paulktreg Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I hear the word backup mentioned frequently on the forums but what does it mean? A lot of people fit multiple hard drives to their systems and either backup the data to another drive or use a raid configuration but is this really backing up the data? I say no! Ok most peoples data isn't important but if your going to backup "important" data then it should be stored to a portable device which is not permanently connected to the PC and stored on a different site. What happens if there's a fire - data all gone! A catastrophic power supply failure that frys everything connected to it - data all gone! Discuss. Cheers Paul Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Backup can really many any sort of data contingency, whether its a localized RAID system, an extra attached disk, or on removable media (hell even floppy disks count!) . I myself have my NAS auto sync specific folders onto a RAID 1 array, which in the case of a power supply failure or system fire would be fine, but not so much in say a house fire or flood. So, I've gotta say, yes that counts as a backup. Even if you've got data stored half way across a city, what if theres an earthquake, or an alien attack, or well . nothing is safe so spread your data around the world . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
road-runner Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I have a 150gb raptor for windows, if it crashes I dont care because I dont keep anything on that drive. I have a 1.5Tb with my important stuff music and movies on it and a 2TB with another copy. If the house burns or the rig blows up I will just start over, I am not storing my info online no where. Now if it is really important stuff I will store it in 3 different physical locations... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Ok most peoples data isn't important but if your going to backup "important" data then it should be stored to a portable device which is not permanently connected to the PC and stored on a different site. What happens if there's a fire - data all gone! A catastrophic power supply failure that frys everything connected to it - data all gone! I couldn't agree more. I keep a portable drive with everything I need to completely restore my computer hidden in my detached workshop. My entire music collection is stored on a Gmail account. Not to mention "My Documents" mirrored to about 7 hard drives spread over 3 different computers. OK, that's a little much, but storage is pretty cheap these days. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zertz Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Not to mention "My Documents" mirrored to about 7 hard drives spread over 3 different computers. Is that backup or paranoia? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Hey why not a bit of both! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Guilty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackninja543 Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 (edited) I have a spare 300g hard drive that i use to back up whatever i dont want the RIAA/MPAA to find. So if i get a court order or something like that i wipe my drives a few times and ask them for proof. Then i go to my secret hiding spot and toss my back up in rly fast. BTW im working on a hard drive ejection system. In the even the police come to your house, you aim your computer out a window, press a button, and your hard drives fire out the back of it and blow up . Edited June 21, 2009 by Blackninja543 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Smith Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Is that backup or paranoia? LOL! As for me, almost all my important stuff is on the 2nd partition of my Wind. I sometimes backup that 40GB on one of my Seagates 250GB. Then, I have my 750GB for benching, which I backup on my second Seagate 250GB. And a few times a week, I backup the most important files (like my agenda, my course notes, etc.) on a SD card from my Wind using a little program I created in VB so it's really quick to do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kash Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 All of my important files are mirrored on one secondary internal drive, two external drives, and DVD-Rs. Most of media is on external hard drives and on DVDs. My music collection is on two separate computers and on DVDs, while my photos are are two separate external drives. So yea, I've got a bit of redundancy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flareback Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I have an internal RAID 1 configuration and an external backup drive. If my house burnt down I figure I'd have more important things to worry about than recovering my music and movies. So for me it is sufficiently backed up since it's just not that important to me. If I had more important things for work or something then I'd probably back it up somewhere else too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
taowulf Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 The more important question is what backup means to you. If you are a company that spends millions creating intellectual property, that means CONSTANT redundant off site storage. If you are the average computer user that may mean keeping your personal data (taxes, budget, personal pics, etc...) away from the more likely occurrence of data loss due to hardware failure. protecting from fire or theft is less likely to be needed, but when you KNOW you need it, it is too late. Look at what you have and ask yourself "what can I not afford to lose?" If the reasons are financial or personal (in the case of pictures), take whatever steps you feel necessary to ensure their integrity. Burn them to CD and put them in a fireproof safe. Maybe in a safe deposit box. Whatever makes you feel better about the possibility that the data currently on your hard drive will be lost to some accident. Backing up an OS or a installed program is silly. They can be easy replaced with a trip to your local computer store or purchased online. Losing pics of your child's 6th birthday is far more difficult to recover from if you don't take steps to avoid the loss. It all depends on how prepared you want to be. backing up to an external drive or different internal drive is fine if your worry is just hard drive failure. But it does little to nothing for fire or theft. That said, I rarely back up at all. A few things burned to CD/DVD here and there. If I am messign about with an OS install, I always make a backup of the most current install. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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