[ARCHIVED THREAD] - External Hard Drives for Backup (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 1/26/2010 8:02:13 PM EDT
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What do you guys think about these:
My Book Essential 500 GB My Passport Essential 500 GB I don't really think I need a portable one, but it would take up less space. What say you guys? ETA: Nevermind the prices, as I'm sure I can find them cheaper on Amazon... |
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have a 500gb WD mybook at work, runs a daily backup of maybe 1-2 gigs after it had backed up un maintenanced for quite awhile (not even half full) it became super super fucking slow access times. it would take 1 min just for a right click of a folder to appear and then maybe 3 hours just to delete a weeks worth of daily backups (5-8gb)... YMMV i'm currently running a 500gb seagate freeagent, i havent had it long but i havent had any issues with it. havent had it long enough to recommend that either. |
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Quoted:
have a 500gb WD mybook at work, runs a daily backup of maybe 1-2 gigs after it had backed up un maintenanced for quite awhile (not even half full) it became super super fucking slow access times. it would take 1 min just for a right click of a folder to appear and then maybe 3 hours just to delete a weeks worth of daily backups (5-8gb)... YMMV i'm currently running a 500gb seagate freeagent, i havent had it long but i havent had any issues with it. havent had it long enough to recommend that either. Thanks for the heads up. |
| I also had a My Book 500G. I only had it for a couple of months, and used it only periodically as a backup. While cutting the remaining files from my PC in order to re-format, the My Book shit the bed with all of my stuff on it. Some hardware failure somewhere in the drive. I wasn't really interested in letting someone work on it with the hopes of recovery, as many sensitive financial and family documents were present. Those were replaceable, but the detailed firearms logs that had 12K rounds worth of reloading, maintenance, and malfunction data were all lost for good. Not buying another My Book. |
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I have one of each of the ones you linked. The My Book stays plugged into my computer and contains a backup of everything on my hard drive and all of my pictures and stuff. The passport is used for a weekly backup of the My Book backup. This. This is the right way to do backups. The passports are sweet, no external wall wart. There is a 1TB one now. |
| I have a Maxtor OneTouch 4 with 500gb storage. It worked for a while, and then something happened with the software. My computer still recognizes it as a drive but won't run the auto-backup program, which is annoying. It's also not plug and play, you have to install software to operate it. This sucks because my wife can't install programs on her work laptop (she doesn't have the administrative whatever to do it), so we can't use it to back up her work stuff. If/when I were to buy another external HD, it would be something else. |
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NO NO NO NO!!! Consider Mozy or Carbonite. Backing up to a system at the same location as yours makes no sense. Offsite backup is the way to go. We use Mozy and it is stable and TOTALLY automated. Be careful with off-site back up. While good in the event of catastrophic environmental damage (like a fire, flood, theft, whatever), some of the companies that provide it have ownership of whatever you upload to them written into the user agreement, and can use it for whatever purposes they want. |
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I have a 1TB WD MyBook, I got for $89 from walmart.com a little before Christmas. Haven't had any problems with it, but have only used it a few times to copy music and pics, etc to it.
It's currently listed at $109 http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=12517495 |
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External HDs are a good idea unless you have another option for backing up.
I learned this the painful way when my HD blew itself up. It wasn't a case of corrupted data that a pro could recover...no it literally ground itself to a screeching halt! A total mechanical failure. All of my files disappeared!  . Fortunately, I had made CDs of my most critical "stuff" (Teaching presentations––-and my university kept copies too.) but I still lost way too much cool stuff gathered up over about ten years.
When I replaced the HD, I also installed an external 500GB drive. It is hooked up to our home network and my wife and I both autosave stuff to the external drive. There are also online file saving/backup companies like Carbonite. Ask Rush! 
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So what are you guys going to do with your external backup drive when you're not using it? If it's not secured at a different location, it's not really backed up. Sure, it might help in the event of a hard drive crash, but that's it. I suggest everyone use something offsite, whether it's on the web or storing DVD backups and/or external hard drives at work or in a safety deposit box. I also suggest you keep important information on it encrypted just in case it gets lost or stolen. TrueCrypt works awesome for that and it's encryption on the fly. Just don't forget your password.
Just to expand a little on what I do. I uploaded all of my pictures (8+ GB worth) onto Picasa Web (Google). It's extremely easy to use and it also allows you to access your photos from anywhere. For important files, I put them into a TrueCrypt volume (just a single file, sort of like a zip file), name it something insignificant and add a .PDF extension to it. Then I upload it to Google Docs for safe keeping. It's completely encrypted with the best encryption out there and it's also accessible from anywhere. Makes it convenient AND secure. |
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Quoted: So what are you guys going to do with your external backup drive when you're not using it? If it's not secured at a different location, it's not really backed up. Sure, it might help in the event of a hard drive crash, but that's it. I suggest everyone use something offsite, whether it's on the web or storing DVD backups and/or external hard drives at work or in a safety deposit box. I also suggest you keep important information on it encrypted just in case it gets lost or stolen. TrueCrypt works awesome for that and it's encryption on the fly. Just don't forget your password. Just to expand a little on what I do. I uploaded all of my pictures (8+ GB worth) onto Picasa Web (Google). It's extremely easy to use and it also allows you to access your photos from anywhere. For important files, I put them into a TrueCrypt volume (just a single file, sort of like a zip file), name it something insignificant and add a .PDF extension to it. Then I upload it to Google Docs for safe keeping. It's completely encrypted with the best encryption out there and it's also accessible from anywhere. Makes it convenient AND secure. This. After my house burning down with my backups inside, I carry my backup drive with me when I head to work. ETA: I have the HD Passport 320GB. The small one with USB power. Another thing guys: If you go this route, encrypt your data. If you dont encrypt it anyone can get your data if you lose the drive. I create an encrypted container with TrueCrypt, dump data in container, and unmount container. |
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FWIW, recently saw an article stating that external HD backups would soon be a thing of the past because of off-site services like Carbonite and Mozy. Both are expensive right now but Acronis just entered the market at $30/year and the author predicted that competition would bring the annual fees even lower in the next couple of years.
IMHO, Carbonite saved my ass last month when I crashed my Raptor. It's ssslllooowww but it worked perfectly (about 3g per day restore) |
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NO NO NO NO!!! Consider Mozy or Carbonite. Backing up to a system at the same location as yours makes no sense. Offsite backup is the way to go. We use Mozy and it is stable and TOTALLY automated. Be careful with off-site back up. While good in the event of catastrophic environmental damage (like a fire, flood, theft, whatever), some of the companies that provide it have ownership of whatever you upload to them written into the user agreement, and can use it for whatever purposes they want. Then encrypt everything with TrueCrypt before uploading. Let's see them use your data then. Vulcan94 |
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I have a Maxtor OneTouch 4 with 500gb storage. It worked for a while, and then something happened with the software. My computer still recognizes it as a drive but won't run the auto-backup program, which is annoying. It's also not plug and play, you have to install software to operate it. This sucks because my wife can't install programs on her work laptop (she doesn't have the administrative whatever to do it), so we can't use it to back up her work stuff. If/when I were to buy another external HD, it would be something else. Try using Windows SyncToy. It's free and works perfectly. It also has lots of different options as to how it backs folders up. Put it on a schedule through Windows Scheduled Tasks and it's flawless. I use it at work to back everything up to 2 different locations. It will only backup modified files and folders, so it saves time as well. PM me if you need more info on setting it up through Scheduled Tasks. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
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NO NO NO NO!!! Consider Mozy or Carbonite. Backing up to a system at the same location as yours makes no sense. Offsite backup is the way to go. We use Mozy and it is stable and TOTALLY automated. Be careful with off-site back up. While good in the event of catastrophic environmental damage (like a fire, flood, theft, whatever), some of the companies that provide it have ownership of whatever you upload to them written into the user agreement, and can use it for whatever purposes they want. Then encrypt everything with TrueCrypt before uploading. Let's see them use your data then. Vulcan94 I've been hearing good things about TrueCrypt. I need to actually look into using them. Quoted:
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I have a Maxtor OneTouch 4 with 500gb storage. It worked for a while, and then something happened with the software. My computer still recognizes it as a drive but won't run the auto-backup program, which is annoying. It's also not plug and play, you have to install software to operate it. This sucks because my wife can't install programs on her work laptop (she doesn't have the administrative whatever to do it), so we can't use it to back up her work stuff. If/when I were to buy another external HD, it would be something else. Try using Windows SyncToy. It's free and works perfectly. It also has lots of different options as to how it backs folders up. Put it on a schedule through Windows Scheduled Tasks and it's flawless. I use it at work to back everything up to 2 different locations. It will only backup modified files and folders, so it saves time as well. PM me if you need more info on setting it up through Scheduled Tasks. Interesting. I'll have to look into this as well. |
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Quoted:
FWIW, recently saw an article stating that external HD backups would soon be a thing of the past because of off-site services like Carbonite and Mozy. Both are expensive right now but Acronis just entered the market at $30/year and the author predicted that competition would bring the annual fees even lower in the next couple of years. IMHO, Carbonite saved my ass last month when I crashed my Raptor. It's ssslllooowww but it worked perfectly (about 3g per day restore) Don't pay that much to do it. Google and Microsoft provide it for free or almost nothing at all. Microsoft Live Drive gives you 25 GB for FREE. Use a TrueCrypt container and upload it without any worries. You can even install software that maps this drive for you in windows, so it looks like just another drive on your computer. Set it up with Windows SyncToy and it's perfect. Now I'm wondering why in the hell I'm using Google... 
Google also offers storage through Gmail, Picasa Web, and Docs for almost free. Here is their pricing breakdown... * 20 GB - $5/yr * 80 GB - $20/yr * 200 GB - $50/yr * 400 GB - $100/yr * 1 TB - $256/yr * 2 TB - $512/yr * 4 TB - $1024/yr * 8 TB - $2048/yr * 16 TB - $4096/yr |
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Quoted: So what are you guys going to do with your external backup drive when you're not using it? If it's not secured at a different location, it's not really backed up. Sure, it might help in the event of a hard drive crash, but that's it. I suggest everyone use something offsite, whether it's on the web or storing DVD backups and/or external hard drives at work or in a safety deposit box. I also suggest you keep important information on it encrypted just in case it gets lost or stolen. TrueCrypt works awesome for that and it's encryption on the fly. Just don't forget your password. Just to expand a little on what I do. I uploaded all of my pictures (8+ GB worth) onto Picasa Web (Google). It's extremely easy to use and it also allows you to access your photos from anywhere. For important files, I put them into a TrueCrypt volume (just a single file, sort of like a zip file), name it something insignificant and add a .PDF extension to it. Then I upload it to Google Docs for safe keeping. It's completely encrypted with the best encryption out there and it's also accessible from anywhere. Makes it convenient AND secure. Given that I've had to initiate a system restore 3 times in the last 18 months, statistics tell me that's where my real risk is. And who's to say that the off-site providers you mentioned won't move their entire operation to Haiti and lose it all in an earthquake or something? Separation is the only key point, not where that separation is. |
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Quoted:
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So what are you guys going to do with your external backup drive when you're not using it? If it's not secured at a different location, it's not really backed up. Sure, it might help in the event of a hard drive crash, but that's it. I suggest everyone use something offsite, whether it's on the web or storing DVD backups and/or external hard drives at work or in a safety deposit box. I also suggest you keep important information on it encrypted just in case it gets lost or stolen. TrueCrypt works awesome for that and it's encryption on the fly. Just don't forget your password. Just to expand a little on what I do. I uploaded all of my pictures (8+ GB worth) onto Picasa Web (Google). It's extremely easy to use and it also allows you to access your photos from anywhere. For important files, I put them into a TrueCrypt volume (just a single file, sort of like a zip file), name it something insignificant and add a .PDF extension to it. Then I upload it to Google Docs for safe keeping. It's completely encrypted with the best encryption out there and it's also accessible from anywhere. Makes it convenient AND secure. Given that I've had to initiate a system restore 3 times in the last 18 months, statistics tell me that's where my real risk is. And who's to say that the off-site providers you mentioned won't move their entire operation to Haiti and lose it all in an earthquake or something? Separation is the only key point, not where that separation is. Lol. My FIL does info security for a prominent bank, and you should hear some of his horror stories concerning this type of thing. One that sticks out was a data storage location in India that had a water-charged fire hose outside the door of the server room for fire suppression. Fire suppression for the rest of the building was an old dude and a bucket of sand. 
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Quoted:
Quoted:
So what are you guys going to do with your external backup drive when you're not using it? If it's not secured at a different location, it's not really backed up. Sure, it might help in the event of a hard drive crash, but that's it. I suggest everyone use something offsite, whether it's on the web or storing DVD backups and/or external hard drives at work or in a safety deposit box. I also suggest you keep important information on it encrypted just in case it gets lost or stolen. TrueCrypt works awesome for that and it's encryption on the fly. Just don't forget your password. Just to expand a little on what I do. I uploaded all of my pictures (8+ GB worth) onto Picasa Web (Google). It's extremely easy to use and it also allows you to access your photos from anywhere. For important files, I put them into a TrueCrypt volume (just a single file, sort of like a zip file), name it something insignificant and add a .PDF extension to it. Then I upload it to Google Docs for safe keeping. It's completely encrypted with the best encryption out there and it's also accessible from anywhere. Makes it convenient AND secure. Given that I've had to initiate a system restore 3 times in the last 18 months, statistics tell me that's where my real risk is. And who's to say that the off-site providers you mentioned won't move their entire operation to Haiti and lose it all in an earthquake or something? Separation is the only key point, not where that separation is. You don't. That's why I believe in redundancy. I have two drives in my computer, one is strictly a backup in case one or the other goes out. I also have backups on DVDs that are encrypted with TrueCrypt that I keep in a safe. But offsite storage is going to be more secure than any location I have access too, so I see it as having the greatest advantage. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I have a Maxtor OneTouch 4 with 500gb storage. It worked for a while, and then something happened with the software. My computer still recognizes it as a drive but won't run the auto-backup program, which is annoying. It's also not plug and play, you have to install software to operate it. This sucks because my wife can't install programs on her work laptop (she doesn't have the administrative whatever to do it), so we can't use it to back up her work stuff. If/when I were to buy another external HD, it would be something else. Try using Windows SyncToy. It's free and works perfectly. It also has lots of different options as to how it backs folders up. Put it on a schedule through Windows Scheduled Tasks and it's flawless. I use it at work to back everything up to 2 different locations. It will only backup modified files and folders, so it saves time as well. PM me if you need more info on setting it up through Scheduled Tasks. Thanks for this info. I have been looking for a tool to manage a backup of my data drive. It was a PITA to manually copy everything over, then double check that everything was the same on both drives. |
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Here's another approach. I got tired of plugging and unplugging my slow WD 1TB USB drive.
So I just bought an internal 1TB sata drive and used it for the more frequent backups. When not using it, I disable the drive in my bios, so it can't be accessed by nasties. It's super fast and cheaper than the external ones. Just a thought. |
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I'm using a Seagate FreeAgent 1TB. It works well. Yep. $99 at OfficeMax. $40 off regular price. Surprisingly quick. A full backup of 60GB took just a couple hours. I didn't bother with the proprietary Seagate backup solution, just using the native XP backup. |
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Quoted: Quoted: FWIW, recently saw an article stating that external HD backups would soon be a thing of the past because of off-site services like Carbonite and Mozy. Both are expensive right now but Acronis just entered the market at $30/year and the author predicted that competition would bring the annual fees even lower in the next couple of years. IMHO, Carbonite saved my ass last month when I crashed my Raptor. It's ssslllooowww but it worked perfectly (about 3g per day restore) Don't pay that much to do it. Google and Microsoft provide it for free or almost nothing at all. Microsoft Live Drive gives you 25 GB for FREE. Use a TrueCrypt container and upload it without any worries. You can even install software that maps this drive for you in windows, so it looks like just another drive on your computer. Set it up with Windows SyncToy and it's perfect. Now I'm wondering why in the hell I'm using Google... Google also offers storage through Gmail, Picasa Web, and Docs for almost free. Here is their pricing breakdown... * 20 GB - $5/yr * 80 GB - $20/yr * 200 GB - $50/yr * 400 GB - $100/yr * 1 TB - $256/yr * 2 TB - $512/yr * 4 TB - $1024/yr * 8 TB - $2048/yr * 16 TB - $4096/yr I'd never heard of Windows Live Drive and I've already got a login from Windows Live! Cool. Instant 25Gb of storage. I love the internets.
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I spend more on my backup than I do on my primary boxes: They kick ass but ain't cheap. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I'm using a Seagate FreeAgent 1TB. It works well. Yep. $99 at OfficeMax. $40 off regular price. Surprisingly quick. A full backup of 60GB took just a couple hours. I didn't bother with the proprietary Seagate backup solution, just using the native XP backup. I've had problems with the built-in Windows XP––won't backup anything over 4GB. So, when I try to essentially do an image of my HDD, it crumps. And I'm too cheap to pay for a backup software suite, so anybody have any suggestions? |
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OP buy a Western Digital 1TB from NewEgg. I believe you can get it for less than $120 delivered. I have two of them and haven't an issue to report. I was given a WD for Christmas. Plugged it in and was greeted by a pop up that said "If you continue ALL files will be lost on the hard drive.....etc..". Needless to say I ripped the USB out of my PC and chunked it across the room. Any ideas?
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Get a docking station for 20-30 dollars, then you can swap out harddrives whenever. Very nifty I think.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392029 |