The Neon Rush
Commenting on the bright lights radiating from Taipei and elsewhere on the interweb.
by Spencer Pangborn, Taiwan
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What do you do if there is no Plan B?
May 26, 2009 11:03Last night, I had a truly frightening dream. Burglars broke into my house, stole my computers, TV, and bicycle. They were smart enough to do it during a power outage so there was no security footage to capture those dirty thieves in action.
 Choosing the right backup tool |
The police came and said: "We're sorry about your computers, but you did have everything backed up right?"
I didn't and I don't.
Luckily, this unfortunate incident was only a dream. But it was an early morning reality slap that raises an important question for all computer users, beginners and pros alike: What is your backup plan?
Backing up data is one of those tedious tasks that no one likes to do. If you're like me, you're just too busy to think about burning everything to a DVD or external hard drive. And when you're sitting on hundreds of gigabytes of data, who has the time?
So I ask you, fellow citizens of our humble geekdom, what steps do you take to backup your data?
Do you burn everything to DVD?
Do you do weekly backups to an external drive?
If you do weekly backups, do you only back up your My Documents folder or your entire media collection: Movies, music, photos and all?
If you're an advanced user, maybe you make an ISO disk image of your entire HDD in case of a hardware failure or other catastrophe?
There seems to be many backup solutions and methods, so feel free to share what works best for you. Maybe we'll be able to learn a new trick or two from each other.
- Talkback
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Jesadac says...
I've advised many that the best backup is to have 2 external drives which are alternately used to back up data and taken off-site to a secure location. But how many people can actually do this? Not many, myself included because I can't cope with the cost of backing up a TB-size RAID! With pictures and videos being digital, there is just too much data do make DVD backups practical and economical, even blu-ray is doesn't make the cut with today's TB-sized drives. I really think that backup/storage services should be taking off considering that HDD sizes keep on getting bigger and home backup options are always playing catchup. So, to keep from spending a fortune, I back up just my photos and videos. The rest I can stand to lose and can slowly rebuild (music and movie collection) if i need to do so.
Sorry for the rant Spencer. This is a problem all too close to home for me :)
May 26, 2009 11:29
I've advised many that the best backup is to have 2 external drives which are alternately used to back up data and taken off-site to a secure location. But how many people can actually do this? Not many, myself included because I can't cope with the cost of backing up a TB-size RAID! With pictures and videos being digital, there is just too much data do make DVD backups practical and economical, even blu-ray is doesn't make the cut with today's TB-sized drives. I really think that backup/storage services should be taking off considering that HDD sizes keep on getting bigger and home backup options are always playing catchup. So, to keep from spending a fortune, I back up just my photos and videos. The rest I can stand to lose and can slowly rebuild (music and movie collection) if i need to do so.
Sorry for the rant Spencer. This is a problem all too close to home for me :)
May 26, 2009 11:29
ShiningStar says...
I never back up, I have hardly anything worth saving. University papers and information is hardly less 20mb. I have mostly music, movies etc. Which is hardly worth buying a backup disc for.
May 26, 2009 19:37
I never back up, I have hardly anything worth saving. University papers and information is hardly less 20mb. I have mostly music, movies etc. Which is hardly worth buying a backup disc for.
May 26, 2009 19:37
gadgetgeek says...
as for me, i backup applications, video, photo and music files with DVDs while office docs with usb flash drives. my problem is i usually either forget or feel too lazy to regularly update my backup files.. any best practices around worthy of emulation? =p
May 26, 2009 23:00
as for me, i backup applications, video, photo and music files with DVDs while office docs with usb flash drives. my problem is i usually either forget or feel too lazy to regularly update my backup files.. any best practices around worthy of emulation? =p
May 26, 2009 23:00
spangaroo says...
@Jesadac, good points. Pics, videos, and documents seem to be the most important IMHO. Putting all of the data in RAID configuration is a lot for home users. I don't even think my company IT dept does consistent backups.
--
@ShiningStar, I agree that music, movies, and research papers aren't so important. I'll try and figure out a way to save my pictures cause those memories will come in handy when I'm too old to remember where I put the remote.
--
@gadgetgeek, I'm too impatient to burn to DVD, but good on you for sticking to a plan at least. Flash USB drives are good for the docs, especially since they're fairly inexpensive these days.
May 27, 2009 10:56
@Jesadac, good points. Pics, videos, and documents seem to be the most important IMHO. Putting all of the data in RAID configuration is a lot for home users. I don't even think my company IT dept does consistent backups.
--
@ShiningStar, I agree that music, movies, and research papers aren't so important. I'll try and figure out a way to save my pictures cause those memories will come in handy when I'm too old to remember where I put the remote.
--
@gadgetgeek, I'm too impatient to burn to DVD, but good on you for sticking to a plan at least. Flash USB drives are good for the docs, especially since they're fairly inexpensive these days.
May 27, 2009 10:56
Jesadac says...
I did it. I signed up for a Mozy account last night at a tad over US$4 per month. I left the backup program running over night and in the morning it had completed 0.6%.... looks like my uplink is very slow. I narrowed down the backup to videos and pictures and it will take 14 days to upload about 150GB. (sigh)
May 27, 2009 12:04
I did it. I signed up for a Mozy account last night at a tad over US$4 per month. I left the backup program running over night and in the morning it had completed 0.6%.... looks like my uplink is very slow. I narrowed down the backup to videos and pictures and it will take 14 days to upload about 150GB. (sigh)
May 27, 2009 12:04
spangaroo says...
14 days! Holy crap that's a long time! What happens if the connection goes down? In 14 days I'm pretty sure that there's bound to be a little glitch here or there. $4 is a good price though. Thanks for sharing and good luck with the upload.
May 27, 2009 16:21
14 days! Holy crap that's a long time! What happens if the connection goes down? In 14 days I'm pretty sure that there's bound to be a little glitch here or there. $4 is a good price though. Thanks for sharing and good luck with the upload.
May 27, 2009 16:21
Jesadac says...
Just asked for a refund. It seems to be bundling all the selected files and trying to get everything into the cloud in one go. Will not send up in packets or resume where it left off. Looks like I've got to get a NAS to set up as a backup device.
May 29, 2009 22:43
Just asked for a refund. It seems to be bundling all the selected files and trying to get everything into the cloud in one go. Will not send up in packets or resume where it left off. Looks like I've got to get a NAS to set up as a backup device.
May 29, 2009 22:43
montbkk says...
Carbonite has saved me three times now....have lost zero files since using it.
May 30, 2009 23:55
Carbonite has saved me three times now....have lost zero files since using it.
May 30, 2009 23:55
spangaroo says...
@jeseda, good choice to go for the NAS. I guess size is really an important issue when it comes to doing regular backups.
@montbkk, I just checked out the Carbonite site and it seems interesting, but do you have any issues with transfers getting interrupted? I doubt I'd need to backup the largest chunk of my data (movies and music) but there are certain folders that would be nice to have regular backups just in case something happened.
Jun 01, 2009 13:03
@jeseda, good choice to go for the NAS. I guess size is really an important issue when it comes to doing regular backups.
@montbkk, I just checked out the Carbonite site and it seems interesting, but do you have any issues with transfers getting interrupted? I doubt I'd need to backup the largest chunk of my data (movies and music) but there are certain folders that would be nice to have regular backups just in case something happened.
Jun 01, 2009 13:03
montbkk says...
I backup my entire data drive and my documents on my main drive and have never had a data transfer problem. The first backup does take some time but I just leave my computer on 24/7 and it uploads all night while I sleep.
Jun 02, 2009 00:49
I backup my entire data drive and my documents on my main drive and have never had a data transfer problem. The first backup does take some time but I just leave my computer on 24/7 and it uploads all night while I sleep.
Jun 02, 2009 00:49
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About Spencer Pangborn
Spencer Pangborn first moved to Asia to become a popstar but failed, miserably. He is now a marketing specialist and freelance writer based in Taipei, Taiwan. Originally from the Great Lake State, he misses driving in the snow but doesn't miss shoveling the sidewalk. Spencer is co-founder of the Taipei Tech Club, where he socializes with friends to discuss the latest tech news and views around town. Twitter: @spangaroo
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