Reliable backup solutions

[Sequences]

I usually backup my files manually on external drives. One that I have not used for a while does not seem to be spinning up anymore. As this is the second time a spinning drive that I use for backup has gone bad on me "without notice" - by that I mean I expected it to work but it didn't.

What backup solutions are there out there that will have some level of warning before going bad? I'm looking for external options, preferably less than $500. More technically involved solutions are welcome though I would prefer to not have to build my own from scratch.

Thanks.

 

[lehtv]

Just have multiple copies, it's the only 100% bomb proof way. When a copy fails, replace it. You'll never lose anything because of redundancy

Probably cheaper than using multiple external drives is using multiple internal drives that you can read/write using an external dock. Like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1455640

 

[Sequences]

Is there anything that could warn of a mechanical failure?

 

[lehtv]

Not really, what you see are more like symptoms than warning signs. When things start freezing up or crashing due to hard drive failure, it's already beyond the point when you should've taken backups. So the only way you can prepare for mechanical failure is to expect it will eventually happen.

 

[xSneak]

Is there anything that could warn of a mechanical failure?

Accumulation of bad sectors.

 

[John Connor]

I DVD the most important stuff, image to an external HDD and I used to RAID 1.

What brand of HD did you have that kept going kaput?

Perhaps you should look at an online solution like Carbonite.

 

[Harvey]

The best possible backup is to have a second hard drive the same size as your main drive (or larger) and software to clone your hard drive. Cloning makes an exact, running duplicate of your hard drive. If your main drive fails, the cloned image can directly replace the old drive, or it can be used to reload everything, including your operating files, on a new drive without re-installing the system or your programs. If your hard drive fails or becomes irreparably infected, it WILL save your butt.

Acronis True Image is a commercial program that does this. It sells for around $50, and I've seen it for much less on sale with a rebate.

Seagate and Western Digital offer a version for their drives. In both cases, at least one of the drives in the chain must be from the company offering the program. Seagate owns Maxtor so their version works for both brands.

Acronis True Image for Seagate and Maxtor drives.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital drives.

EaseUS Todo Backup is another cloning program that is absolutely free.

I've used both to clone Windows 7 and XP drives. Of the two, I prefer Acronis only because, when cloning between a smaller and a larger drive, by default it fills the larger drive, rather than creating a smaller partition on the target drive, but it is adjustable once you understand the controls.

I clone my drive once after every full virus/spyware scan and before installing any new program. If the new installation screws things up, you can restore back to where you were and try again.

The programs also allow you to create a recovery disk so you can boot to it and clone from your backup drive to the main drive. This is useful for laptops where you can clone to an external drive and restore back to your main drive or a replacement drive.

 

[Sequences]

Accumulation of bad sectors.

I have always seen mechanical drives as a 2-part device: the spinning parts where the data is stored and the mechanical parts that make it spin. As I understand it, SMART checks for bad sectors would only account for the vitality of the disk's ability to retain data. Am I wrong in my assumptions here?

I DVD the most important stuff, image to an external HDD and I used to RAID 1.

What brand of HD did you have that kept going kaput?

Perhaps you should look at an online solution like Carbonite.

1. Are external USB's a stable medium in place of DVD's for long term storage?
2. The damage count (both external and internal) includes 2 WD drives (1 external passport and 1 internal Blue) and 1 Seagate drive.
3. I am nervous about clouds that I don't control, I would rather not upload my files to somewhere unknown.

The best possible backup is to have a second hard drive the same size as your main drive (or larger) and software to clone your hard drive. Cloning makes an exact, running duplicate of your hard drive. If your main drive fails, the cloned image can directly replace the old drive, or it can be used to reload everything, including your operating files, on a new drive without re-installing the system or your programs. If your hard drive fails or becomes irreparably infected, it WILL save your butt.

Acronis True Image is a commercial program that does this. It sells for around $50, and I've seen it for much less on sale with a rebate.

I'm not looking for drive cloning, just a very reliable way to back up important files. I do like some of the ideas though, perhaps I will implement something like that.

 

[Charlie98]

I'll echo the multiple drives for backup. I use 2 external portable drives... one of them is starting to show bad sectors but it still works well. Not too worried because I have the other ext. portable, another desktop external, and an internal drive for backups.

I use Acronis to image my entire drive every night on one or two of the drives, along with a separate email backup. That is in addition to the separate file backups (QuickBooks, photos, video, documents, etc) that I maintain.

I can tell you this works... my main drive died on me about 2 months ago and, using my Acronis image, was back in business in about 30 minutes.

As was mentioned, the free WD version of Acronis works well, too... I have that on my HTPC.

I am not sold on cloud storage just yet... call me paranoid. It's not that I don't trust other people with my data... but I don't.

 

[Sequences]

Well, I have an update. I plugged in the drive that failed recently and it kept powering on and off. Eventually, it came online and I got access to it. This was after I set it vertical. Maybe there were some dust particles that settled on the platter(s) that caused the problem.

Anyway, I tried running smartctl on it to see if this was a mechanical failure or a bad sector problem. I can't get the test to run properly on the attached, so I think it is safe to say the drive is as good as dead from this point on.

Do you guys have backup solutions that are on 24/7? I have an old Thinkpad that I have turned into my linux server. I'm thinking of getting drives and attaching them via USB. This time, I'll be sure to run smart checks often.

 

[Charlie98]

Do you guys have backup solutions that are on 24/7? I have an old Thinkpad that I have turned into my linux server. I'm thinking of getting drives and attaching them via USB. This time, I'll be sure to run smart checks often.

I have the 3 external drives that are attached via USB 3.0, but only 2 are running at any one time... the 'reserve' drive is in the safe.

Sometimes I'll leave the desktop on 24hrs, sometimes I shut it down... just depends. My Acronis is set to clone after a restart if it misses it's scheduled backup. The idea is to make it work without your input... that makes it less of a nuisance to you having to remember to go in and back it up. But just verify every so often that the backups will work!