Backup Solution for 200GB or so

[exorr]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to find a nice and easy backup solution for a photographer who has at least 100GB worth of photos that will constantly increase.

Personally I just burn my docs to DVD once every 3 months or so, but for someone with this much data that really isn't reasonable.

Does anyone out there currently have a nice and easy (or somewhat easy) setup that could do this? Any ideas on what I could purchase?

Thanks,
Ethan

 

[d2arcturus]

Forget those one-touch overpriced dealies.

Just get any reliable drive (Samsung, Seagate, Western, etc.) at the best price you can find and a nice external enclosure.
Take a look at the Vantec Nexstar3. Love mine, works great and looks badass. Three colors to choose from too.

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi, Most any backup program will make at least two types of backups. The initial backup takes a long time. Called FULL BACKUP. Subsequent backups should be INCREMENTAL. They will only copy the new files and files that have been changed. Real quick (Usuall). I use CDRWs under DirectCD with Roxio. Also sometime use an external Hard Drive. Jim

 

[dalfollo]

If you have a second drive available or over the network, you may consider SecondCopy.

Looks like it will handle full and then incremental backups to another drive on the system or across the network.

 

[f1y]

I found a laptop with a broken screen for $25 then bought a 100Gb HDD and use that as a little mini server in my dresser

 

[Matthias99]

For nearline backups of relatively large amounts of data (more than will fit comfortably on a few DVD-RWs), it's hard to beat an external hard drive for ease of use (and portability). The only thing better in ease of use is setting up a fileserver and backing up to that, but this is overkill IMO for backing up one or two systems (unless you need more than 400-500GB of backup capacity).

If this is valuable and essentially irreplacable data (like a professional photographer's portfolio), you will also want to have occasional offsite 'archival' backups, probably on DVD-R or DLT tape (DVD burners are cheaper, but DLT tape has higher capacity and costs less per GB over the long run). Having a backup on an external hard drive helps if you suffer drive failure in your main system, but won't do much if your house floods/burns down/<insert other natural disaster/act of god here>.

There are a large number of backup programs available; for large amounts of data that has constant additions or small changes, you definitely want something that can do incremental backups.