External Hard Drives

[monstermick58]

Had a wee scare last week, I had a busy week on the 'puter and I was just putting the laptop in sleep mode when I finished working on it, well the poor little thing had dummy spit, it flatly refused to start-up, I was worried that it was kapput and all my 'things' were gone forever.

So, thinking that I need to get an external hard drive, thinking 500gig should be more than enough, and it needs to be powered by the usb, just for ease of use.

What brand should I look at, and what should I avoid?

I'm looking at this  http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Samsung-2-5-G2-Portable-500GB-USB-External-Hard-Drive-/230576007219?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item35af66a833 would this be reliable?

Thanks for your thoughts




                                     Mmick

[braando]

Mmick.....i have no idea......but i have heard that Dez is a wiz with computers.........would you like his number...?

[mattyvas]

Hey Mmick, I'm guessing you don't back up very often.
To answer your question get yourself a Western Digital aka WD or a Segate.
They both offer a 3yr warranty with there products.
 
As you'd imagine i have a few drives for back up.

[ungeheuer]

Mick - IMO there's not much to chose between any of em. I usually just buy a HDD and wack it in a cheap enclosure.  Problem with USB is backing up everything can be slow and recovery applications often wont recognise USB when it comes to recovering from a fatality of total killed to death.  Do you have more than one PC at home? A home network?

More USB storage for less money here >> http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?sort=2a&products_id=49311 << its 3.5" so a fair bit bulkier though if that matters to you.

Also, I'd recommend using something like Acronis or Ghost to create (and regularly update) a HDD image.  

[battlecry]

I use Clonezilla.  It has worked flawlessly, backing up and recovering complete disks from images stored in USB drives.  It boots a version of Linux from the cd drive and takes over from there, so it works to recover from complete failures. 

[Mr.S2R]

Mmick,

The cost of external drives is next to nothing nowadays - wouldnt worry about 500gig - go the terrabyte.  Couple of things to consider when backing up you computer:

What do you need to back up?  Is it the whole computer, programs on there, documents photos etc.  Once you have decided on that this will lead you to your next step.

If you are just backing up photos documents etc. there are a couple of simple programs around to help you with that - sometimes even the brand of external drive comes with it's own program. These can either move or copy the data across to the drive.  One quick app is SyncToy (Microsoft) that works with Windows which is pretty easy to use.  Some dvd burning programs also have backup or archiving abilities (one such example is Ahead Nero cd/dvd burning program).

If you need both your data and programs backed up then what you need is an image creating program - this copies the entire contents of your hard drive to either a dvd (or number depending on settings).  Thus if your hard drive or laptop stops working then you can have this image restored back on to your hard drive.  Ghost used to be the program of choice but I have been using Acronis TrueImage.  Just be aware creating an image does take time, so dont expect it to be a quick process, try an hour or so to fully complete the process, and depends on what your image settings are.

It is always a good idea to keep the original installation discs or any other program discs if you do have a hard drive crash or buying a new computer to put the programs on.  Just helps as taking a backup or copy of your programs does not always work properly and there can be hassles copying on to the new computer or hard drive.

Also to consider is somewhere safe to store the external drive.  I have heard a couple of stories of people having computers/laptops being stolen and the accompanying external hard drive which is conveniently sitting next to it, thus all the digital memories are gone.  Best to have it in a safe, preferably fireproof and waterproof.

You can also consider online storage - there are companies out there that will do either a backup or image of your computer across the web and store it on their servers.  This service is not cheap though.

Finally if you do decided to backup stuff dont do it ad hoc.  Like I said there are some good programs out there and they can be set to regularly back up stuff and you can set it to do it automatically or remind when you it happens.  I do mine on a weekly basis as that is how much stuff changes on my computer.

Hope this helps Mmick.

[Wells]

I'd implore everyone to get their important files on to something like DROP BOX (CLICKYITY)..
Dropbox keeps the files synchronised with the cloud, or with multiple computers. It has client software for Win, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android, etc etc.. and allows you to share files between different users (I reckon a shared directory of service manuals for us would be great).
Default data allowance is 2GB, which is plenty for the REALLY important stuff..

Back on the topic of HDDs... WD do okay portable drives.
As others have said (far better than I) it's worthwhile doing a disk image every now and then..
If you're on Mac then I suppose you could try something like Time Machine.

Mick, have you thought about a NAS drive? Just something that plugs in to the network that you can back up to and is always on?

[Mr.S2R]

I'd implore everyone to get their important files on to something like DROP BOX (CLICKYITY)..
Dropbox keeps the files synchronised with the cloud, or with multiple computers.

yeah we use dropbox at work to synchronise data between Windows and Apple iPads - seems ok application, and has passed security checks etc

Default data allowance is 2GB, which is plenty for the REALLY important stuff..

What is your REALLY important stuff?  2Gb would not even be email backup file for me - take in to account pictures and HD movies of the family which are treasured items, you soon chew that up!  That is why bang for buck nowadays a terrabyte drive is the way to go.  NAS is great if you got the nous how set it up.

[monstermick58]

Some really helpful advice, I should add that it would be for photo's and documents that I have either received or created, but it would be advantageous to save the programs






                               Mmick

ps; the easier the better

[Mr.S2R]

Mmick,

In that case you would need to take an "image" of your hard drive - Acronis TrueImage is pretty good for that - but there are plenty of other programs that do it also.  Just note you cant just take a back up of the programs, as they install files and rely on files in the Operating System - be it Windows, Mac etc.  The other thing to take in to consideration is that if you do have an image of your drive, and your laptop or computer stops working and you get a new one, the new image may not take to the new computer due to different hardware.  For example Windows XP is quite old now, most computers makers have stopped making drivers and now concentrating on Windows 7.  Same with Linux.

Thus my point about making sure you have installation programs or discs for programs you have loaded on the computer - easier installing those from scratch than trying to back up.  My recommendation is to concentrate on backing up your emails, photos, documents etc.  Any reputable dvd/cd burning software has some sort of backup feature that has a wizard to guide you through - here's some to start with http://cd-burning-software-review.toptenreviews.com/.

good luck! 

[monstermick58]

Having a field day, doing some back-up to CD's now the bloody drive wont eject the disc, anyone have a clue?








                                          Mmick

[Mr.S2R]

Having a field day, doing some back-up to CD's now the bloody drive wont eject the disc, anyone have a clue?








                                          Mmick

Mmick - normally under the drive tray there is a tiny hole, possibly to the left of the drive as shown in the pic.  For laptops it may be right next to the eject button.

You should be able to stick a pin or a small straightened paper clip in.  You should push until you get to the end.  It should be spring loaded so if you press a little more it should release the drive door to spring open.

[monstermick58]

Mmick - normally under the drive tray there is a tiny hole, possibly to the left of the drive as shown in the pic.  For laptops it may be right next to the eject button.

You should be able to stick a pin or a small straightened paper clip in.  You should push until you get to the end.  It should be spring loaded so if you press a little more it should release the drive door to spring open.

Yep found that just prior to reading this, it looked like the disc was not put on the drive properly  and had dislodged, all good now, and thanks.







                                     Mmick

[Wells]

What is your REALLY important stuff?  2Gb would not even be email backup file for me - take in to account pictures and HD movies of the family which are treasured items, you soon chew that up! 

Only that you asked... for me, the REALLY important stuff are the things I'm working on right now or have a regular use for... A quick look through my mesh(RIP)/dropbox shows it's mostly work related stuff (current projects, code snippets, a backup of our accounting data which sync's nightly) along with things like my travel documents for trips I've taken recently, my tax information, insurance info, a recent resume, a copy of my contacts database, etc etc... Basically, stuff that I want access to easily should my laptop die or I'm on the road and all I have is my phone (or even just an internet café).
Pictures and Videos - as you say, get all that stuff up to a portable drive... I suppose if you wanted to though, you could grab your top couple of hundred pics and put them in there..
With regards to email, though, it's time to get it in to the cloud if you're able to. (After being in corporate for a number of years I moved into a small business and pushed my email to gmail.. It's one of the best things I've ever done.. I then just use an IMAP/POP client to connect to the gmail server.. No Laptop? Use your phone.. No Phone? Use just about anything that connects to the interweb)... Oh, and PST files are terrible for size optimisation.
Anywho, my point is, we're in a connected world now and even if someone hits the "interweb off" button, I've still got multiple copies of the files because I have multiple machines which are running the dropbox clients.

NAS is great if you got the nous how set it up.

There are plug and play style devices out there these days.. Time Machine/Time Capsule on Mac is a prime example.. I'm sure the config of most of THESE devices wouldn't be beyond most people here.

Doesn't Win7 have some sort of rudimentary snapshot/backup stuff in it these days?

[Mr.S2R]

Only that you asked... for me, the REALLY important stuff are the things I'm working on right now or have a regular use for... A quick look through my mesh(RIP)/dropbox shows it's mostly work related stuff (current projects, code snippets, a backup of our accounting data which sync's nightly) along with things like my travel documents for trips I've taken recently, my tax information, insurance info, a recent resume, a copy of my contacts database, etc etc... Basically, stuff that I want access to easily should my laptop die or I'm on the road and all I have is my phone (or even just an internet café).
Pictures and Videos - as you say, get all that stuff up to a portable drive... I suppose if you wanted to though, you could grab your top couple of hundred pics and put them in there..
With regards to email, though, it's time to get it in to the cloud if you're able to. (After being in corporate for a number of years I moved into a small business and pushed my email to gmail.. It's one of the best things I've ever done.. I then just use an IMAP/POP client to connect to the gmail server.. No Laptop? Use your phone.. No Phone? Use just about anything that connects to the interweb)... Oh, and PST files are terrible for size optimisation.
Anywho, my point is, we're in a connected world now and even if someone hits the "interweb off" button, I've still got multiple copies of the files because I have multiple machines which are running the dropbox clients.
There are plug and play style devices out there these days.. Time Machine/Time Capsule on Mac is a prime example.. I'm sure the config of most of THESE devices wouldn't be beyond most people here.

Doesn't Win7 have some sort of rudimentary snapshot/backup stuff in it these days?

yeah cool as  - all valid points.  My main point is that storage of any data should be off site i.e. not at your home, office, etc.  Taking advantage of cloud computing is great, including off site storage that is out there.  Micro$oft pst files are atrocious at the best, and there are better email archiving solutions out there. As for NAS - yeah may be plug and play but being in the industry I come across many that struggle just to get interweb full stop via home broadband! This sort of subject could be discussed on and on so I will leave it there.  I still enjoy hearing other people's experiences and opinions though - to keep an open mind is to keep up or ahead with technology today! So thanks Wells!