Desktop backup strategy

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nate

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#101168 25-Apr-2012 17:26

I need to work out a reliable backup method for my Dad's computer. The key is it has to be really easy to do.

I had Acronis Backup on his computer, and he was supposed to rotate 2x 1TB external hard-drives. It seems every time he plugs them in (WinXP) they change drive letters, which breaks the backup. There's also no easy way to remove old backups from the drives, so they run out of space.

Should I be looking at a NAS instead? Keen to hear what others have implemented for their more technically challenged family members.

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cisconz
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#615047 25-Apr-2012 17:42

I use Symantec System Recovery (SSR), it assigns a GUID to the usb drive so it doesn't matter what drive letter it is.

Hmmmm

CYaBro

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#615065 25-Apr-2012 18:10

What O/S is he running?

Win7's built in backup is pretty good and it will automatically manage the space on the backup drives by deleting the oldest backup if more space is needed.

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freitasm

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#615075 25-Apr-2012 18:16

Backup strategy that requires swapping drives is doomed to fail at some point.

Online backup. Crashplan. That's all.

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nate

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#615132 25-Apr-2012 20:19

freitasm: Backup strategy that requires swapping drives is doomed to fail at some point.

Online backup. Crashplan. That's all.

Too many photos and too much data.

He's on WinXP.

CYaBro

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#615146 25-Apr-2012 20:57

Crashplan doesnt have to be stored in the cloud.
You could setup his pc to backup over the net to your pc.
Pretty sure you can do a seed backup first so you don't have to do the first big backup over the net.

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ChevronX

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#615538 26-Apr-2012 16:51

I would simply look @ Dropbox ( https://www.dropbox.com/ )

Really good, allows data to be shared between people and backs it up off site so can be accessed anywhere.

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freitasm

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#615541 26-Apr-2012 16:52

Problem with Dropbox is using a different folder. Crashplan allows you to select folders to backup, maintain versions, etc. It's backup, not synchronization.

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myopinion

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#615542 26-Apr-2012 16:53

Why not Skydrive or Dropbox. I had used both in the past to backup families computers and they both work well with plenty of storage for the things that need backing up, documents, pictures etc.

freitasm

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#615544 26-Apr-2012 16:54

Skydrive is not backup. If you delete, it's gone. A backup is something you delete but can recover. Crashplan, Carbonite and so on are backup.

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myopinion

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#615545 26-Apr-2012 16:54

Dropbox versions and you can easily move folders into the Dropbox folder.

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#615546 26-Apr-2012 16:55

I don't think my family users will be deleting things via the Skydrive interface so anything they do accidentally delete goes to the Trash can so it can be restored.

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#615547 26-Apr-2012 16:58

freitasm: Skydrive is not backup. If you delete, it's gone. A backup is something you delete but can recover. Crashplan, Carbonite and so on are backup.

A backup is not a non deletable item, it is just that, a copy. You are talking about something like shadow protect or versioning.

kontonnz

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#615552 26-Apr-2012 17:06

This is something that I struggle with family as well as ensuring that their personal computers (family photos, docs, etc) are backed up I've been using usb storage and when finsihed backing up store the usb drive somewhere else in the house not next to the computer (its as good as I got).

but with freitasm mentioning crashplan I dug into it and their plans esp. the crashplan+ family unlimited looks seriously good that I plan on signing up for it and moving members of the family over to it as soon as I can it looks that good. (will trial it myself for a month first tho)

usb backups while provide something I always worry about that fire which could defeat the backup strategy even a persistent thief could end up killing the backup strat.

as for dropbox, and others like them I don't consider that backing up its cloud storage where data is available anywhere but backup of data it is not.

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#615554 26-Apr-2012 17:07

Can anyone confirm this I don't have access to a Skydrive computer etc at the moment:

On Skydrive
1) Deleted files aren't "gone forever" but rather moved to the recycle bin on every synced computer. How long they last there depends on your PC setup.

2) It look likes SkyDrive only tracks previous versions on Office files edited online. I don't see any version history for normal files (uploaded or synced). I hope I'm wrong on that since that's one of the features I like most about Dropbox.

kontonnz

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#615560 26-Apr-2012 17:11

delete on skydrive can not be undone they even pop up a dialog warning you that it can't...

they do have versioning of office documents tho

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