Computer on line back up

path1 wrote:
OP here... Thanks for all the help. Ok I'm going to go with external drive after reading the postings. Let me know if I'm right or wrong with the following question because in the past I had a tape back up and when old computer failed could not put data into new computer for some reason.

Question... With an external hard drive I can just unplug the external hard drive and take to other computer and put on my data on that different computer.
Is that right or wrong (assuming that I also put software into alternate computer prior to first computer failing).

Thanks for all the help.

External drives can be moved from one PC to another which is one of the advantages they have.

In the older days of tape backups, you were typically "locked in" to a specific brand/type of tape, tape drive unit AND tape backup software. The problem with that was if the drive or drive controller failed and you were not able to locate another of the same model your backups became doorstops. Often times older tape drives became obsolete due to proprietary hardware which was not usable on newer PCs or the tapes were no longer made.

Tape backups also often backed up the entire hard drive including the OS, often not a problem with DOS but when Windows 95 that came to a screeching halt. You simply could not restore a Windows 95 OS onto a different PC without spending hrs fixing hardware errors and even then it might be unstable. DOS was easy to move to a new PC, it had no care in the world for drivers, it was happy to be moved to a newer and faster PC.

Back to the external USB drive... You have several choices for backing up your files.

You can simply COPY the files you want to "save" to the external drive by basically making a folder on the drive then drag and drop the files from the MY DOCUMENTS folder. It requires no software but does require you manually do this on a regular basis.

Alternate way is to use a backup software which allows you to setup a backup schedule. Once the schedule is created the software will do the backups for you automatically.

The downside to this is you will need to make sure you keep a copy of the backup software in case you have to reload your PC from scratch. The reason for this is a lot of backup software will create a backup file which can be only read from that software.

Not sure if they are still making backup software but Winzip actually created a backup software suite of tools which backed up your data as a ZIP file (which can be opened by a lot of software including XP, Win7). It also gave the choice to password protect the ZIP files for additional security. Could check into that one..

We use Crash Plan. We get email notifications to verify backups from them.
Mainly want to protect our photos. We also use external hard drives and a number of photos are on our blog.

path1 wrote:

Question... With an external hard drive I can just unplug the external hard drive and take to other computer and put on my data on that different computer.
Is that right or wrong (assuming that I also put software into alternate computer prior to first computer failing).

I've frequently switched external hard drives between computers with no problems to move data back and forth. Worked for me.

Yes, an external drive can move from one computer to another.

OP here... Thanks for all the help. Ok I'm going to go with external drive after reading the postings. Let me know if I'm right or wrong with the following question because in the past I had a tape back up and when old computer failed could not put data into new computer for some reason.

Question... With an external hard drive I can just unplug the external hard drive and take to other computer and put on my data on that different computer.
Is that right or wrong (assuming that I also put software into alternate computer prior to first computer failing).

Thanks for all the help.

2oldman wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
I wouldn’t (give out my own personal info) so why would you be willing to trust your computer data to an unknown third party who has no vested interest in keeping your data safe and secure?

Suit yourself. It's not for everyone, and it's not 100% reliable. I don't care what you do, but you act like people are idiots for doing it.

You act like it is impossible to do without PAYING a third party to make backups of a PC.

Backing up your files does not require any rocket science, or even a high school diploma.

I am merely pointing out with TODAYS hard drive prices and plethora of backup software that you ARE MONEY ahead to do it YOURSELF.

One external 500gig HD for $50, you pay ONCE, backup MANY times to that drive. Or advanced backup you buy two drives and alternate backups.

With online backups you PAY $60 EVERY YEAR until the day you die, 10 years and that is $600 you paid in and assuming the company you are using is still in business then.

Gdetrailer wrote:
I wouldn’t (give out my own personal info) so why would you be willing to trust your computer data to an unknown third party who has no vested interest in keeping your data safe and secure?

Suit yourself. It's not for everyone, and it's not 100% reliable. I don't care what you do, but you act like people are idiots for doing it.

2oldman wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
I can't figure out why folks feel backing up to the internet or "cloud" is a good idea and even willing to PAY money for it.

Maybe they're not as paranoid as you are.

2oldmam...

Am I Paranoid?

No.

Am I Cautious?

YES.

I have been working within the computer/data industry for 25+ yrs. During that time I have personally seen the power of keeping ones own computer backups, SAFE.

Your “backup” is only as good as the person(s) that you entrust to handle your data, keeping, holding it.

Then there is the issue of just how long they will stay in business, businesses especially Internet based last only a very short time then they are gone like smoke without a trace.

Try getting YOUR data back when the domain name is not renewed or the online storage quits paying for their connection to the wobbly web.

Or worse yet you paid for a year of storage and they disapear into thin air after a few months of taking your money (that one HAPPENED to me but thankfully I never used it as a backup for my PC).

Not to mention if you fail to pay or forget to pay your monthly “dues” your backup data is good as lost (they hold your data ransom).

My own online storage experience tells me that there are too many untrustworthy people vying for your money, it is nearly impossible to weed out the good from the bad. In the end it is no different than keeping information like your SSN, birthdate and any other personal high profile personal info secure.

You certainly wouldn’t blatantly post your SSN, birthdate and much more personally identifiable info would you?

I hope not, but MANY people do and think nothing of it.

I wouldn’t (give out my own personal info) so why would you be willing to trust your computer data to an unknown third party who has no vested interest in keeping your data safe and secure?

My current company I deal with a lot of medical info, HIPAA info to be specific, I would be hard pressed to be allowed to place any HIPAA related info on any unknown outside backup. We even have a hard drive crusher built specifically for our company to deal with any unusable returned HDs that cannot be DOD wiped and reused.

Talk about paranoid… try reading and following all the HIPAA regs…

The second part is reliability, if the backup is sent out on the wobbly web, your backup now is at the mercy of the server that is used to store your info (servers can break and or can be infected by virus), the quality and speed of that server connection, your own speed of the connection. Break one of those items and you may never get your data back..

If it is worth backing up, it is worth doing it yourself, after all only you have a vested interest in your data.

DIY backups now days can’t be any simpler, easier or low cost (buy a drive once and use it for years).

You can buy external USB drives based on 2.5” laptop drives, they are the size of a deck of cards, fit in your pocket and do not require any external power source.

Many external drives come with FREE backup software for those who are backup challenged or just too lazy to bother copying files, if they don't come with backup software you can find FREE stuff out there which will do the backups for you.

These external drives can be had for as low as $50 EXTERNAL HD SEARCH

or about one year worth of online backups (Carbonite is $59.99 per year) so I do not see any advantage to paying a third party a monthly premium to backup and store my data. Not to mention many online data backup solutions have LIMITATIONS on the available backup space you have (you may have to “buyup” to a more expensive data plan).

Many online backups systems also place software on your PC then it will “sneak” internet data bandwidth and processor speed, slowing down your PC as this happens. Folks who “tether” or use Cell data plans may end up exceeding their data plans costing them big time..

DIY backup has one other additional plus to me, speed, USB2 is much faster transfer speeds than any Internet transfer. 4 gig of data over the Internet can take hours to DAYS to move but with USB2 that is not much more than 5-6 minutes. I often transfer 10-12gig of data via USB drives in 15minutes!

wittmeba wrote:
How will you know you can always connect to the internet to retrieve files used by your browser?

You can't, any more than you can know your self-made backups are fail safe.

OL backup is just another tool, not something that's guaranteed 100% reliable.

I know the OP seems to have made their decision but I'd like to add one more thing.

Your data is valuable and that is what is mostly backed up by BU programs. But what about your O/S and critical configuration files? How will you know you can always connect to the internet to retrieve files used by your browser?

As suggested go buy a $70.00 or less 500+ GB drive and do your own backups. You will rest better knowing your data is not on the internet and you can "restore" needed files.