How many backups is enough?

[Drag0n]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kloan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Apparently at least one would've sufficed... my hard drive's PCB fried (common apparently with this particular Seagate drive). Lost my entire collection. CDs were given/sold away a long time ago.. and a lot was acquired through other means, rare stuff impossible to find in stores, etc... For now, it's sitting on a table... my search put on hold for now for a replacement PCB considering the rarity of it. What do you guys do to make sure something like this never happens? RAID set ups? DVD backups? Other?

If the HD's PCB burned out, maybe you can get a used HD off Ebay and install it on there and get your music off the drive? The music is still on the HD, so there must be a way to get it off.

 

[kloan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drag0n /img/forum/go_quote.gif If the HD's PCB burned out, maybe you can get a used HD off Ebay and install it on there and get your music off the drive? The music is still on the HD, so there must be a way to get it off.

Believe me, I've tried everywhere. But I do keep checking eBay periodically. Thing is, it has to be the exact drive. Firmware, model, etc all have to be identical or else it won't work.

I tracked one down in Turkey, but the guy wanted to charge me $250, which unfortunately I just can't afford right now. It was a pretty popular drive though, so I think I have a chance of finding it eventually.

I tried repairing the PCB at one point, and got it to power up but it wouldn't mount. I tried some more and then it wouldn't power up at all. I fear I might've ruined my chances of recovery if I do manage to get a PCB, but I'm crossing my fingers everything is still in tact.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenW /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have to agree with HFat on this one. I've got my MBP backed up using both Time Machine and SuperDuper on an external drive, but my real concern is the music I've accumulated. I've spent a good deal of time making sure it's properly organized and tagged so the thought of losing that volume is of great concern. I have that material on two independent external HD's. One goes down and I'll buy a second drive to create that second copy. Overkill? To some perhaps, but I have no desire to risk almost 1000 albums of ripped, tagged, organized music. Multiple backups for me.

Yep.

I have all the cds, laser discs, tape and (some) lps stored off site and two hds at home. I also have a drive at my brother's house that I update every six months or so.

 

[xxbaker]

dude some of you guys are intense... that'll probably be the way i am once i get out of college and get a job(am able to afford it). as for right now, running raid 1 on two drives.

 

[MusicallySilent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachary80 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1: Backup to external 2: Unplug external until you need to update the backup

That is pretty much what I do with my 750GB drive, I only turn it on when it is needed, the rest of the time it is unmounted from the PC and turned off.

Online backup or buying a small 250-320GB 2.5" USB drive (or firewire) and storing it in a safety deposit box (possibly encrypted if the information is sensitive) could also be a valid method of secure backup.

@OP, try putting up a want to buy here, and on your local craigslist, and see if anyone comes forward willing to sell one for a fairly legit price.

 

[wicker_man]

My backup plan:

External 1TB Drive 1:
500GB partition for Time Machine (automated backup on Mac OSX Leopard)
500GB partition for important data (lossless music collection, home videos, less used files)

External 1TB Drive 2: Copy of important data partition, videos

DVD+RW backup of VERY important data (uni work, photos etc) stored in a different location.

This way, if my internal laptop drive fails, I have a Time Machine backup. If one of the external drives fails, I lose my Time Machine backup (which is on my computer's internal drive) or my videos (which can be re-ripped). If both drives happen to fail, I have my Very important data on DVDs.

I also have a copy of my uni coursework on my iPod (along with my music and photo collection, plus a few videos. 160GB is plenty of space!)

 

[spookygonk]

Pair of external drives, 1@500GB, one at 750GB. Identical backups on each, plus all my digital music and digital photgraphy is burnt to DVD. I've lost data in the past and won't let it happen again. Last failure was a Buffalo 250GB drive, but I managed to get the data off.

 

[E.B.M.Head]

Optical media like CD-R/CD-RW/DVD-R/DVD-RW/Blue Ray aren't a reliable storage method. There are reports that CD-R have become unreadable after 2 -5 years. Writable / rewriteable DVD and Blue Ray have smalller data pits and might loose their data even quicker if not stored in the right place. Unless you store them in a cool and dark place I would look for a saver storage method.
Magnetical media like hard drives and floppy disks are supposed to keep the data for at least 20 years after writing. Magneto Optical media like the Zip Disk should keep the data even much longer.

 

[wicker_man]

If you use quality media, then it should last (personally I use Verbatim with MCC dye and Panasonic with Taiyo Yuden dye) and have never had any problems.

I have a couple of pretty old Verbatims with my old schoolwork backup (3 years old) which still works fine.