How Do You Back Up Your Files

[Asher]

I have my My Documents folder synced regularly to an external HDD.

[snoopy369]

Where did you keep your external, and was it a separately powered external? I'd say that's the best option for you, still, as long as you take proper care of it and have a good device.

Something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136169

would be about right for you; external power, reasonably well cooled. Just don't sit it on top of a computer or other heat producing device, don't put things on top of it or next to it (it should have air around it on all sides) and keep it upright. Don't unplug it improperly without proper shut down. Periodically scan it for damage.

If you do all of those things it should be fine for several years; replace it in ~2 years.

[Sprayber]

Originally posted by Nostromo
The moral of the story: never ever backup your stuff on only one device. How much room do you need anyway?

I have about 10g worth of pictures and music. Small compared to most I suppose. Another issue are games. I usually uninstall games that I have not played in some time and usually if I buy a new one, that means one must come off. I have a total of 30g on my laptop and I have about 6 that is free at the moment. My laptop has been a good one but I'm feeling the space crunch. My wife's has 160 but she is in school.

I suppose I could use Cd-R to back up pictures. They aren't super critical just memories.

In the end I suppose the only option is to bear it until I get another one but the issue of not wanting to lose things remains.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Nostromo


My PhD thesis is on my flash drive, on my internal HD, on a couple of CD-R's and on my external HD. And I have even a couple of printed versions. The only flaw in my plan is that they're all in one place. If the terrorists nuke Montreal, humanity will lose something important

Flash drives are great for daily or weekly backups. I wouldn't use CD-R's for that purpose, though. And my external hard drive is on only when I backup my stuff, otherwise its off. So there's no heat issue there.

Actually, CD-Rs will probably survive a nuclear blast as long as they're not actually in the immediate blast radius... as would printed versions of course.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Wezil
It is cumbersome if they are files that will be accessed and/or modified with any frequency.

I have smaller text files that are in this category. I actually still back these up to floppy.

I was going to answer floppies as a joke, but you've preempted that.

[Kuciwalker]

I run a daily backup to my server, and irregularly and additional backup to an external HD.

[Agathon]

I have a Time Capsule that does automated backups for all the computers in our house.

You are wasting your time burning CDs and DVDs. All you'll end up with is a pile of discs and you won't remember what's on each one. The best option is to buy an external hard drive and find some sort of automated backup software. There must be some software that will do this for Windows. There's a free program called Synctoy that would probably do the job. No idea if it does wireless backups, but that would be a plus.

Automated backups are the best, since you don't need to worry about remembering to backup. I dithered a bit, but then I realized what a pain it was going to be to rerip all my music if I suffered a hardware failure. Plus, if I buy a new machine, I can use the backup drive to transfer absolutely everything to it automatically.

For the few really important files you have, burning a disc or online storage would be an extra insurance policy.

[Asher]

Originally posted by snoopy369


Actually, CD-Rs will probably survive a nuclear blast as long as they're not actually in the immediate blast radius... as would printed versions of course.

CD-Rs deteriorate over time. I've got some Memorex ones from ~2000 that no longer work.

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Sprayber


I have about 10g worth of pictures and music. Small compared to most I suppose. Another issue are games. I usually uninstall games that I have not played in some time and usually if I buy a new one, that means one must come off. I have a total of 30g on my laptop and I have about 6 that is free at the moment. My laptop has been a good one but I'm feeling the space crunch. My wife's has 160 but she is in school.

I suppose I could use Cd-R to back up pictures. They aren't super critical just memories.

In the end I suppose the only option is to bear it until I get another one but the issue of not wanting to lose things remains.

Is upgrading your internal hard drive an option?

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Asher


CD-Rs deteriorate over time. I've got some Memorex ones from ~2000 that no longer work.

In theory they last 50 years according to the manufacturer...

Still, 8 years is longer than any other media...

[Sprayber]

Originally posted by Nostromo


Is upgrading your internal hard drive an option?

Is is possible to change update a drive on a laptop. I must profess ignorance on this matter. That would be a nice compromise if I could.

[snoopy369]

Usually you should be able to. Most laptops don't allow a *second* hdd, though, so you'd have to reinstall the OS (or image the first drive onto the second, or something else). You'd want an external at least temporarily for the transfer, probably.

[Sprayber]

I'll look into that option


Thanks for all the information from everyone.

[Asher]

Originally posted by snoopy369


In theory they last 50 years according to the manufacturer...

Still, 8 years is longer than any other media...

It's trivial to transfer and expand/upgrade external HDDs every ~5 years.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by snoopy369


Floppies definitely are very low on the 'reliability' factor...

Definitely a more sensitive medium but I have yet to lose a file on a floppy. I have burned CD's however with files that became inaccessible.