Do you backup your data?

alexlyons

So AH'ers,

I was going to put this in tech but wanted a more general result.

Simply:
Do you preform regular backups of any or all of your computer data?

sgb

I have no idea what you are on about

Try the geek forum

Sea Filly

No.

Diego Maradona

Yes I dataup my back all the time, thanks for asking.

earpiece

No

Thanks for the reminder.... must be 3 days since my last back up.
Oh! wait.... you mean computer thingy's! NAH.

Bambii_

No I'll regret it one day...

Miss Lockhart

No

I'm not very technical so I'm not sure what this really means. Is there a "proper" way of backing up?

I copy everything that's important to me on to a memory stick, but I'm not sure that counts.

alexlyons

No

thanks folks

Mickey H

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

Is there a "proper" way of backing up?

There is. Simply check your mirrors, put car in Reverse and release the clutch.

You can't get it wrong.

Biggins

No

Yes, on my main work computer I have two separate back-up systems that kick in automatically, which then save the same data to two separate external drives.
They also back-up data/contacts/emails/etc daily at 3pm (as well as immediately after any 'save' function carried out).

I use Insofta backup software for one back-up.
I use Genie Timeline for another back-up.

I also have the same data accessible worldwide (after I save work and its also immediately sensed then automatically backed up) accessible through internet cloud storage using Microsoft Skydrive, Google Drive and Ubuntu One.

Professey Chin

Yes. Repeatedly.
I learned the hard way after losing 500gb of music and video

Mickey H

Biggins wrote: »

Yes, on my main work computer I have two separate back-up systems that kick in automatically, which then save the dame data to two separate external drives.
They also back-up data/contacts/emails/etc daily at 3pm.

Do you overwrite yesterday's backup with today's or just back up the changes made since yesterday?

Swampy

Biggins wrote: »

Yes, on my main work computer I have two separate back-up systems that kick in automatically, which then save the same data to two separate external drives.
They also back-up data/contacts/emails/etc daily at 3pm.

I use Insofta backup software for one back-up.
I use Genie Timeline for another back-up.

I also have the same data accessible worldwide (after I save work and its also immediately sensed then automatically backed up) accessible through internet cloud storage using Microsoft Skydrive, Google Drive and Ubuntu One.

Sounds like overkill there. What so important that you back it up so many times? Über pron?

earpiece

No

Biggins wrote: »

Yes, on my main work computer I have two separate back-up systems that kick in automatically, which then save the same data to two separate external drives.
They also back-up data/contacts/emails/etc daily at 3pm (as well as immediately after any 'save' function carried out).

I use Insofta backup software for one back-up.
I use Genie Timeline for another back-up.

I also have the same data accessible worldwide (after I save work and its also immediately sensed then automatically backed up) accessible through internet cloud storage using Microsoft Skydrive, Google Drive and Ubuntu One.

Biggins.... and we thought you lived only in realtime.:D

Biggins

No

Mickey H wrote: »

Do you overwrite yesterday's backup with today's or just back up the changes made since yesterday?

The Genie Timeline system (in its options - which you can turn off) is set to keep earlier versions.
I utterly recommend this product alone for anyone serious about saving their work.

Boscoirl

Not since you can stream porn

Mickey H

Biggins wrote: »

The Genie Timeline system (in its options - which you can turn off) is set to keep earlier versions.
I utterly recommend this product alone for anyone serious about saving their work.

Thanks for that Biggins. Looks decent and simple. Trial version downloading now. No harm in checking it out.

biko

No

I do yeah. Even if this could go in Tech this is good as a reminder to regular people to back the **** up, it would save a lot of grief for you and for the geeks in the tech section when your computer/phone crashes (not if, when).

Biggins

No

Mickey H wrote: »

Thanks for that Biggins. Looks decent and simple. Trial version downloading now. No harm in checking it out.

Its very good.
On the Dashboard (as the front screen is called), under "Manage Backup", then select "Modify data selections", you will see 12 boxes under the tab title "Smart Selection". To the right of the detailed boxes with options, you will see an arrow of sorts that looks like this: >
Click that and you will get even more options also.

Click "My Computer" in the application and you can define further single files and/or particular sections/folders, etc if need be also.

Sound more complicated than it really is. Easy to set-up and once done so, you can utterly forget about it.
If there is ANY problems and you don't know - it will even email you to let you know!

Cheshire Cat

No

Yes! There's nothing worse than losing a translation that's almost finished just before the deadline. Fortunately it's easy these days. I remember multiple floppy disks when I first started in the dark middle ages

Miss Lockhart

No

I still don't know how to answer the poll.

Is saving stuff on both hardrive and memory stick considered backing up? I would only have normal office files, no music or movies etc.

My name is URL

No.. I'm far more likely to wipe my drive than back it up!

earpiece

No

And for those using Mac's...... Time Machine, handy and very straight forward.

Dravokivich

Nope, don't bother. I can get stuff again.

Biggins

No

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

Is saving stuff on both hardrive and memory stick considered backing up? I would only have normal office files, no music or movies etc.

Yes.

For simple docs as well, cloud storage is a godsend.
Immediate back-up to the net (if you have your settings right), accessible world-wide then from any computer and your covered.
Tip: although data is supposed to be encrypted on their servers - its does no harm to put password protection on documents also (in case someone still manages to get your separate name and password for accessing your cloud storage).

JohnMearsheimer

No

I do, started about 3 years ago after my old laptop got stolen. Photos, documents, music etc. gone. The laptop I bought to replace to stolen one packed up a few months ago but having all the important stuff backed up softened the blow a bit.

leggo

No

Never did regularly before I went to Mac, but Time Machine makes it like syncing an iPhone so you'd be mad not to if you store a lot of music, documents and copious amounts of porn on your hard drive.

aaronjumper

I do now, a few years ago I did not. And I paid for it. A virus got onto the computer, lost my games and a few years of collected music.

I was so pissed off with it I don't store anything important or unimportant on computers anymore.

Biggins

No

If its really, REALLY important stuff - remember that external drives do occasionally fail too and/or USB sticks get lost!
So a second complete separate back-up might be a precaution if its that serious a situation.

MP62

No

Washington Irving

Some of it

FanadMan

I do a backup every couple of weeks for the important stuff - it's like they say.......Jesus saves but nerds do backups

bnt

No

Oh yeah. Working with Enterprise storage systems, years ago, taught me that a single copy of a file may as well not exist. Not backing up is like putting your files on Death Row.

I have some everyday stuff synced with Dropbox, nothing really private. I keep all my "Documents" synced between two different computers, using a program called Unison. (Windows users can do this with Microsoft SyncToy.) Then I have the "bulk" stuff (music, movies, app installs), on my big laptop and a couple of external drives in a caddy, and that gets regularly backed up to another big external drive. I haven't accidentally lost a file since 1999. :cool:

I keep all my important data on a single external hard-drive, perched precariously on the edge of a high-shelf.

If anything happens i'll just ask the guys in the computers forum what to do because im sure a thread about dropping your HDD is a rare and welcome novelty over there.

Biggins

No

Deleted User wrote: »

...If anything happens i'll just ask the guys in the computers forum what to do because im sure a thread about dropping your HDD is a rare and welcome novelty over there.

:pac:

Speedsie

No

Definitely - I know of too many sad, sad stories of lost data!

I use Crash Plan to back up all the family computers (my mother, brother & myself)

All the computers (2 desktops & 3 laptops both MAC & Windows) back-up to each other and to an external hard-drive. After the initial backup, differentials are taken, with a 'deep clean' regularly. You can dictate how many iterations are kept.

It's very simple, and free. But you can also pay for online storage.

Speeds

--LOS--

I normally have anything important on cloud storage as well as my lappy. Films/music etc I cba with, can get them again, I normally download a film to watch it and delete it after to free up space anyway.

alexlyons

No

those of you who don't backup:

would you pay someone to come in and setup your backup for you and just leave it go? Not a full monitoring service, more a get you off the ground thing, possibly with help if the computer crashes etc, but not a whole data monitoring service. As said, just a get you off the ground thing.
Mainly for those who know they should but haven't got around to setting it up.

mattjack

Biggins wrote: »

The Genie Timeline system (in its options - which you can turn off) is set to keep earlier versions.
I utterly recommend this product alone for anyone serious about saving their work.

' WORK ? ' what is this word ?

Biggins

No

mattjack wrote: »

' WORK ? ' what is this word ?

Its a virus that TD's avoid in the Dail very regularly.
Their tool to avoid it, is a trip to the building bar.

Micky Dolenz

My pc crashed last year. I lost loads of stuff I had for years,passwords for forums that were linked to defunct emails.

Cost a couple of hundred quid to retrieve the rest.

It's external hard drive back ups for me now.

Irish Guitarist

I don't really have any important files that need I need to backup. The only thing I'd hate to lose is nature photographs that I've taken since about 2008. I have all of those on an external hard drive and I recently copied them to another hard drive in case the first one ever breaks down. I'm not particularly computer savvy though so I just dragged the folder of photos to the second hard drive. There's almost 200 gigabytes of photos so there's probably a better way that would take up less space but I can't figure it out.

FanadMan

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

I don't really have any important files that need I need to backup. The only thing I'd hate to lose is nature photographs that I've taken since about 2008. I have all of those on an external hard drive and I recently copied them to another hard drive in case the first one ever breaks down. I'm not particularly computer savvy though so I just dragged the folder of photos to the second hard drive. There's almost 200 gigabytes of photos so there's probably a better way that would take up less space but I can't figure it out.

Get a load of blank DVDs and start copying. Could take a long time but as soon as you burn them, label them and put them away somewhere really safe.

I lost hundreds of photos/vids a few years ago and since then I keep regular backups. Normally backup data to external hdds and really important stuff to dvds. By now have over 100 dvds of stuff - don't care because if I lost them it would kill me - so many damn important pics and so on never to be seen again.

What I tell customers - if it's important, back it up.....if it's really important, back it up again

southcentralts

I have a fear of the internet losing all its porn, so I volunteer my time to back up as much of it as possible.

Gummy Panda

Yes I have all my pics of naked boardsies saved on the cloud

pickarooney

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Topy8lweQ

NiallFH

No

Yup, I do although seems to me a lot of people don't

On my uni placement in a school (IT Admin) at the minute and the amount of people coming to you over lost work is unbelievable, especially since many of them have been round multiple times -.-

Duggy747

The amount of people I've had coming to me trying pleading for me to fix their USB stick / find their missing documents where they had their work / assignments / thesis on it.

Silly, silly people never make copies and just leave the one version to be lost.

Telling them the bad news is akin to me saying I killed their cat and made sandwiches from it.

ScumLord

Stupid backups, in my attempt to add more back ups at work yesterday I broke the main database.

No

Yes!
3 x 3TB for main use and 2 x 3TB backups

ScumLord

RVP 11 wrote: »

Yes!
3 x 3TB for main use and 2 x 3TB backups

That's not really a backup if it's on the same machine and in the same house.