MY HARDDRIVE CRASHED

[Satex]

Backup backup backup.....

[CGT80]

I just spent about two hours copying the files from my DSLR camera and phone to the computer and sorting the pics into folders. Then I made a manual backup to my USB drive (it does auto backup also), and copied the latest files to DVD backup. My data sits on the SSD for quick use, and I have two backups. I thought about an additional backup hard drive but I don't know whether to go with an inexpensive western digital hard drive and a USB adapter or a compact USB 3.0 external drive like I have now. I really like the Seagate 1 TB USB 3.0 and they are not much more than a full size drive.

Multiple backups is the key, and remembering to keep them up to date is the other half of the battle. Luckily this thread reminded me to check on my backups. It had been a while since I copied my phone (it does internet backup too, on it's own) and my DSLR had photos I did not want to lose.

[skunkbad]

Great options for daily backups:

1) Use rsync via ssh to a cheap hosting account you access by IP. (doesn't even require a domain). Run your command and backup is quick and efficient.

2) Use bitbucket and git to save your files to a free private repo. Technically the bitbucket account is for code type projects, so you'll have to be the judge of if your content is suitable for this type of backup.

3) Use bitbucket and mercurial to save your files to a free private repo.

4) Use Google Drive, and/or Dropbox, and/or Copy to save your files to "the cloud". There's a lot of free storage to be had. For a small monthly price you can get a lot more storage. Dropbox gives you 2 GB for free. Google Drive gives you 15GB for free. Copy gives you 15GB for free. That's 32 GB for free, which is pretty nice.

[tanakasan]

I have Cobian (free) automatically backing up to an external USB 3.0, 3TB WD drive. And Carbonite backing up off site. And an internal 500GB HDD for crucial files and docs.

As mentioned before, a crash will happen…how much can you afford to lose?

Robert