Best, cheapest, safest way to backup data?

[krackato]

I've always worried about this. I have a DVD burner, but I'm always worried about DVD blanks degrading. Is there a better way to backup these days now that we all have like 100-300gigs of storage space? Even with DVD blanks it would take 43 blanks to back that up, which is a lot of blanks and a lot of disc swapping. Is there a certain brand of media we should be using for DVD backups?

How is anyone supposed to backup data these days? Are harddrives a recommended solution? I know a lot of guys use external harddrives for backing up but is that an ideal solution given the fact that harddrives often fail.

I see some hope with the new 8.5gig dual-layer DVD formats coming out in April, and obviously Blu-Ray with its 23gig and later 54 gig holds a lot of promise. But what are we supposed to do today?

 

[DaveSimmons]

I backed up the 800 of my CDs I ripped to FLAC format by installing a second 250 GB hard drive into my music server, copying the files, then removing the hard drive and setting it aside.

For data that changes often, you could get a 3.5" USB2/firewire enclosure and put in a big hard drive. Burning DVDs is still a good idea though as secondary backup.

 

[cmaMath13]

I have an extra hard drive in place for back ups. I too many pictures and videos of my children and would not want to lose these, so I back up all important files once a week on secondary drive.

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
I backed up the 800 of my CDs I ripped to FLAC format by installing a second 250 GB hard drive into my music server, copying the files, then removing the hard drive and setting it aside.

For data that changes often, you could get a 3.5" USB2/firewire enclosure and put in a big hard drive. Burning DVDs is still a good idea though as secondary backup.

That could get inconvient. For ease of use you could also consider a hotswap IDE drive bay or an external hard drive.

-Por

 

[zephyrprime]

There is no good way to backup. I use hard drives on a spare computer. Tape drive tapes actually cost more than HD's now even disregarding the cost of the tape drive.

Why don't tape manufacturers get off their ass and develop optical tape? Darn them!

 

[HGC]

I keep a second hard drive dedicated to backup. I use software from www.duocor.com. It is so fast and easy to use that I backup once or twice a day. With this software Windows cannot see the backup drive, so there is no way to accidentally corrupt or erase anything. You could use removable drive brackets and alternate drives if you want off-site storage.

I stopped using tape drives a few years ago when the drive ate the backup tape during a critical restore.

 

[boomerang]

I back up daily using Drive Image 7 from Powerquest to a third HD. I have everything on two Raptors in RAID 0.

In Drive Image I have scheduled an automatic backup for a time of day when my computer is normally on. I have this set up to run every day of the week.

No rebooting, it runs right from within Windows. If you're gaming you will notice a slowdown. But it backs up my 9GB in about 6 minutes.

This protects me from failure of my RAID array and/or HD failure. I backup the entire drive and can restore and be back up in a matter of minutes.

You have to ask yourself what you are trying to protect yourself from. This setup of mine is obviously no protection from fire or theft. You can get as paranoid about this stuff as you want. And I don't mean this in a bad way. Removable drives and off site backups, etc., etc. Whatever makes you comfortable.

With Hard Drives as unreliable as they are these days, for me, that is my primary concern.

 

[IgoByte]

What about if you need backup that you can take off-site every night? External HDDs & hotswaps aren't really very convenient for that.

Which back-up programs are the best to use?

Personally, I have an external HDD (USB2.0 & ethernet) and I back up as I need to (in other words, maually).

 

[Atlantean]

They don't degrade thats just some dumb rumor, as long as you take care of them and don't leave them sitting out in the sun. Backing up to dvd is the best way to store data currently.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: Atlantean
They don't degrade thats just some dumb rumor, as long as you take care of them and don't leave them sitting out in the sun.

Got proof?

My ideal backup situation is to have each machine backup to another machine nightly (obviously, buy more disk space than you actually need). Then burn to cds every so often.

 

[UpGrD]

I back up all important files once a week on secondary drive.

As I did till a month ago. My Enlight PS died and the surge fried both the drives I had installed.
I now use a external drive with its own PS.

Lessens learned!

 

[Atlantean]

Originally posted by: BingBongWongFooey

Originally posted by: Atlantean
They don't degrade thats just some dumb rumor, as long as you take care of them and don't leave them sitting out in the sun.

Got proof?

My ideal backup situation is to have each machine backup to another machine nightly (obviously, buy more disk space than you actually need). Then burn to cds every so often.

do you have proof that they do? I have dvd-r's that are 2 years old that still work just as well as they did the day they were burned, I have never seen any of this so called "dvd rot" so I would say that it is just a load of crap.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: Atlantean

Originally posted by: BingBongWongFooey

Originally posted by: Atlantean
They don't degrade thats just some dumb rumor, as long as you take care of them and don't leave them sitting out in the sun.

Got proof?

My ideal backup situation is to have each machine backup to another machine nightly (obviously, buy more disk space than you actually need). Then burn to cds every so often.

do you have proof that they do? I have dvd-r's that are 2 years old that still work just as well as they did the day they were burned, I have never seen any of this so called "dvd rot" so I would say that it is just a load of crap.

I don't need proof that they do, I prefer to err on the side of caution. Take as many chances as you want, but if there's no good proof that something is reliable, I assume it isn't. *Especially* for something so important.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Atlantean
They don't degrade thats just some dumb rumor, as long as you take care of them and don't leave them sitting out in the sun. Backing up to dvd is the best way to store data currently.

Sorry, but you seem to be mistaken. Since I've experienced this with CD-Rs only in very limited circumstances (one disk that somebody else burnt for me a long time ago), I'll let someone with more experience say their part on the matter (scroll down to the bottom of that article for the relevant passage).

 

[BG4533]

Originally posted by: BingBongWongFooey

Originally posted by: Atlantean
They don't degrade thats just some dumb rumor, as long as you take care of them and don't leave them sitting out in the sun.

Got proof?

My ideal backup situation is to have each machine backup to another machine nightly (obviously, buy more disk space than you actually need). Then burn to cds every so often.

Similar here, but I just do it whenever I feel like it. I also try to keep backups of current projects and other important things I am doing on my webhost or my pendrive.

 

[Atlantean]

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: Atlantean
They don't degrade thats just some dumb rumor, as long as you take care of them and don't leave them sitting out in the sun. Backing up to dvd is the best way to store data currently.

Sorry, but you seem to be mistaken. Since I've experienced this with CD-Rs only in very limited circumstances (one disk that somebody else burnt for me a long time ago), I'll let someone with more experience say their part on the matter (scroll down to the bottom of that article for the relevant passage).

I am talking about dvd-r disks, they are not the same as a cdr, because the part where the data is written is sandwiched between two slabs of plastic, so its more protected, cd-rs do degrade, and I am not saying that they don't but I have never had a dvd-r degrade and never seen proof that they do.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Atlantean
I am talking about dvd-r disks, they are not the same as a cdr, because the part where the data is written is sandwiched between two slabs of plastic, so its more protected, cd-rs do degrade, and I am not saying that they don't but I have never had a dvd-r degrade and never seen proof that they do.

Ok, I'll say that I wasn't aware that the DVD-R format is designed to be more "protected" than the CD-R format. Nevertheless, if I had prior knowledge of some other format of writeable media that did not degrade, then I'd be more inclined to believe that it would be possible that DVD-Rs did not. However, I believe the general prinicple of entropy tends to support a position that DVD-Rs will degrade at some point in the future (though it may be more like 10 years or more, vs. the 3 years or less noted by some CD-R users), as opposed to the position that a DVD-R will last forever if properly cared for (which is what your words say, whether you intend to imply that or not). Still, having said this, I'd be more willing to trust my valuable data to redundant off-site DVD-R backups than to redundant off-site CD-R backups (not counting the fact that making and maintaining the former would be easier, due to the larger capacity of the discs).

 

[Atlantean]

Originally posted by: jliechty

Originally posted by: Atlantean
I am talking about dvd-r disks, they are not the same as a cdr, because the part where the data is written is sandwiched between two slabs of plastic, so its more protected, cd-rs do degrade, and I am not saying that they don't but I have never had a dvd-r degrade and never seen proof that they do.

Ok, I'll say that I wasn't aware that the DVD-R format is designed to be more "protected" than the CD-R format. Nevertheless, if I had prior knowledge of some other format of writeable media that did not degrade, then I'd be more inclined to believe that it would be possible that DVD-Rs did not. However, I believe the general prinicple of entropy tends to support a position that DVD-Rs will degrade at some point in the future (though it may be more like 10 years or more, vs. the 3 years or less noted by some CD-R users), as opposed to the position that a DVD-R will last forever if properly cared for (which is what your words say, whether you intend to imply that or not). Still, having said this, I'd be more willing to trust my valuable data to redundant off-site DVD-R backups than to redundant off-site CD-R backups (not counting the fact that making and maintaining the former would be easier, due to the larger capacity of the discs).

be realisitic, nothing lasts forever, they will definately degrade at some point in time, but they should last for at least 10 years or more which is longer than a harddrive will last. I stand by what I said, dvd-r is the best way currently to back up data. They are not designed to be protected afaik, thats just how they are made, its the same way with dvds that you buy in a store. They are just made that way, probably for the purpose of protection.

 

[Oyeve]

I personally use DLT. I have a 40/80 gig drive and about 30 tapes. It's expensive but for me it's the safest most pratical way. I have over 600 gigs of data and DLT has a very long shelf life compared to other mediums.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: Atlantean
I stand by what I said, dvd-r is the best way currently to back up data. They are not designed to be protected afaik, thats just how they are made, its the same way with dvds that you buy in a store. They are just made that way, probably for the purpose of protection.

However, you're just making assumptions. A lot of people don't want to risk their data on a "probably" or an "afaik".

Hard drives don't last forever, but sticking them in storage is a bad idea anyways; that's not what hard drives were designed for. If you keep redundant copies of all of your data at any given time on running hard drives, you can recover from a failure -- AND you can keep that going for as long as you need to. Once your single dvd (or stored hard drive) stops working, well, it just stops working.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: BingBongWongFooey:
However, you're just making assumptions. A lot of people don't want to risk their data on a "probably" or an "afaik".

Hard drives don't last forever, but sticking them in storage is a bad idea anyways; that's not what hard drives were designed for. If you keep redundant copies of all of your data at any given time on running hard drives, you can recover from a failure -- AND you can keep that going for as long as you need to. Once your single dvd (or stored hard drive) stops working, well, it just stops working.

True. This is why - with any good backup solution - you keep redundant versions on local hard disks, as well as multiples previous copies of full backups as well as incremental backups, at multiple off site locations. Of course, you're working in a corporate environment (at least you were the last I heard), so you know this better than I do.

With the DVD rot issue, I'd be inclined to think that some form of degradation can happen, and I definitely won't be storing things on a DVD-R that will not also be on another storage medium as well as on more than one hard disk. Additionally, it seems to me that there is little reason to deny that such a thing could potentially happen, except perhaps if one has proof that all reports of such happenings are hoaxes, or if one wants to play the holier-than-thou card to say that no one should have any reason to want to legitimately back up commercial DVDs, thus justifying the MPAA in its extreme and ridiculous uses of the DMCA.

 

[Ausm]

I backup to a secondary drive and also to networked drives.

Ausm

 

[poppyq]

by the time any of them degrade you should have made a more recent backup

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: jliechty
Of course, you're working in a corporate environment (at least you were the last I heard), so you know this better than I do.

Hah, nope. Definitely not corporate, and I'm not even working there anymore.. </OT>

 

[Grizybaer]

hmm, i agree HD's are prolly the best way, live ones set up in raid.

but for things that will be stored away, i'd say optical is the way to go, you figure the cd/dvd's that you store away in a nice padded cd wallet are well protected from light and air. Magnetic media is more succeptable to magnetic fields, not something that we could easily control. Accidents do happen and magnets are everywhere.