What is your backup method?

Do you use your system's backup? The manufacturer? Third-party backup?




poll

 

None... I do backup some things (documents, music, etc.), but I just use the good ol' drag and drop.

 

Seconded for the most part.
Primary files are on my secondary laptop HDD with the external HDD having backups.
I rely mostly on manual backups... and just occasionally clean up some old files to keep the backed up drive up to date.

 

Thirded. (If that's a word)

I never bother to back up my OS and programs. I like clean OS installs. The only things I do back-up are my music collection, holiday photos/videos, and of course work - things like documents, spreadsheets and so on.

ALL of these are stored on the cloud (either Dropbox/Copy), with some stored on both. I also have additional physical backups of some files on a couple of USB drives, and a spare 500GB 2.5" laptop HDD lying around.

 

Oh dear, this thread does not appear to be going as I thought. Although I have to admit I was under the same belief until earlier this week when I had an almost catastrophic system failure. I nearly lost 800GB of data. Rest assured, that gut wrenching fear won't occur again.

 

I marked OTHER as I only do backups when I have done something important on the computer like accounting.

 

Daily (quasi-continuous with DropBox sync) for original documents, monthly system backups (system images via Acronis) for my personal workstations. Family PC, automatic daily differential backups with built-in MS Backup. And of course, System Protection providing automatic versioning is turned on as well.

I just wish Microsoft would include at least a marginally more full-featured backup utility (including options for automatic staged differential and incremental backups). Having only differential backups, and having to clear these out manually is ludicrous. Oh well. I am thinking about getting a nice NAS solution for this anyway. Seeing how, apparently, a lot of people just use their PCs as toys (or at least treat them that way), I am not surprised Microsoft does not have a better backup solution included though...

My data is valuable. Enough said.

Yep, unfortunately this kind of thing is all too common. People don't learn until they get seriously hurt. Good thing you were lucky this time around, and learned your lesson just in the nick of time. Many others are not so lucky.

 

Here's how I do my backup...

1. Acronis home that I run from CD
2. Use Acronis CD to restore working image
3. Update all my software updates including Windows and other drivers.
4. Use Acronis CD again to make a new working image.
5. Save image to another HDD for recovery purpose and secure from deletions.

This is how I do my backup so if the main C:\ every goes out all I do is redo the image onto the new drive and get back and working. Faster then rebuilding all over again.

For Family builds I use the MS options Create Recovery Image/backup disk so that should their system fail they just replace the HDD/SSD and use the System Repair disk and restore their system back to the last setup and they can start using again.

These options I learned from overtime doing backups and worked the best as I seen and used so far. In the past I did use Norton backup but since I don't use the "Floppy" drive anymore going CD was easier and less prone to read failures and I can make as many copies of the Acronis CD and not worry about read failures a good feature of Optical media.

 

I just purchased Acronis and did a fresh Whole System backup yesterday. Now would it be prudent to clone the C drive on a separate HDD as well? I want to be comfortably secure without being overly cautious. I have spare HDD, USB, DVD and 1TB Cloud.

 

I use the one in Win 8.1 & backup to USB 3.0 Drive Seagate Backup Plus 1TB, I had occasion to use, All Good.


Cheers
3Fees

 

Monthly full image backups to external hard drive using clonezilla, (keeping out of box image as well as 2 most recent generations) All important data is stored on local hard drive as well as 32 GB flash drive that I keep with me (receipts, passwords, Ariana Grande videos ... ). I also avoid cloud storage after having an issue with dropbox a while ago.

 

I just use that to transfer file back and forth not for storage....

 

Now I'm getting interested: Who is Ariana Grande?

 

lol, nuff said

 

eaaa whatever.....whatever floats their boat....

 

I like to use aomei onekey recovery

I just backup my OS with its tweaks and software. I save everything else into another hard drive

 

I guess you could call here a modern day Connie Francis

PS. I do backup the 32 GB USB drive also to the external hard drive regularly

 

Good call. I do forget about all my usb drives mostly because they're in bags all over the place. And as a matter of fact those are the devices where I've actually lost data.

One I managed to retrieve with Mini Tool Partition recovery, but the other was lost forever. It just vanished. Luckily in that case it was merely a collection of my favorite youtube music videos. Low quality audio and nothing that wasn't easily replaceable. However, it could have well been something valuable. Thanks for reminding me.

One other thing, since I performed my whole disc backup, I'm been getting this invalid partition on boot/reboot. A minor annoyance but I'm not sure how that got messed up?

 

I copied this from another post awhile back on another site. I just use W7's built-in backup. Maybe it can give you some additional flexibility or not.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Backup and Restore. (Backup Operation Conditions)

Presumably the registry keys can be added (if missing). The following are the keys default settings that can be tweaked to meet requirements.
Copied from a post elsewhere by Sriram @ Microsoft.

The rules that determine when to take automatic full backup are:

1. If previous full backup was taken 1 year back.

2. Ratio of size of deleted files + older versions of files in current backup set is 50% or more of the size of the current backup if it were full.

REGISTRY KEYS:

Registry key to control enable/disable automatic switching to full backup:
Path: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsBackup\AutomaticFullBackup
Name: Enabled
Type: DWORD
Value: 0 indicates automatic full backup is disabled, non-zero indicates it is enabled
Default if not specified: 1

Registry key to control the time period when backup should automatically switch to full:
Path: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsBackup\AutomaticFullBackup
Name: TimePeriodInDays
Type: DWORD
Value: Count of days
Default if not specified: 365

Registry key to control the % of deleted/missing + older versions of files that determines whether to switch to full backup:
Path: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsBackup\AutomaticFullBackup
Name: OlderFilesSizePercentage
Type: DWORD
Value: Percentage value from 0 to 100
Default if not specified: 50


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT: P.S. I think this looks and... will sound better than Ms. Grande: Ferrari LaFerrari FXX K revealed | Fox News

and also Led Zeppelin albums are worthy of backing up!

 

Ah, this is interesting, thanks!

 

I use a secondary hard drive for backup. I probably ought to make it an external one as an additional protection against power surges, but I do have a decent surge protector in play already. As for the method, I use a third-party program called Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier to copy everything over every few weeks. The downside is that it doesn't delete the stuff I've deleted, so every so often I have to reformat the backup drive and start over, which isn't ideal since if my main one crashed between when I reformat and when the copy finishes (typically around 12 hours when starting from scratch) I'd be out of luck. But unlike some backup-specific software I've tried, it is indeed pretty unstoppable, it doesn't grind the computer to a halt, and it has a Pause button in case I do need to so something disk-intensive while it's making a backup.

Ideally I'd have two backup drives so I could reformat one and still have a backup, but I haven't got around to that yet. I did just start a backup thanks to this thread, however.

I've considered writing my own program to do backup just how I want it, but haven't gotten around to that, either.

As for drives other than my 2 TB Toshiba on my desktop? I have file system compression turned on on my backup, so I have enough space that I also back up my 320 GB SSD to the same drive. For my laptop, I consider it secondary, so I periodically move files I want to keep to my desktop. Probably less often than I should, though. My other external drives I use primarily for transfer, and don't store things on long-term.

I did find a floppy disk earlier this year, and was pleased to find I'd already backed it up onto my hard drive, and its contents were on my backup hard drive as well. I left the contents on the floppy so at least I'll still have that data if everything else goes kaput.

I would have to do a re-install if my SSD crashed, but I don't consider that a huge problem. Inconvenient, yeah, but not a huge problem. So far, the only drive that's crashed was my (original) backup drive, so I drove out to Micro Center the next day and bought a new drive.

When I did a re-install after upgrading my SSD this summer, I did burn a backup of my most important files to DVD-Rs and CD-Rs. But that isn't my primary backup since I'd go through a lot of discs if it were.

 

I use Macrium Reflect Free to image my Windows drive manually and regularly (once every couple of weeks maybe) to an external drive. I like the peace of mind of knowing that if something goes wrong I can simply replace the drive and restore the image and I won't have to start from scratch.

I've also got scheduled backups for my user folder that run three times per week using Easus Todo Backup free. As a sidenote, this program can also be used to image the whole drive but I've got experience using Reflect for that purpose and I know it works well so I stuck with it.

The whole scheme can be set up in less than an hour using free tools with the only cost of a dedicated external drive and it's quite painless to run. I think it's worth it.

 

If I remember right Macrium Reflect Free runs from the drive itself unless it is a bootable CD/DVD media running the program makes this program not feasible or very good for backup/restore options when you HDD no longer works that the program is installed on. This is why I use Acronis CD boot disc it contains the complete operational program and can do it for other computers by itself this is the test of how good a backup program really is if you can't make a full running program running from CD/DVD media then it isn't worth the paper it is printed on.

 

Reflect can create both Windows and Linux USB/DVD bootable media you can create and restore images from.

 

This concerns me since this method doesn't really protect your data should something happen to your computer.

For maximum safety and protection, data is best kept on an external drive and stored in a separate location away from your main unit.

This to me is the single greatest advantage to cloud storage. To which I must admit -- due to cost -- have not taken advantage of yet. I suppose if I had business critical data, the benefits would outweigh the cost.

 

Well, yeah - if a meterorite fell from the sky onto my computer, I would have a problem. But I'd probably have a lot bigger problems than that if a meteor fell from the sky or there was a fire or a sinkhole or something like that.

I probably could use it in conjunction with my external SATA/IDE/laptop SATA combo device to make it a purely external bare drive, come to think of it. That'd solve the electrical risk issue.

If I were running a business with critical, sensitive data, I'd probably follow the model of a local company and build at least two data centers that are geographically separated with redundant everything (including cooling, electric generators, etc.), several weeks' worth of generator fuel onsite or within close access, and protection against a variety of natural hazards, such as telephone poles traveling at 200 mph due to tornadoes. That would be overkill (and prohibitively expensive) for my personal needs, however.

If I were running a business with somewhat less sensitive data, cloud storage might be an option, but if it were really sensitive data, I wouldn't want it on someone else's server.

 

What I usually do:

School work and other important (non-sensitive) documents are on DropBox, so basically a daily backup in a sense.
That DropBox folder is manually backed up every so often, whenever I feel like it (usually during major programming assignments).
Sensitive documents and personal files (pictures, video, etc.) on my computers are drag-and-dropped onto external, local storage every so often.
Anything else isn't backed up at all (game saves, downloads, etc.).

 

Well, it doesn't have to be anything that exotic. Stuff gets stolen all the time. And if, as I assume, your computer is a laptop that you sometimes carry with you to a different location, then the thing could get dropped bad enough to damage the hard drive, run over by a bus, get damaged in a car accident, etc., etc. The possibilities are legion.

Each one of these may be unlikely, but there's a pertinent concept in statistics called an "expectation value": You multiply the probability of an event by the monetary loss associated with such an event. Thus, even if the chance of a certain event happening is, say, one in a million during the course of a year, but the associated cost of that event also runs in the millions (if that sounds high to you, think about how you would value the loss of your career), then you are in essence accepting a substantial loss by not protecting against even such an unlikely event. Mind you, each one of the things I mentioned above is a lot more likely than one in a million, too...

 

It isn't a Reflect recovery screen but a Win PE recovery what I refer to as boot from the media is Acronis runs and is Acronis not another program to use the recovery and image creations this is something Reflect isn't a true backup program in itself. Now if it loads a interface like Acronis and is Reflect that would be better but it doesn't do that. It doesn't sounds like it does what Acronis does for creating and restoring the backup image from reading on their site. So it isn't a true standalone backup program that can run and do the backup itself. That is the true test of a full operational backup and restore program.

 

Mine is really simple. I hate counting on a software solution because I don’t trust them and they break (stop working) just when I need them. Plus I use my own backups to copy my stuff back and forth to my other PC’s in my house so I really don’t want to mess around with backups and restores from multiple machines.

I just copy and paste 3 folders to an external.

The Windows “My Documents” folder (mainly for my game saves as most are in there) <1GB
My own “Docs” folder (various utilities, drivers, pictures, various disc/OS images, other records, DRM free game installers) <2TB
My own “Media” folder (Movies & TV shows) <2TB

I do this once a month, and lockup my newest backup at work. If for some reason my house and work both get bombed and I lose everything, I will be dead anyway (since they are 40 miles apart!)

 

Having backup at different locations will minimize the lost and improve data recovery should the worse happen.

That is what I tell everyone...your software you can always install and download to install but your data/files/pictures/video/music files don't reinstall loose them and loose them forever. Having more backup options and locations will insure you don't do a bonehead move and wipe in a few key press everything gone forever...

Cloud should only be used to transfer not storage..I tell people "NEVER" put important data on the cloud use it as medium to transfer to a more secure "FORT" Knox - Cloud storage isn't safe just read the Online and watch and read the news and you see Cloud can be hack and all your data will be take regardless as part of the theft. If all those are so important remove them from Cloud to your local storage for "FORT" Knox security. Also remember this you think you uploaded to "ONE" Cloud server is actually "Banks" of Cloud aka "Server Farms" WordWide not just in one location. So if you delete in one there is a 90% there is a hidden backup of that Cloud image on another Cloud server so your data is not gone if you delete it. So only keep worthless data on there and important close to "HOME". That way you know only "you" and "YOU" and those you give access to can get to it not a user (example) in some obscure country read and uploading your personal information. This is what people forget til it is too late.....and most time it is too late....

 

Still using my WHS 2011 for daily client backups and file storage, WHS backup to external hard drives, and a Crashplan backup of my WHS to my sister's WHS 2011 (and hers to mine). Personal photos/movies/documents also go on a separate external USB hard drive that I swap with one at my mom's house whenever I visit.

 

I actually use a desktop primarily; I switched to a desktop in 2011 but DesktopReview is boring so I still post here instead. So the chances of it being dropped or stolen are a lot lower. Technically someone could steal it, but they'd probably take the TV or laptop and get out before going for the 30-pound large-and-heavy desktop.

As someone who isn't a freelancer, I don't have anything career-affecting on my personal computers. So, while it would suck if someone stole my desktop, it wouldn't be career-altering. And as mentioned, I have optical backups of the most important files when it comes to personal value.

I do see the point that there's room to improve, though. But I probably shouldn't be the #1 target of improvement, since 33% of NBR members voting back up either whenever (i.e. rarely), or never. And that's probably better than the general populace. I know more than a few people IRL who don't have any proper backup method at all because they don't think it's worth spending $65 on a backup drive of some sort. It's why I always advise factoring in the cost of a backup drive when getting a new computer, although as most recommendations in "What laptop should I get?" threads go up to the budget without a backup, I suspect a lot of people don't plan for that at all.

I shall try to remember to swing by Micro Center the next time I'm in the area and get a decent external enclosure at least, and maybe a spare Toshiba drive as well for not-actually-in-the-computer backup.

 

I voted other. A lot of my files get synced between computers and online through OneDrive, for other stuff that I don't want to put on the cloud, it's regular backups to an encrypted external drive stored in another location than where I usually keep my computer. There are some files that I don't backup, but they are files that I don't mind loosing if it were to happen.

 

Voted other.

I keep my school work in vhd files per semester so I can easily mount them and share them between virtual machines and stuff. I "back them up" once a week by zipping the vhd file and moving it to my SSD.
Those files get copied from SSD to external disk once a month or more when working on something important. Full system backup from laptop to desktop using Marcrium Reflect Free before I travel somewhere since I see a higher chance for my laptop to get stolen then.

~Aeny