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I just finished purchasing the components for my new computer. Now the big question--Backup!!!!. I have been through base loads and new machines several times but I have never really considered my data "critical" so my backups usually consisted of a couple of CD
Overall you're doing great. Most people don't even *think* about backups (until after they lose their data), but you've already taken it several steps further than that.
Here are my suggestions.Until the Mozy backup completes, you are very vulnerable. While your primary backup is connected to the computer (which may be 24/7 if you don't turn it off after the daily backup is complete), a host of "finger" problems could wipe out your computer *and* the primary backup:
* Fat fingers (typo!).
* Sticky fingers (theft)
* Butter fingers (coffee spill)
* Middle fingers (virus and malware)
I think the most common problem is fat fingers. Say your computer goes down due to a bad hard drive, so you get a new one and you're installing windows and... OOPS, you just installed windows to the primary backup drive, blowing away your backups. Now you lost your primary *and* your backup. (I have actually done this. Twice.) Now what? That's why you need (and have) a secondary backup -- one that is preferably as far away from you as possible. Mozy works for this, but how long will it take to restore? If it's more than a few hours, I'd prefer to have a secondary backup drive on-site (or, preferably, off-site that I can drive to quickly).
If you can't afford to buy yet another 1TB drive as the secondary backup (making Mozy tertiary), then I'd suggest breaking up the RAID-1 into two separate 1TB disk. I'd rather have 2 separate disks for backup than one 1TB RAID-1, because if a dead hard drive kills one of the backups, you still have the other (like RAID-1), but RAID-1 doesn't protect you against fat fingers, sticky fingers, etc. whereas two separate disks (preferably one off site) does.
Personally, what I do is have three raid arrays that I backup to. Two are on-site, but only one is turned on at a time (to help protect against fat fingers, mostly) but every day they rotate. Once a week, I rotate to the offsite location. I only use raid arrays because I need 6 TB of backup space. For most people, I recommend an eSATA/USB docking station. They're about $40, and you just plug in the bare hard drive. That way you can just buy cheap, bare hard drives, and you don't have to pay an extra $20-30 for every hard drive to make it external (though you do have to be careful in handling bare hard drives).
Bob, here's my back up plan.
First, I clone the boot drive. I use Acronis for this. I re-clone about every 3 months, depending on what programs I install.
I don't store my important files on the boot drive. Those would be my image files, music, video, mostly, but some other document files as well.
Like Daniel suggested, I have an eSATA docking station (actually, I use two, so I can move files from one station to the other, if need be). These are very worthwhile to have. You may need a PCI card, if your PC doesn't have an eSATA connector, so you can use the docking stations. eSATA is faster than USB, though the USB works just fine.
I have found that I need about a 2 TB's worth of storage space, currently, per year, for my camera raw, jpgs, TIFs and various movie formats. I use a 5DMk2 and a 7D, and those files are huge. When I convert to TIF, those file sizes jump tremendously. I tend not to delete files, since I always seem to return to them again and again.
I make duplicate copies of those files, using the docking stations. Once completed, I store these drives away, safely. I make two, in case one goes south on me. At present, none have done so.
A 2 TB drive costs about $90, online. They are internal drives, as Daniel mentioned. Very inexpensive, in my opinion.
As an example of why a clone is important, my PC began acting strangely a while back. Window 7 is my operating system. It started to behave in a way that would cause programs to "freeze" if I wasn't using the computer. In each case, I had to do a hard restart. After several attempts to do repair on the system, the PC eventually would not boot at all. I put the clone in, and everything was back to normal. All that was needed was a few updates to Windows and some anti-virus, and I was back in business. I then cloned that drive for future problems that might show up.
For me, this is a straightforward way to back up my system: cloned boot drive, and duplicate drives for important files.
Alan
Daniel,
Love your "analogy" , I have never heard it put quite like that--but makes a lot of sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel Browning
This is a great idea and I agree that two seperate drives are better than on mirrored drive--Though i wont have an offsite backup other than Mozy, I can place the one of the drives in a different part of my house to avoid the fire, flooding and coffee spills thatthreaten my desktop workstation. It also makes sense to to me to alternate between backup drives so that you don't Fat Finger or middle finger both backups simultaneously.
Thanks for the Tip,
Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
Thanks Alan--this pretty much lines up with my plans (Thanks to your's and Daniels advice): One system backup, one onboard data backup,two off desk data backups , and one offsite data backup (Mozy). Dirves are failry cheap and I can expand as needed.
Thanks,
Bob
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
Thanks Alan--this pretty much lines up with my plans (Thanks to your's and Daniels advice): One system backup, one onboard data backup,two off desk data backups , and one offsite data backup (Mozy). Dirves are failry cheap and I can expand as needed.
Thanks,
Bob
Hi Guys,
I would also like to add that naming and labeling the backup is also important. I prefer to name the backup in reverse order so as not to confuse it with the original drive or data.
For example, if I'm going to backup my Snow Leopard Drive, I think it is better to name it "BkUp of Snow Leopard" instead of "Snow Leopard Backup." The reason for this is that it reduces the risk of writing to the wrong drive, erasing the wrong drive, and it also makes it easier when you're restoring the data from the drive.
The other thing that you should do is "label" and "date" the back up project on the drive as well as the box that you store it in. I also like to include whether it was an entire "drive image" or just an image or backup of the data or files. If it's an entire drive then I like to name the drive in disk utility while I'm creating the image.
For example; "BkUp Image Snow Leopard Drive 12312010" or if it's not an entire dive then, "BkUp Files My Music 12312010" or "BkUp Image Aperture Library 12312010"
I would also recommend storing the drive in the original box, I have already lost an internal drive in transit, as Daniel has mentioned they are especially delicate.
Another thing to consider would be to catalog the backup info and backup schedule to paper.
EDIT: Last thing I would like to add is to have a copy of the backup software with serial number on the backup drive, or readily available in case your drive won't boot at all, due to a bad motherboard or power supply and you have to retrieve your data from an alternate computer. This way you could install the backup software on the alternate computer. If your data files were just copied and pasted onto the external drive, then this step won't be necessary.
Rich