How many backups is enough?
Jul 30, 2008 at 2:06 PM Post #17 of 39
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..


Okay, just want to express my condolences, that sucks
frown.gif
 
Jul 30, 2008 at 2:19 PM Post #18 of 39
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.
 
Jul 30, 2008 at 2:26 PM Post #19 of 39
For the Mac, Superduper is the best back up program there is, even better than time machine because the external back up drive is a bootable drive. I have 2 external drives I use for this purpose. Thos 2 drives are always off and backed up at different times.
 
Jul 30, 2008 at 2:53 PM Post #23 of 39
I've heard bad things about the lifespan of all externals. Not to mention the fact that they are easier to handle incorrectly because they're always being moved.

For those of you that can't afford/don't want to deal with offsite backups or multiple arrays, here is what I will do.

I'm going to turn an old 500mhz Coppermine I have laying around into a NAS with FreeNAS, an SATAII controller card and 2 750 gig WD or Samsung drives. About 250 for the drives and 20 dollars for the controller card and I can have a redundant copy for ALL my data plus, it will update at regular intervals since FreeNAS includes Unison.

And to those thinking about RAID, hear this. Just about all levels of RAID were/are designed to increase uptime in the event of hardware failure. Ironically, implimenting RAID increases the chances of an unrecoverable error since having HDDs and controller cards in large numbers increases the chance of failure. Also, it provides no protection against other faulty components (like the PSU or surge protector that you should have your computer plugged into) and won't help if the controller goes kaput. In some instances, the entire array may be unrecoverable.

Also, I read an article not long ago saying that the chances of a drive failing and then getting an unrecoverable error during rebuilding a RAID 5 array can be as high as 20% for drives of the sizes available today. IMO, having a separate computer with a JBOD array filled with redundant and up to date copies is a cheap and good way to back up your data. The chances of two systems in different parts of your house going down at the same time are pretty low unless a large catastrophy occurs. And in that event, you have much larger problems than lost music.
 
Jul 30, 2008 at 3:31 PM Post #24 of 39
1: Backup to external
2: Unplug external until you need to update the backup
 
Jul 30, 2008 at 11:19 PM Post #25 of 39
Backups depend on your attitude to risk. Most people probably don't even consider the possibility that their single HD could die. Most of those people will not experience a disk crash, a few will lose everything. If you are aware that data stored in one place should be considered transient and replaceable, then the level to which you back it up depends on 1) the importance and irreplaceability of the data and 2) your level of paranoia. Ensuring you have at least one copy of your data will be enough for the over-whelming majority of people. A few will be unlucky, multiple HD failures from power surges etc. A few will be very unlucky, house burns down etc. To be guaranteed that you can't ever lose data, under any circumstances is impossible (what about the meteor strike, or the super-volcano explosion?), all you can do is "what's reasonable", given the impact of losing the data.
 
Jul 30, 2008 at 11:45 PM Post #26 of 39
I keep all my important data and music on 3 external hard drives - one is my daily work drive and I back up anything I have changed on it to the other 2 at the end of the day.
 
Jul 31, 2008 at 12:46 AM Post #28 of 39
Quote:

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


3: For really important data, burn a copy to DVD/CD and give it to a friend of family member. Then if there's a flood/fire/whatever at your home, there's a backup. Or, you could use an online backup/storage service.

I periodically make DVDs of photo files and give a copy to my parents. It's a nice backup and they can look at the pictures.
 
Jul 31, 2008 at 4:52 AM Post #30 of 39
Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikebananafudge /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Okay, just want to express my condolences, that sucks
frown.gif



tnx man.. it does suck.. music is everything to me and not being able to listen to my tunes is really depressing..

Lots of good advice on here, thanks
smily_headphones1.gif


What blows is that i had bought another drive to do a second backup, as i already had one backup, which accidentally got erased in the mix of swapping drives/building a new machine. so yeah, it's a real bummer.

i don't trust hard drives at all anymore. i've had 3 die in the past year.

i'm thinking of investing in a blueray burner.. a couple of those discs and it'd be all backed up! hell.. i'd burn a dozen just to be sure.. and then i'd keep regular back ups of new music until i could fill another disc...

oh well.. i'm still holding on to the tiny thread of hope that i'll be able to find a PCB somewhere down the line...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top