+1 Acronis True Image 2014. Get yourself a nice USB external hard drive just for backups or a NAS if you want to network your backups.
 
A non destructive warning (or even a false positive warning) is nevertheless a good prompt to get your backup strategy in order. Cheers.

Also worth noting that sometimes, if its a hard drive failure, you'll get the "clicks of death" as you boot up. i.e you'll hear the HD trying to work but like a broken groove in a record gets stuck....Not sure if this is the case with SSDs but they RARELY go down anyway.... So, if you havent got that and your master boot record isnt trashed (which can be fixed) then as another Poster has noted, it really could be a config change brought about by a driver update, new software/hardware or a windows update.
 
Have you tried going into safe mode and running a system restore?

R3V3RB
I have other drives and things, and have procrastinated thus far about properly backing up. But it got me wondering whether I can simply back up the entire drive somehow?

I will section this, as I am typing it this is already getting longer, but hope it can help some others.
 
Backing up data (not imaging) background:

With an external drive, for backups, I use the xcopy command and create .bat files to run them. The advantage of xcopy is that if you use good organization, it can be set to only copy newer (or non-existent) files to the destination. For the first run this will, of course, copy everything; but on subsequent runs becomes incredibly quick (even with hundreds of thousands of files) since it examines directory by directory and copies (newer) as it goes.
 
As an example, I will share how I do this. My setup is an SSD (OS/Programs/Plugins) as the C: drive, and a partitioned 3TB into an 1TB E: drive (games and garbage), and 2TB F: drive (Projects, audio libraries, etc.)
 
As I also do not trust my SSD, I work on my desktop mostly (non-SONAR stuff) and keep folders there, which keep my "data" on the C: drive mostly (not all) confined to the C:\users\[main user] directory (the desktop is a sub directory). I have a batch file to put data from C: (the SSD) onto F: (the HDD), and runs quick.
 
The second backup I do is a bit more intensive that copies the F: drive to an external 1TB drive (G:)
 
The xcopy command (how I set it up and use it):
Info on the xcopy command can be found here. The way I employ this is as follows:
 
xcopy [top level source folder] [top level destination folder] /d /c /s /e
pause
 
the switches (/[character] as the end) tell it to:
   /d = Copies only newer files (with no date included, this is the default)
   /c = Continues copying even if errors occur (if you copy a directory with system files it will get an access error, so this ignores those).
   /s = Copies folders and subfolders except for empty ones (so that your directory tree is duplicated on the destination).
   /e = Copies any subfolder, even if it is empty (this ensures the directory tree is complete, and is used in tandem with /s above).
 
the pause is used to keep the CMD window open when done so that I can see how many files it copied (otherwise it flashes closed so fast I do not see it).
 
How to create the xcopy batch file:
 
I use two batch files most often. The first moves data from the SSD to the internal HDD and is run often. The second moves things to an external HDD and run less frequently.
 
To create the batch file, open NotePad, and enter the xcopy commands. As example, for my machine, the file to copy the SSD to the internal HDD is:
 
          xcopy c:\users\michael f:\michael /d /c /s /e
          pause
 
I then save this to my desktop (so easily found/used) and change the extension from .txt to .bat. Then to edit it later, can right click and select "Edit." To execute the batch file(s), I right click and select "Run as administrator."
 
How (I personally) employ xcopy:
 
Batch file (#1) to copy the SSD to the internal HDD, is the same as the one above.
 
Batch file (#2) to copy the internal HDD to an external HDD:
 
          xcopy F:\ G:\ /d /c /s /e
          pause
 
          xcopy C:\ProgramData G:\ProgramData /d /c /s /e
          pause
 
Since the users directory has already been copied to the internal HDD, this makes a second copy of it on the external (which allows me to clean out the C: drive (SSD) version to free space on the SSD and know I have 2 backups just in case).
 
I have also copied the C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86) to an external HDD as data is stored there for some programs, but backups to these are infrequent.
 
 I cannot believe I typed such a long post, so I hope it helps someone! With (all of) this said, I also recommend creating an image of the C: drive, just in case that drive does fail and you need to install a new drive to get your machine back up and running "as is."
  

I always keep an external drive with a duplicate of all the data on my working drive(s).
 
When I complete a song I do some general maintenance. Remove unwanted files/takes, convert any VSTi to audio, export all tracks to stems, make notes, etc...   After that is complete I burn the entire project folder (with stems and mixes) to a DVD. Rarely do I need more than one DVD to store all the data for a song. Then I make a copy of that DVD for a library that get's stored offsite.
 
That gives me 4 copies of each song once completed. Seems excessive, but eventually my working copy will get removed which would leave me with three copies, one of which is offsite.

markyzno
Also worth noting that sometimes, if its a hard drive failure, you'll get the "clicks of death" as you boot up. i.e you'll hear the HD trying to work but like a broken groove in a record gets stuck....Not sure if this is the case with SSDs but they RARELY go down anyway....

If you are hearing noise coming out of your SSD, you are probably experiencing the dreaded arthritic electron syndrome (AES). After prolonged use, many off brand electrons will develop instability as they move about in solid state devices. So long as this is just a simple wobble, you will have no real problem, but the erratic bouncing around this causes will inevitably result in uneven wear on the semiconductor atoms, and the electrons themselves will go from their usual shape and develop protrusions (spurs) that will tend to catch on each other causing clumping. It is the battering together of these larger electron clumps that causes the clicks you refer to. By that time it is too late to do anything except soak the chips in three in one oil and pray.

mettelus

R3V3RB
I have other drives and things, and have procrastinated thus far about properly backing up. But it got me wondering whether I can simply back up the entire drive somehow?

I will section this, as I am typing it this is already getting longer, but hope it can help some others.
 
Backing up data (not imaging) background:

With an external drive, for backups, I use the xcopy command and create .bat files to run them. The advantage of xcopy is that if you use good organization, it can be set to only copy newer (or non-existent) files to the destination. For the first run this will, of course, copy everything; but on subsequent runs becomes incredibly quick (even with hundreds of thousands of files) since it examines directory by directory and copies (newer) as it goes.
 
As an example, I will share how I do this. My setup is an SSD (OS/Programs/Plugins) as the C: drive, and a partitioned 3TB into an 1TB E: drive (games and garbage), and 2TB F: drive (Projects, audio libraries, etc.)
 
As I also do not trust my SSD, I work on my desktop mostly (non-SONAR stuff) and keep folders there, which keep my "data" on the C: drive mostly (not all) confined to the C:\users\[main user] directory (the desktop is a sub directory). I have a batch file to put data from C: (the SSD) onto F: (the HDD), and runs quick.
 
The second backup I do is a bit more intensive that copies the F: drive to an external 1TB drive (G:)
 
The xcopy command (how I set it up and use it):
Info on the xcopy command can be found here. The way I employ this is as follows:
 
xcopy [top level source folder] [top level destination folder] /d /c /s /e
pause
 
the switches (/[character] as the end) tell it to:
   /d = Copies only newer files (with no date included, this is the default)
   /c = Continues copying even if errors occur (if you copy a directory with system files it will get an access error, so this ignores those).
   /s = Copies folders and subfolders except for empty ones (so that your directory tree is duplicated on the destination).
   /e = Copies any subfolder, even if it is empty (this ensures the directory tree is complete, and is used in tandem with /s above).
 
the pause is used to keep the CMD window open when done so that I can see how many files it copied (otherwise it flashes closed so fast I do not see it).
 
How to create the xcopy batch file:
 
I use two batch files most often. The first moves data from the SSD to the internal HDD and is run often. The second moves things to an external HDD and run less frequently.
 
To create the batch file, open NotePad, and enter the xcopy commands. As example, for my machine, the file to copy the SSD to the internal HDD is:
 
          xcopy c:\users\michael f:\michael /d /c /s /e
         pause
 
I then save this to my desktop (so easily found/used) and change the extension from .txt to .bat. Then to edit it later, can right click and select "Edit." To execute the batch file(s), I right click and select "Run as administrator."
 
How (I personally) employ xcopy:
 
Batch file (#1) to copy the SSD to the internal HDD, is the same as the one above.
 
Batch file (#2) to copy the internal HDD to an external HDD:
 
          xcopy F:\ G:\ /d /c /s /e
          pause
 
          xcopy C:\ProgramData G:\ProgramData /d /c /s /e
          pause
 
Since the users directory has already been copied to the internal HDD, this makes a second copy of it on the external (which allows me to clean out the C: drive (SSD) version to free space on the SSD and know I have 2 backups just in case).
 
I have also copied the C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86) to an external HDD as data is stored there for some programs, but backups to these are infrequent.
 
 I cannot believe I typed such a long post, so I hope it helps someone! With (all of) this said, I also recommend creating an image of the C: drive, just in case that drive does fail and you need to install a new drive to get your machine back up and running "as is."
  

Your post has been judged tip of the day. 😇 It's been turned into a Word docx and uploaded to my Onedrive as
X-Copy for Incemental Bachups.docx. Please check it out. You have full attribution. If you have more let me know. When I have time I'll convert all the docs to PDF. Of course if you object, let me know and I'll take it down. It was not my intention to cause a problem just want to share what you've already shared.

I prefer Robocopy over Xcopy.
 
I sync (such as drive H and I) using a script like this:
 
robocopy H:\ I:\ /E  /SL /NP /NDL /XD "System Volume Information"  /XF drive.ico /XD $RECYCLE.BIN /XD RECYCLER /XD ".gobbler" /XF bootsqm.dat /XD "My backups" /XF "synctoy*.dat"

To all of you who claim that you have a perfect backup.
If you use Acronis for instance to clone your c: drive, and your c: drive goes kaput, then you restore to a brand NEW c: drive, then do you have to REAUTHORIZE all programs and plugins that need to be authorized though?
dan
 

Edit-- hey this thread is a year and a half old?? O well I leave what I typed below as it might help someone else.. 
 
When I first built my new DAW computer last fall I was getting random blue screens on boot up. 
Turned out after a month of head scratching my power supply ( it was new) was not working properly and finally died. After I replaced it, the blue screens never returned.  
 
And check your SSD drives web site for firmware updates. EVO drives need their firmware updated as an example. 
 
I use mine as the C drive and do not store anything there. It's just OS and software. 
I then have two 1 TB 7200 RPM drives, One for data and one for back up. 
I just drag and drop my main folders and date them. Storage is cheap and I often have 3 or 4 folders with the same projects kicking around. 
I also put everything important on another 2 TB external drive. 
I just bought a 256 GB SSD that I'm going to use as my working DATA drive. 
So my DAW will have 4 drives.