Back up computer...

[N2gaming]

Hello Group

Whats the best way to backup a home computer before it crashes?

I have been hearing on the radio a lot of places where you can go on-line for about $80.oo a year to have your system backed up (I guess daily)

So, heres my question, can I build a small computer (no sound card or extras) just a couple of huge HDDs to save my regular computer stuff on?

If so what software would I use to copy from my main gaming/photo machine to commuicate to the new small machine?

and how would I connect computer A to computer B for proper file transfer? I hope I communicated this correctly,

Thanks, N2gaming

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Yes, you can build a separate machine for your backups. In fact, this is reasonably common; look up NAS on google or something. The idea is that you get a really basic PC, small and efficient, and cram it full of hard drives to create a redundant array like RAID 1, RAID 5, or similar.

I think Windows 7 has a built-in drive replication utility, you could do that to create a virtual hard disk file of your data drive and keep that on the server. Or else you could just copy your files over manually. As for communication between the two, you'd probably use Gigabit ethernet. That should be enough bandwidth.

To be honest, though, $80 isn't much. If your internet connection is typical of a lot of people's here (unlimited data and decently fast speed) then I would just pay and use an online service. Most services do file versioning, it will be on the internet, wherever you go, and if the data you will accumulate grows quite fast (if you're taking lots of video, for example, or if you're a very avid photographer) it would probably be cheaper, even in the long run, to back up online.

 

[RebateMonger]

Online backups can be very useful. Carbonite is, I believe, $55 a year for "unlimited" backups. However, it can take a very long time to send many gigabytes of data to their servers or to restore the data if you have a major disaster. One nice thing about online backups are that they are automatic and should tell you if there are problems with the backups.

All Microsoft OSes have some sort of built-in backup. How they work depends on what version of Windows you have.

There are several good commercial backup programs. Ideally they will provide image backups of your system so you can restore the whole thing in case of malware or a failed hard drive. And, ideally, they will warn you if the backups aren't working.

My personal favorite for backing up Windows computers is Windows Home Server.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/default.mspx
If you can build your own PC, the software is about $100 (about the same prices as Windows 7). One WHS server will back up ten computers. You can add additional storage drives when needed, backups are fully automatic, and you can restore the whole PC or a single file from yesterday's version back to several month's earlier version. Backups are across a network. After you've got the WHS server running, you no longer need a keyboard, mouse, or monitor attached to it.

No matter what backup method you choose, keep these things in mind:

a) If your backups aren't online or copies stored offsite, you could potentially lose EVERYTHING in case of a fire, flood, or burglary.

b) Automated backups are best because NOBODY runs backups like they should. I can set up a non-automated backup system for somebody and come back a year later and the only backup will be the one I started before I left their home/office.

c) Periodically TEST your backups to ensure that the backups are readable and that you are backing up what you think you are backing up. Many backup programs only back up certain folders of the computer and if you store important data in other folders, they might not be backed up. That's why I prefer making FULL backups or system image backups so that you know you have EVERYTHING.

 

[pcgeek11]

Online backups can be very useful. Carbonite is, I believe, $55 a year for "unlimited" backups. However, it can take a very long time to sends many gigabytes of data to their servers or to restore the data if you have a major disaster. One nice thing about online backups are that they are automatic and should tell you if there are problems with the backups.

All Microsoft OSes have some sort of built-in backup. How they work depends on what version of Windows you have.

There are several good commercial backup programs. Ideally they will provide image backups of your system so you can restore the whole thing in case of malware or a failed hard drive. And, ideally, they will warn you if the backups aren't working.

My personal favorite for backing up Windows computers is Windows Home Server.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/default.mspx
If you can build your own PC, the software is about $100 (about the same prices as Windows 7). One WHS server will back up ten computers. You can add additional storage drives when needed, backups are fully automatic, and you can restore the whole PC or a single file from yesterday's version back to several month's earlier version. Backups are across a network. After you've got the WHS server running, you no longer need a keyboard, mouse, or monitor attached to it.

Not matter what backup method you choose, keep these things in mind:

a) If your backups aren't online or copies stored offsite, you could potentially lose EVERYTHING in case of a fire, flood, or burglary.

b) Automated backups are best because NOBODY runs backups like they should. I can set up a non-automated backup system for somebody and come back a year later and the only backup will be the one I started before I left their home/office.

c) Periodically TEST your backups to ensure that the backups are readable and that you are backing up what you think you are backing up. Many backup programs only back up certain folders of the computer and if you store important data in other folders, they might not be backed up. That's why I prefer making FULL backups or system image backups so that you know you have EVERYTHING.

This is the way to go. And the PCs connect via a network cable.

 

[elconejito]

Online backups can be very useful. Carbonite is, I believe, $55 a year for "unlimited" backups. However, it can take a very long time to send many gigabytes of data to their servers or to restore the data if you have a major disaster. One nice thing about online backups are that they are automatic and should tell you if there are problems with the backups.

All Microsoft OSes have some sort of built-in backup. How they work depends on what version of Windows you have.

There are several good commercial backup programs. Ideally they will provide image backups of your system so you can restore the whole thing in case of malware or a failed hard drive. And, ideally, they will warn you if the backups aren't working.

My personal favorite for backing up Windows computers is Windows Home Server.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/default.mspx
If you can build your own PC, the software is about $100 (about the same prices as Windows 7). One WHS server will back up ten computers. You can add additional storage drives when needed, backups are fully automatic, and you can restore the whole PC or a single file from yesterday's version back to several month's earlier version. Backups are across a network. After you've got the WHS server running, you no longer need a keyboard, mouse, or monitor attached to it.

No matter what backup method you choose, keep these things in mind:

a) If your backups aren't online or copies stored offsite, you could potentially lose EVERYTHING in case of a fire, flood, or burglary.

b) Automated backups are best because NOBODY runs backups like they should. I can set up a non-automated backup system for somebody and come back a year later and the only backup will be the one I started before I left their home/office.

c) Periodically TEST your backups to ensure that the backups are readable and that you are backing up what you think you are backing up. Many backup programs only back up certain folders of the computer and if you store important data in other folders, they might not be backed up. That's why I prefer making FULL backups or system image backups so that you know you have EVERYTHING.

Just adding a little bit to this really good post....

The "gotcha" with Carbonite is it will only backup local drives, not networked or external drives. Otherwise, for the price it is really a good solution, easy to use, automatic, and overall a very nice service. Mozy, and JungleDisk (which I use) are also other alternatives.

If you do setup a little storage server/NAS you can also use a tool like SyncToy from microsoft (or robocopy is a command line tool) to keep your files in sync. It won't do versioning though, just makes sure that whatever you change in one place is copied to the other.

You might also look at pre-built options like Windows Home Servers from companies like HP, or a NAS from Drobo (not sure if they come with drives already).