usb without first loading them to an internal drive.

Thanks.

And fyi I don't have a problem with the extra time it takes to copy from the internal drive to the destination drive. Its just if in the future its ok to go from usb to usb I will do that then.

Edit - its actually from three sources - a usb harddrive, some dvdrs and an internal drive - I'd already copied stuff from the internal drive and some of the dvdrs its just the other usb harddrive I'm working on right now.

[DB83]

Just my 2 cents.

Theoretically possible as Windoze just sees two drives and does not give a flying pig about the i/o between them.

Practically, a somewhat different matter. Both drives will be competing for bandwidth on the slower usb bus.

I would not attempt it.

[lingyi]

*Pats Yoda313 on the back* Backup, backup, backup!

Recommend Teracopy for the transfer (quicker copy for all types of files) and ViceVersa for comparison (you can set it to compare both filesize, timestamp and CRC) to ensure you have an exact duplicate on your backup drive. I've been using the free versions of both for years and have copied multiple TBs of data without incident.

To ensure I remember my latest backup date, I use SetFileDate (also free) to change the folder and file dates to that of my original and backup so they match exactly.

[lingyi]

Just my 2 cents.

Theoretically possible as Windoze just sees two drives and does not give a flying pig about the i/o between them.

Practically, a somewhat different matter. Both drives will be competing for bandwidth on the slower usb bus.

I would not attempt it.

I've done USB to USB transfers a number of times. Throughput does seem to suffer and I suspect that because neither the drive or power supply is meant for continuous use, it does require babysitting to restart if it stops. If possible, keep a fan on the drives to keep them cool. Allow a lot of time, we're talking 24-36 hours or more for multiple TBs.

This is where Teracopy and ViceVersa comes in. If it stops, use Teracopy to skip the already copied files, then use ViceVersa to ensure the files are exact copies.

[yoda313]

Just my 2 cents.

Theoretically possible as Windoze just sees two drives and does not give a flying pig about the i/o between them.

Practically, a somewhat different matter. Both drives will be competing for bandwidth on the slower usb bus.

I would not attempt it.

Thanks.

I wasn't even thinking about the bandwidth issue. I'm on usb 2 fyi even though these are both usb 3 drives. So any practical savings from going to drive to drive with no landing zone might be lost to not enough bandwidth for good speed.

I may try it some day on junk data just to give it a go.

*Pats Yoda313 on the back* Backup, backup, backup!

THanks I actually already have most of my stuff on two sources, at least one harddrive and dvdr. This is my insurance drive.

Recommend Teracopy for the transfer (quicker copy for all types of files) and ViceVersa for comparison (you can set it to compare both filesize, timestamp and CRC) to ensure you have an exact duplicate on your backup drive. I've been using the free versions of both for years and have copied multiple TBs of data without incident.

To ensure I remember my latest backup date, I use SetFileDate (also free) to change the folder and file dates to that of my original and backup so they match exactly.

These aren't files that are being updated or changed. They are just being left as is. The only comparisons I'd need are to ensure I have all the folders I need on the backup drive which I can do just buy visually confirming it.

But thanks for the info.

[themaster1]

it would be better to take the hdd's out of their enclosures (if you can) and use them as sata drives during the transfert time then back to usb....
USB is slow and by default windows7 use 64kb data chunks (=very small), with a tweak you can go up to 2MB, it still is slow though.

[yoda313]

it would be better to take the hdd's out of their enclosures (if you can) and use them as sata drives during the transfert time then back to usb....
USB is slow and by default windows7 use 64kb data chunks (=very small), with a tweak you can go up to 2MB, it still is slow though.

Interesting about both ideas. Though this is basically a one time deal and when I'm done I'll be done.

I'm using Vista for this transfer job can that be changed? I still won't do it but I'm curious if it can for vista.

What I'll be doing with this backup is use it as a main source. For any future needs and for direct viewing with my wdtv or bluray player. I don't think I'll be using it frequently so it won't get heavy use.

This way in a few years or whenever I'll be able to transfer this to another drive much more easily with it being centralized once complete.

Edit - oh and its a western digital MY BOOK usb external drive. I don't know if it can be removed and I don't think I'll even look into it.

[themaster1]

If it's a WD my book, take a look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FlySnyJ0CQ

[netmask56]

I do it all the time and over a wired network - so far no problems. I have 3 x 1TB usb drives hanging off my PC (on 24/7) and a 1.5TB connected to my Popcorn via the USB port - Popcorn connected to network via cable. Reguarly transfer files off one of my USB discs (all separately powered) over the network to the Popcorn connected usb drive. The Popcorn discs appear as a NAS to my PC so I have access to the Popcorn when it is standby mode.

I suppose it depends on your PC, how much memory and power supply/s.

I have 3 internal discs in the PC (SATA) and of course they are way faster.

[drjtech]

I usually just copy USB-to-USB. I'd recommend running QuickPar on your source files before copying, then verify the destination files afterwards. It's just an extra step we paranoid types do to ensure nothing got corrupted in the procedure.

[Hoser Rob]

I've copied stuff from one usb external HD to another many, many times. Never huge amounts of data, but as long as they're decent quality drives and you have decent ventilation space around them I wouldn't worry about it.

Yes. it'll be slower than usb to internal but much faster than usb to internal to another external.

I won't use windows 3rd party copy or disc management tools anymore. I used a windows one to create a partition on an external usb drive and linux wouldn't recognize it. Don't trust them myself. I think it's better to just use built in windows tools.