Backup Files For Computer

[fish4trout]

Hi,

 

I have seen a few posts regarding backing up pictures/files on your computer. I am just wondering what would be the most cost effective way to save probably 5 thousand pictures from the last few years. I got a virus a few years ago and lost all the pictures after everything was said and done. It sucked bigtime, dont want a repeat.

 

Thanks for any info!

[headscan]

Get an external USB hard drive and back everything up to it. You can get a 250GB drive for under $100 or a 1TB for around $200.

[Wanny]

I have installed a free back up software on my comp. I created 3 folders on my external: Nightly, Weekly, Monthly and set it up to back up at those intervals. Saved my but a few months ago when my laptop crashed.

 

 

[headscan]

Keep in mind if you're going to keep the backup drive connected to the computer all the time that files stored on it could be affected by any virus you get as well. Get good antivirus software and keep it up to date.

[birchy]

It's insane how cheap storage is getting these days.. check this out:

 

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25653(ME).aspx

 

Which version of Windows are you running? Anything since XP is pretty simple for backing up your data.. Here's how it was done in XP:

 

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/s...ackupfiles.mspx

[Rufus28]

My $0.02

 

I also use an external drive to backup my photos/music/important docs. If you house burns down or the external drive is stolen you are screwed. So I also use an online backup service to keep a copy of everything up in the "Cloud". There are tons of them out there and they all range in price. I am currently using Mozy because they are compatible with Mac and they are cheap. ($4.95/month unlimited storage) There are other plans if you purchase years in advance. The initial online backup will take a while (Couple of weeks if you have tons o'data) but after that it only backs up what has changed. The other nice thing is that you can access you files anywhere that you have an internet connection.

 

 

 

 

[admin]

I moved my backup online. There are a number of services you can use to do this and IMO is the safe. One other thing to keep in mind is that if there is something bigger than a virus, say theft, flooding or fire, the external won't help you out.

 

If you do go the External drive route, be sure to get one with RAID, using multiple drives. That way if one of the backup drives goes down, you can replace it without losing any data.

[robert]

External hard drives are great for backing up, but yeah, you should have some place safe to keep it. Generally not such a concern as business but any data that you don't have 2 copies of is data you don't want...

 

Do NOT rely on your antivirus - it's not your salvation... The newer malware, the rogue antivirus programs will bybass pretty much any antivirus out there and they are getting nastier. Not going to put down antivirus companies but freebies are just as good - if not better - than the paid versions.

 

Linux can/will be your salvation when you get infected with a winblows virus/malware. I always use linux live (ubuntu) to copy data from an infected system - ain't that a bitch for microsoft eh? You can use linux to remove the worst of the viruses as well... Linux doesn't care about microsoft security - it's non-existant. Through linux live, you have access to ALL files on windows, and that's sad.

 

This is for everyone - do yourselves a favor and download ubuntu workstation, burn the ISO to cd/dvd and keep it somewhere handy. All you need to do is boot to it, and hit the prompt to run it without making changes to your computer. It will load itself basically from the cd/dvd - doesn't make any changes to your computer. At that point, you can install antivirus to scan your computer AND mount the windows hard drive so you can transfer files from your infected windows drive to an external USB drive. Problem solved.

 

Download is here:

 

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

 

You guessed it... I rarely run windows anymore. This is coming from an IT guy with 18 years in the field dealing with windows and it's downfalls.

 

 

 

[robert]

I moved my backup online.

 

 

Online backups are fine, just don't backup anything that you or someone else would consider sensitive information... There have been examples where businesses used online backup companies - everything was online and in someone else's hands... Well someone else's hands went into receivership and nobody knows who has all this sensitive data. It's cause for worry.