Backing up whole computer

drsteve wrote:
Everyone needs to realize that CDs and DVDs do not last forever--the ones you burn in a DVD-RW drive are not the same as commercially pressed disks. I have a few backups from 5 years ago that are unreadable, even by the drive that created them. So, if you're archiving important docs or valued pics, optical media is not the way to go.

No they don't last forever. Nor do any digital storage method. But if Bluray/DVD were that volatile a medium, then museums would not archive using them.

There are a number of factors that go into the life span of Bluray/DVD recordables including type of medium and brand quality. How they are stored, should be upright in low humidity, moderate temps, and protected from constant light exposure.

I still believe that optical disc recordables are the best archiving solution for the average end user. Hard drives are the worst due to their relative unpredictability, and would avoid using them if only one copy exists.

However, hard drives are the most convenient solution for backups when two or more copies exists, where files can be restored from either the backup drive or source should either fail. This is what most are using, including myself for daily backups.

Though redundant raids protect against drive failures, they don't necessarily protect against data corruption. So need to back up raid images also.

Personally, I would consider cloud storage as secondary backup to a local solution. You don't have control on how your data is being stored, nor whether the company will even be in business when you need your backups. Plus, I would not store personal data without encrypting it locally so that the user has full control of the keys. Regardless of what encryption is being used by the cloud storage company.

The best solution is to use a combination of methods, depending on how valuable the backup files are to the end user.