Backup drives

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syntheticpop
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2011/04/25 17:13:02 (permalink)

Backup drives

I'm looking to back up my data, especially the OS, DAW and programs along with my samples.  Some of the questions I have are: 

1.  Can I use one backup hard drive to back up several computers OS's and data?  In example, can I use one hard drive to backup a desktop and also a laptop using some backup program like Acronis Image or whatever program you guys would recommend.

2.  Do you guys recommend using a separate backup drive for samples or can everything be backed up in a really large hd?

3.  Do these drives have to be external drives or can they be internal?  Internal drives are just cheaper but what is the benefit of an external backup drive over an internal?
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    jcschild
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    Re:Backup drives 2011/04/25 18:26:13 (permalink)
    yes if the drive is big enough

    Paragon!

    External in case of power failure/issues/brownouts/spikes/lightning.

    Scott
    ADK
    Home of the Kentucky Fried DAW!
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    wst3
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    Re:Backup drives 2011/04/26 14:04:19 (permalink)
    The right answer for you is whatever you are most likely to use! Really, the best backup solution in the world is useless if you don't use it!

    I have one external 2TB drive that I use to backup all my sample libraries, sound effects libraries, loop libraries, and other content that doesn't really change much, except to grow<G>! I do a simple file copy, no back up software required. And I only need to refresh it when I make changes. I do check it every 30-60 days to make sure it's still there, but that's about it. Otherwise it gets stored in the closet upstairs.

    I have a second 1TB (for now) external drive that I use to back up everything else except the "C" drives on four different computers. I am still looking for good backup software, I really miss Veritas Backup. I like incremental back-ups!

    I have a third 1TB drive that I need to upgrade soon that I use to backup TIVO, photos, music, etc. The goal is to have this stuff backed up twice, but I am on the verge of running out of space to do that.

    I do create images of the C drives for all the machines, but usually I let too much time go by for them to be of much use. So I use nlite to create a stripped down, unattended install CD when I need to re-install the OS. I REALLY need to do a better job for the DAW, re-installing all these programs and plug-ins is a nightmare. The other machines are simply by comparison.


    -- Bill
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    jatoth
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    Re:Backup drives 2011/05/03 17:59:55 (permalink)
     1 & 2 Yes, you can use one large drive for all your backup needs. I use a 1TB external to make images of the entire OS drive and the entire DATA drive. I use Symantec Ghost, but Acronis does basically the same thing. They both create one large image file containing the entire contents of the hard drive. I usually keep a couple of these images, naming them something like "CDrive05032011", "DDrive05032011", etc. I delete the oldest ones and create new ones. I also create copies of my dynamic data on the same drive. This I do more often then the imaging. Images are needed if your hard drive fails and you need to put EVERYTHING back on a new drive. Copies are used if individual files get damaged or deleted. To create my copies, I just use a batch file with commands like "xcopy C:\AllMyStuff\*.*   x:\CdriveCopy\AllMyStuff\*.*   /s /e /h /k /r /c /y"

    3. No, you can use internal or external, to the backup it doesn't matter. However, internal drives are at the same risk as the computer. If the computer is struck by lightning, or in a fire or flood, you will most likely lose your backups as well. That being said, I'm way too anal. I do use an internal drive for my backups because internal drives are way faster then USB. Actual throughput  rates in excess of 1900MBsec vs. around 400 with USB. Then I copy the internal backup drive to an external at night when I don't have to sit there interacting with it.

    This may be overkill, but once you've lost everything, you NEVER want to go through that again.

    Hope this helps.
    John
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    dmbaer
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    Re:Backup drives 2011/05/03 18:19:24 (permalink)
    syntheticpop


    3.  Do these drives have to be external drives or can they be internal?  Internal drives are just cheaper but what is the benefit of an external backup drive over an internal?
    Advantage of exteranal solution: you can keep an external drive offsite.  The question is: will you bother to?  If you just put the external drive on the shelf after a backup, you might as well back up to an internal (separate) drive in the first place.  It's relatively cheap, but more importantly, it can be really fast ... especially with decent backup software that does reliable incremental backups.  The chances that two internal drives will fail at the same time are pretty small unless the entire PC gets trashed for some reason (or stolen).  The best solution, however, would be a fast (USB3 for example ... USB2 is painfully slow) external drive that you have the discipline to store in a location other that where your PC is.  To that end, you might want two drives that you swap every time you do a backup, keeping the most recent backup in an alternate location.

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    Combo
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    Re:Backup drives 2011/05/08 15:16:38 (permalink)
    In connection with this topic generally some might be interested in 2 articles in Sound on Sound magazine in Dec '10 and Jan '11 issues on backup and archive procedures in Sonar.  The articles are downloadable from the Sound on Sound site (though there is a charge, 99p or USD 1.49 each).
    #6
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