What method of backup do you use for your home PC(s)?

[CurseTheSky]

A lot of people discuss different backup solutions, so I'm curious to see what the majority of people are employing. If you use multiple options from the list, please choose the one that you'd consider your "primary" backup. For example, I use both internal (non-RAID) and external hard drives, but the internals are my primaries.

 

[RebateMonger]

All my desktop PCs have automatic full system image backups each day by a Windows Home Server. My Server 2008 and SBS 2003 servers are backed up using Windows Server's built-in backup to external USB or eSATA disks. Additionally, I send critical historical data ("My Documents" and PST copies of my mailboxes) to Carbonite, an online backup service. "My Documents" and my mailboxes are also kept on both my SBS server and my desktop, so are additionally backed up by my SBS server's backups.

 

[zuffy]

Should make the poll multiple choices. I use Acronis True Image to backup my OS every other week or so. The image is saved to the second HDD in the computer, to the backup computer's second hdd and to 2 external drives. As for data, they are backup the same way as my OS image but more often.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I have a backup server (running an older version of Debian) which uses rsync in combination with smb / rsync for windows machines. I have a few removable drives that I rotate every now and then (technically I should be doing this every day but always forget!)

My main server sends a nightly wake on lan packet to the server which fires up the server, the server is scheduled to run the job, then shuts down.

I have more intensive local backups on my main server such as a son, father, grandfather setup for some of my development projects. Daily, weekly, monthly, so I can go up to 1 year ago, basically.

I also have a rsync job that backs up my most critical data to a server about 3 thousand kilometers from me outside of the country.

 

[SolMiester]

Windows 7 image and data to external drive monthly...not that the data changes all that much...

 

[nickbits]

Backup all my pcs to a central server. Back up server to mozy.

 

[taltamir]

this poll is structured completely wrong. It allows only ONE choice from the above, it should be one of those polls that allows you to choose multiple answers.
I voted NAS because its my most valued backup solution... but I use several others from the list.

 

[jimhsu]

Multiple. I tier my data according to importance.

Nonessential data like movies and music files get backed up to an external, and online if I find the time.

On the other hand, I have a large SVN repository for my absolutely essential files. That gets mirrored to at LEAST three different geographical locations at any one time (my VPS server, Windows skydrive, backblaze (now migrating to crashplan)). Plus, the repository data is mirrored locally, in addition to being checked out on two different computers. I was considering using S3 to store another duplicate, but I don't think there is a need unless all storage media in the US gets wiped out simultaneously.

 

[Beautiful_Life]

I've multiple backups of all important files and DVDs. I don't backup songs and movies.

I've two internal drives. One that stores my OS and everything I need while the other is for a backup and temporary stuff. Takes 15 minutes to make a full image of my drive using Window's Backup. There's another backup stored somewhere else too.

So far Window's Backup works best for me because I only do and trust full system images. I've used Acronis True Image, it work, but has too many things I don't need. Norton Ghost suck, it takes up alot of processing power, probably trying to compress the files and it failed to restore my backup.

 

[WildW]

None of the options listed exactly. Anything important gets copied onto other machines - desktop/laptop/GF's desktop/etc, so there are multiple copies at any given time, without a particular dedicated backup solution.

 

[drizek]

Use dropbox for convenience/portability. Then I have full system backups on my Windows Home Server.

 

[Emulex]

please consider multiple backups in case you get pwned during the backup window (virus,failure,etc).

 

[Silenus]

I'm another that uses multiple. I backup to an internal drive and also backup to to Mozy. I want to add a third which would be an external drive kept at a different location.

 

[veri745]

I selected "external HDD", but I use that as well as internal HDD and other media (DVDR).

 

[iCyborg]

External HDD, about twice a year. I should really do it more often, I'm just too lazy, and I usually don't have anything that important not already backed up

 

[alizee]

PCs are backed up to WHS, Macs to a Time Capsule. Both work very well, I haven't had to restore from the WHS (knock on wood), so I hope it's doing a good job, but I have recovered from the Time Capsule (when I upgraded computers) and it worked extremely well.

Like others have said, it's a good idea to have multiple backups, including off site. I may do that in the future, but I can't think of anything I have that's really that important (no pictures of kids and the like).

 

[drizek]

Did you not try to get your WHS to function as a Time Capsule?

I've seen guides on the internet.

 

[drizek]

please consider multiple backups in case you get pwned during the backup window (virus,failure,etc).

WHS backsup daily, so there isn't that much to lose. My most important documents are on dropbox anyway, and those are backed up instantly, and local copies exist on all my computers.

I also don't get viruses. I don't run AV software, never had a problem in 10 years.

 

[Swivelguy2]

External hard drives, stored both at home and at work, so that if either one burns down, I have data at the other. Also, the really important stuff on flash drives in my pocket, in my car, etc.

I really don't understand why people would use backup software that gives them uncertainty about their ability to restore from it. My backup process is to copy E: \Documents to Q: \Backups\Today'sDate\Documents, which makes redundant, dated copies of all of my data. I know I'll be able to restore from it because it's just files! All I'd have to do is copy them back to E: \.

 

[PingSpike]

One of my hard disks failed on my server a couple weeks ago. Much to my chagrin, the ntbackup file I had made was apparently corrupt. I guess that verify data option doesn't do jack shit. I think I'm just going to do what swivelguy2 said in the future.

I was able to use a combination of the freezer trick and ntbkup.exe (command line utility) to get MOST of my shit back, but the program is pretty convoluted and broke all my directory structures.

 

[jimhsu]

External hard drives, stored both at home and at work, so that if either one burns down, I have data at the other. Also, the really important stuff on flash drives in my pocket, in my car, etc.

I really don't understand why people would use backup software that gives them uncertainty about their ability to restore from it. My backup process is to copy E: \Documents to Q: \Backups\Today'sDate\Documents, which makes redundant, dated copies of all of my data. I know I'll be able to restore from it because it's just files! All I'd have to do is copy them back to E: \.

Copying is good, but it a) doesn't work remotely satisfactorily (mounting is not really a solution), and b) takes up huge amounts of diskspace with your approach. A better alternative is rsync.

Regarding restore, it's imperative to test out partial (and if you have the time, full) restores periodically, to ensure that it works - especially online backup.

I was thinking of building a WHS box or a NAS, but I simply don't have the space here (temporary apartment). Plus, the portability issues of putting it on a plane to ship it across the US. Maybe when I move.

 

[Swivelguy2]

One thing I have to mention is: [size=+3]MAKE REDUNDANT COPIES![/size] If you have a single backup and you "sync" it to your current data, you are NOT very protected.

Everyone read this now! At least the first page or so, the rest is for computer illiterate people:
http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/ht/ht00007.html

 

[Spicedaddy]

Everything gets backed up daily to a second internal HDD using Win7 backup. The more important files (mostly work stuff) also gets copied to external flash weekly. (always have one stored offsite)

 

[klocwerk]

backed up to a RAID1 NAS.

 

[jimhsu]

One thing I have to mention is: [size=+3]MAKE REDUNDANT COPIES![/size] If you have a single backup and you "sync" it to your current data, you are NOT very protected.

Everyone read this now! At least the first page or so, the rest is for computer illiterate people:
http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/ht/ht00007.html

This is actually why I like SVN. Virus corrupts a document/accidentally delete something? Revert. Two people commit something, overwriting each other? Revert, merge, resolve. I don't merge often, but revert has literally saved me hundreds of times over 2 years. The only point of failure is the repository itself, and I made redundant copies of that.

The downside is of course that nothing you "delete" actually gets permanently deleted. Thus, I only use it for my most important files.

PS I've tried git/mercurial/bzr, but they really don't work well for large binary data, which I have plenty of.