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backup
m147
Registered Users Posts: 61 Big grins
i was just wonder what you all use for backup? online, HDD, CD, DVD, etc?
any suggestions recommendations.
if DVD's do you find any brands to be better than others?
thank you.
any suggestions recommendations.
if DVD's do you find any brands to be better than others?
thank you.
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Script files using robocopy to copy to external hard-drive.
- Wil
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Products.aspx?C=1346
http://www.scootersoftware.com/index.php
http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/sbse.html
For Disk Imaging I use Macrium Reflect.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp
I have a licensed copy of Agrium's disk imaging software from a couple of years ago but I stopped using it due I found it installed some accessory software I found to be intrusive.
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those of you who use externals, how large & are they dedicated?
is putting your pictures into disk images safer? what are the benefits?
These BlakX docks are great.....I have like 1st gen docks so have to keep drives no larger than 1 or 1.5 TB....the new gen docks can be used with upto 2tb drives....
my work flow is too just have 3 exact copies of my work on harddrives......I do a simple drag and drop and go to bed...it is done in the morning...if I have work away from office i start any back ups i need to and leave...computer works while I am gone ........
maybe I should look into "Beyond Compare" or "Sync Backs"
Disk Imaging software is generally used to create an exact bootable copy of what is on a hard drive for easy restoration after a catastrophic failure or incurable malware infection.
I generally like to create an image just after a fresh OS install when I have installed all the OS updates and my key software programs, such as MS Office, and their updates. One of the reasons I do it at this time is that the size of the image will be small in comparison to if I tried to make an image after all my games, videos, and images get restored from other media.
The key benefit to disk imaging software is that it quickly gets you back to work but you have to have confidence that you can restore from your image. In my experience with some programs, you have to do a little prep work in addition to making the image. If you forget to make a recovery disk ahead of time, you can be out of luck.
Commonly used image software is Norton Ghost and Acronis but there are others.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disk_imaging_software
I personally would not use disk imaging software as a method of regularly backing up images.
I prefer to copy non-encrypted non-compressed OS level files from my internal drives to my external drives. The Beyond Compare and SyncbackSE programs compare the file on your internal drive to the file on your external and can confirm if there are any exceptions and will copy over only files that have changed. This speeds up incremental backups. Later, if I have to find an original, I can go back to the external and view the files as if they were on the internal and pick out just the one I need.
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Here is hoping that my Raid controller never dies... and if it does I have access to $700 to immediately replace it.
You might be asking what is the difference between file storage and backing up: In my mind "I have been using JungleDisk as my incremental off site backup solution. It works very well for me, but has some choices along with it that I was not fully aware of when I made them. Using a block copy approach I could reduce the amount of bandwidth and storage space I use, however this does not come without its tradeoffs. By making this choice I would be unable to browse the files online, I would have to actually restore them using the client software." File storage does not require any software just an Internet connection so that I can download just the one file I want.
More of my ramblings about backup and Data Access at http://bradfordbenn.com/2010/05/data-backup-and-access/
Hope that helps
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For me, the main advantage of using Backblaze or another offsite, cloud-based provider is that they have multiple redundant copies far away from where my local storage is. That way, if there's a disaster, or a theft, or something similar beyond my control, I can get my backups back from the cloud. I too have a similar RAID-like setup here at home, but I want to keep things backed up away from my home as well.
I guess you never know if a company is going to change their business model, pricing structure, or other aspects of how they do business, but I have been pretty happy with Backblaze for the past two years or so.
You might look into CrashPlan, I think they let you copy your data onto an external USB hard drive (or 20 :-) and then mail them back to them, to "jumpstart" your backup. Then, it's just incremental backups from there.
I like the thought of that backBlaze and unlimited for one price.. but as I said before, will they be around in 10 years? And with storage ramping up as you mentioned, drives keep getting cheaper.. Almost enough for my 1TB drives in my server to be replaced with 2TB drives...
by chance do you know software similar to those two for mac? I took a quick look at them earlier but I don't remember if they are mac compatible.
Sorry... I'm not familiar with the Mac software.
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...and hope the RAID controller you get at a replacement is identical and the striped config on the drives is recognized by it...or you're done. Also hope your home/office doesn't burn down or someone steals/vandalizes it, or a virus shreds your files...RAID doesn't help much there.
As you said though, with THAT much data, online storage is not practical unless you're sitting on a huge internet pipe.
I'm with you on the pain of having to keep things connected to stay online. They do this because they are a backup solution, not an archival solution, if that makes sense. The one service that does not delete things (if you configure it to do so) that I know of is Crashplan. The rest have a 30 day limit or similar.
- lubricating film might rupture when it wasn't used for a long time (hope that is the right expression)
- electrolytic capacitors might degenerate when not charged
- read/write heads might stuck to their landing zone
- and last but not least the magnetisation degrates and needs to be refreshed from time to time
Might be all that never happens, but I wouldn't expect to much from consumer HDDs, especially from those build in external enclosures. Usually people only have an eye to the "compatible with" "USB 3.0 up to 5Gbit/s" or "eSATA 6 up to 6Gbit/s" stickers on them and not to the specs and quality of the HDDs which are build in.