Friendly geek reminder: BACKUP!

[psylichon]

I haven't backed up my photos to DVD in well over a year and I don't have a duplicate of my music folder AT ALL, so I was way due for a proper backup. There are some great deals going around on Samsung 1TB 32MB cache internal SATA drives (http://www.pricewatch.com/hard_removable_drives/sata_1tb_32mb.htm). I just got a refurb for $88 delivered. I use it to redundantly store irreplaceable data as my files have grown too numerous and large to backup to DVD on a regular basis.

Seeing how many posts we get here like "I lost my iTunes library... can I get it off my phone?" I figured a little backup reminder couldn't hurt. Get on it!

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

As psylichon alludes to in the above post:

Don't put your backup on the same drive as your original data! Believe me, I've heard from people who have actually done this.

[dturner]

As psylichon alludes to in the above post:

Don't put your backup on the same drive as your original data! Believe me, I've heard from people who have actually done this.
If that wasn't so sad, it would be funny. How could anyone think this would be a backup.:laugh2:
But yeah, I have an external HD and back up once a week weather I need it or not. I have never needed the back up, but you just never know what might happen. And that is a great deal on the drive. Might have to consider that.

[kakofonix]

True dat... true dat....Not to put too fine a point on it, though, but it is safer to have your back-up on an external, removable hard drive. Having it on a different drive but permanently connected to the same computer is no better than having everything on one drive. The whole point of back-up is to be able to store it at a physical location away from the original. I have learned the hard way.

[Napoleon_PhoneApart]

Having it on a different drive but permanently connected to the same computer is no better than having everything on one drive.

I disagree, from personal experience. If an individual drive goes down, you still have your backup on the other drive. There may be extreme cases where the whole computer gets fried, but that's pretty rare, I think.

[Swagger]

I disagree, from personal experience. If an individual drive goes down, you still have your backup on the other drive. There may be extreme cases where the whole computer gets fried, but that's pretty rare, I think.

I also disagree. The whole RAID concept using two hard disks in one computer would be useless if what the other poster said is true...Mark

[psylichon]

I would say it is the next level of safety. Alternate site backup is nothing new. It's just a bit more extreme than most of us need or want to go. But worth mentioning.

[JoeT]

Speaking from industry and personal experience:


1. Backups on the same media aren't backups at all -- just copies.

2. RAID is great -- until the partition table gets hosed, rendering all drives worthless.

3. For the consumer, an external hard disk is hard to beat -- cheap, faster than DVD/tape, and portable.

My backup strategy includes a few external hard disks that can be packed up in the event we evacuate for a hurricane. They are turned OFF unless being used; both to extend the life of the drive physically and help mitigate other damage (power surge, etc).

BTW, there is a PC app out there (and for the life of me I cannot remember the name) that emulates a CD/DVD drive with a folder for writing purposes - very handy to use for iTunes backups to an external hard disk. Eliminates swapping DVDs -- much goodness there. :)

[jpm]

For the ultimate back-up, get a drobo.

http://www.drobo.com/

[JoeT]

For the ultimate back-up, get a drobo.

http://www.drobo.com/


That's nice but... Ow.. Pricy.

I have the same problem with it that I have with RAID - great for hardware failures and maximizing volume size with multiple drives, but if one logical error happens...

[kakofonix]

RAID is not backup. Though with many advantages, it's still just a safeguard against isolated HD failures. A backup allows you to recover deleted files - if you delete files in a RAID array, delibrately or carelessly, they are faithfully deleted on all your RAID drives in real time. House floodings and fires happen all the time. They just seem to happen to other people, right? In that kind of situation, not even the best implemented RAID will save your you-know-what. I say if it's important enough to back-up, then store it on removable media. That's neither new nor extreme - it just makes sense.

[Youngbinks]

I've got a 500 GB external that I keep permanently connected to my PC laptop. I have everything from this computer (the MBA) backed up on that and I am looking for a 500 GB portable external to make another backup. I'm so tired of losing everything.

Actually, it hasn't happened in quite some time, but now that I've said that, I'm sure something will go awry.

[acosmichippo]

for a good, free backup solution for you windows users, try SyncToy (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C26EFA36-98E0-4EE9-A7C5-98D0592D8C52&displaylang=en). Free, and very easy to use. Mac people should just use Time Machine.

Also worth noting, if you REALLY want a solid backup solution, keep at least one at a separate location. Natural disasters are a *****. Redundancy is your friend.

[jpm]

That's nice but... Ow.. Pricy.

I have the same problem with it that I have with RAID - great for hardware failures and maximizing volume size with multiple drives, but if one logical error happens...

Yes, it a little on the higher price side. But it is not like a RAID set-up. It has it own internal processor and will self-heal. Meaning if a drive fails, you pull it out and swap in a new drive and it restore all you info/data on the new drive.

[ADDam]

Hey I should be getting a pretty good sized external hard drive for Christmas. If I use the XHD with Time Machine, how much space is it going to use? I asked for a 400GB. On My Mac HD it says there's 53.37GB Used on Disk. Will it use 53.37GB on the xhd?

[acosmichippo]

It'll start there, but eventually take up your entire hard drive (unless you partition it).

[JoeT]

Yes, it a little on the higher price side. But it is not like a RAID set-up. It has it own internal processor and will self-heal. Meaning if a drive fails, you pull it out and swap in a new drive and it restore all you info/data on the new drive.

How is that not like RAID?

And if the partition table gets corrupted, what happens?

[aknightstale41]

Great advice about backing up in this thread, i use an external hard drive for my backup, and do that maybe once a week, and i keep the EHD in a waterproof fire safe, in case of a house fire or other disaster.

[Swagger]

Many people run out and buy the largest external HD they can find or afford. They then rush home to back up their critical information and find when they're finished lots of free space open. So then comes the thought why waste it. Next thing the external that you bought for critical information back up is crammed with all kinds of other crap. I am a firm believer in smaller hard drive memory for back up. I would rather buy several smaller external hard drives and be redundant or spread information over several external hard drives than one large external HD.

I never purchase anything larger than a 4GB compact flash cards for my cameras. I would rather go through the hassle of constantly changing cards during a shoot (and it is a hassle since I always shoot in RAW format) than lose a lot of information on larger GB cards.

I also would like to suggest running a virus scan on files before backing them up. Why bring along that nasty virus that caused you to format your computers HD when reloading info from the external??? Mark

[JoeT]

I never purchase anything larger than a 4GB compact flash cards for my cameras. I would rather go through the hassle of constantly changing cards during a shoot (and it is a hassle since I always shoot in RAW format) than lose a lot of information on larger GB cards.


I've been shooting for years and have yet to have any CF card give me a moment's worth of grief. Rather, they have been proven to be quite tough and reliable over the years, and not just in photography.

[acosmichippo]

Still not a bad idea if you find yourself prone to losing things.

[smknSRT8]

Time Machine has saved me on countless occasions already since I have used it. I just wish that I could use it through my Airport Extreme Base Station.
Backup often.

[acosmichippo]

I still don't understand why it's not working for you. It definitely should.

[Swagger]

I've been shooting for years and have yet to have any CF card give me a moment's worth of grief. Rather, they have been proven to be quite tough and reliable over the years, and not just in photography.

My point was possibly losing the card. I was not saying that the cards fail although that is a possibility also. I have been looking at your threads and have noticed that every thread you post in is to tell someone they are wrong. You don't even try to read and understand what the post is saying because of your yearning to post that the person is wrong. Please it is getting old give it a rest already. You act like you are a freaking genius on every subject that arises. Flash memory does fail especially when transferring large amounts of data at one time. Sure it may not happen often but it does happen...Mark

[psylichon]

I've had several CF cards go corrupt on me with older Canon point-n-shoots. Data recovery software saved my butt seriously.

[Swagger]

I've had several CF cards go corrupt on me with older Canon point-n-shoots. Data recovery software saved my butt seriously.

Dave you did say Canon right??? There lies the problem not the card. Nikon my friend Nikon....(Laughing)...Mark:laugh2:

[psylichon]

Yeah Canon gets on my nerves with their proprietary JPEGS and such as well. No concern, I have a Sony now :)

When I get a real camera someday, I'll definitely be checking out Nikons.

[JoeT]

My point was possibly losing the card. I was not saying that the cards fail although that is a possibility also. I have been looking at your threads and have noticed that every thread you post in is to tell someone they are wrong. You don't even try to read and understand what the post is saying because of your yearning to post that the person is wrong. Please it is getting old give it a rest already. You act like you are a freaking genius on every subject that arises. Flash memory does fail especially when transferring large amounts of data at one time. Sure it may not happen often but it does happen...Mark


First off, I never said anyone was wrong - I merely stated MY experiences with CF cards. You apparently didn't try to read and understand what my post was saying.


I never purchase anything larger than a 4GB compact flash cards for my cameras. I would rather go through the hassle of constantly changing cards during a shoot (and it is a hassle since I always shoot in RAW format) than lose a lot of information on larger GB cards.


When you talk about losing information on a storage medium, the natural assumption is data loss, not storage loss.

I'll reserve my estimation of your argumentative nature, however you may safely assume that it is not a favorable one.

[smknSRT8]

Hippo-
I read online that with the latest software update, 7.3.2 I think, they took out that feature because apple would rather people use time capsule.
I have my aebs set up to view my EHD but it doesn't recognize that drive to do the backup once in time machine preferences.

[dturner]

Hippo-
I read online that with the latest software update, 7.3.2 I think, they took out that feature because apple would rather people use time capsule.
I have my aebs set up to view my EHD but it doesn't recognize that drive to do the backup once in time machine preferences.
Maybe it's your HD? I have a Maxtor EHD and it works well with time machine. I do a backup every Friday afternoon weather I need it or not.:tounge:

[smknSRT8]

Maybe it's your HD? I have a Maxtor EHD and it works well with time machine. I do a backup every Friday afternoon weather I need it or not.:tounge:

What is your version on your AEBS? Mine is 7.3.2
I bet you have 7.3.1

Let me know I am very curious!

[acosmichippo]

well, this is disappointing.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2038?viewlocale=en_US

weird, because i know people have done it with the 7.3.2 update.

[jpm]

How is that not like RAID?

And if the partition table gets corrupted, what happens?

I'll be the first to admit I'm not an expert on RAID, but the info is on their website. And while nothing is totally 100% foolproof, this is the best thing I have found so far.

http://www.drobo.com/Products/BeyondRAID.html

[psylichon]

I'm just happy this thread keeps getting bumped. This topic usually drops like a stone.

[dturner]

What is your version on your AEBS? Mine is 7.3.2
I bet you have 7.3.1

Let me know I am very curious!
I just checked and it is 7.3.2. Now I will admit it takes some time for my mac to recognize the drive. I can enter time machine with no problem. When I go to do a backup, it might say "preparing backup" for 15 mins before the backup actually starts. Once it does, it doesn't take very long to complete.

[dturner]

Hippo-
I read online that with the latest software update, 7.3.2 I think, they took out that feature because apple would rather people use time capsule.

The more I think about this the more upset I get. When I look back to when I got the MBP and hooked up the EHD, I had no problems,backups went smoothly. Then all of a sudden I started having problems. I will bet the farm this update did it, really pisses me off.
It's a wonder Apple doesn't have a printer that you have to use if you own an Apple computer.:tounge:

[acosmichippo]

If you only backup once a week,va 15-minute "preparation" is not uncommon. Anyway, it does seem like there's somethng fishy going on. I bet you could revert to 7.3.1, and see how that works...

[smknSRT8]

If you only backup once a week,va 15-minute "preparation" is not uncommon. Anyway, it does seem like there's somethng fishy going on. I bet you could revert to 7.3.1, and see how that works...
When I get back I will post some screenshots on what I am getting and I am definantly going to look into reverting to 7.3.1.