Suggestions please for backups

[Paula Sims]

My computer almost crashed, and although I do back up the important files (financial), I haven't been as good at backing up others (pictures, some e-mails). OK, dodged a big one this time, but it's was a warning that I'm taking seriously.

I know "the fluffy cloud" is nothing more than transferring my files to someone else's computer. However, how do you suggest a reliable means of backup, especially for pictures. I'm in need of at least 250gig of space. Is having an external drive enough? DVD's don't go up that high and it would be tons of DVDs if I did go that method.

Any suggestions? Brand suggestions too, please.

Thanks

Paula

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

1. What's your budget? Which OS do you have?

Is there more than one PC that needs backup service?

[Paula Sims]

3. Oops, forgot, DU readers are brilliant but they're not mind readers!

OS = M$ Windoze 7 (note: should I upgrate to 8, or 10?)
Budget = not much, under $1,000
Only 1 PC -- don't need to back up the OS, just the downloads.

Thanks for the help

Paula

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

4. arcane1 suggests an external USB drive which is probably...

...the way to go for 95% of home users. You should buy one that's at least 50% bigger than the drive you want to backup. If your PC has a 1TB drive, buy a 1.5-2TB external for backup use.

Have you considered getting some backup software? There is software built into windows that can do the job well enough. Some external drives are made for this purpose and come with software.

Two final thoughts:
1 There's no backup as handy as just having another PC with all the same files saved on it. Generally when something happens and it could be just the disk getting old but having a backup doesn't give you access right away and once you've got your PC working again, there's a long restore (count on a couple hours for 250 GB).

2 Drives don't last forever.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

5. BTW is your Win7 Home Premium or Professional?

Personally, I'd stick with 7 at this point.

[arcane1]

2. Fortunately, 250 gig isn't that much, and space is getting cheaper all the time.

External hard drives that are twice that size can still be relatively cheap:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100023376%20600030782%20600030791&IsNodeId=1&name=500GB

I don't really have any brand advice, but you can always go by customer ratings.

For me, external hard drives are the way to go unless you're worried about your house burning down

[Ohio Joe]

6. 250 gig... I'd go with disk...

I would suspect you have at least a DVD burner if not a blue ray burner that came with your computer... I'd just burn them to disks, pop the disks in a fire proof safe... Maybe make copies and send to friends/relatives and you should be good to go.

[PoliticAverse]

7. Get a 500GB or 1TB USB external drive.

For example:

500GB $48, 1tb $63: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ESUIX4S

[Fla Dem]

12. I don't keep any record, docs, spreadsheets, photos on my computer. Save everything to

an external hard drive. Seagate 250 GB's. Not only so I don't lose anything if my computer crashes, but for security as well. I only connect it when I am working on something, so if anyone is trying to hack my computer, there's nothing there for them to see. Don't trust all that "cloud" stuff either. Hackers can get into anything.

[Paula Sims]

8. Thanks everyone -- you're amazing

Looks like a double back-up is probably the way to go. I'll have one at home and one in the vault in the bank. Yes, I'm paranoid but if you knew what I do for a living, you'd understand (it's legal, I just see the dredges of society).

Now -- on to the back-up software -- any suggestions? Should I just set up the drives as external dries and Fire-wire connect for transfers?

I've built computers for at least 20 years now and this one is my latest one (going strong since 2009) but YOU NEVER KNOW!! Time to do something about the future.

Thanks

Paula

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

9. You're welcome

I have an older version of:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=12K-012A-00001
...with 4 TB of HDDs installed. One of the advantages of using Win7 pro is the ability to backup to a network drive.

If your familiar with Linux or interested in learning, consider using an old PC loaded with FreeNAS:
http://www.freenas.org/for-home/

If you like NAS concept, I would still have a local backup solution like an external USB HDD. I use old 120GB 2.5" HDD in a portable enclosure for backup of short-term data at home or on the road. Truly, you never know.

[csziggy]

10. I've been thinking of getting an external SATA dock

That can hold two or more hard drives. Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0VN-0003-000N7 (I'm not recommending this one, it's just an example.) I'm looking at this one since it comes with its own backup software, but NewEgg.com sells various docks.

If I get one of these, then I'd get 2-4 hard drives, do a full, then incremental backups, and take one set of drives off site at least once a week.

[sharp_stick]

11. Online backup is another option

I like Crashplan by Code42. IIRC it's about $115/2years and you can usually find discounts.

The thing I like about online backups is that your data is safe in case of fire or flood without needing to pay for recovery services. You can also set your security from simple passwords to fully encrypted. The danger of going with fully encrypted is that if you lose your key they can't get it back but nobody else can either.

http://www.code42.com/crashplan/