Comments on: Why don't you back up your computer?

What's holding you back from doing something you know you should be doing?

[manualfunky]

Time Machine, the only problem is that it backs up everything, every hour! other than that its perfect. would like it if i could choose exactly which folders it should be backing up regularly (i.e. the ones i'm changing often - music video etc.
seemlessly integrated. I dig it

[kelmon]

You can sort of do that by telling Time Machine which folders NOT to backup. If you only want to backup a single folder then that's going to be a problem since it would take a while to tell Time Machine about all the folders you are not interested in. Since I don't see much point in backing up the OS itself or my applications (since both can be replaced quite quickly), I have told Time Machine to only backup my Home folder and also to ignore my VMWare Virtual Machines.

[superswiss]

People underestimate how much time they will waste if they have to reinstall the OS and all applications then configure everything the way it was before and restore all the data files.

[eponymous anon]

I too use Time Machine, and it starts the instant I plug in my external HD. However, I'm not naive enough to assume that's all I need. What if my external HD dies? My solution is simple: I use .Mac and "Backup," to send daily backups of mine and my wife's documents, mail, etc. to my .mac account (basic one gives you 10gb, so that's ample). To make this ideal I would like to have OS 10.5 & Time Machine work seamlessly with an NAS or my ext. drive plugged into a wireless router. Overall, Time Machine is much better than anything Windows could offer me... they're a few years behind (e.g. multitouch support for W7 by late 2009!).

[VitaPrimo]

I love Mac OS and have Time Machine along with Time Capsule set up in all my Macs, I rarely notice when the computers are backing up ?especially if you remove the icon from the menu bar-.

Anyways, I?m a fan of Windows Media Center ergo have to deal with Windows, years ago -when I was still using Windows XP- found this little solution from Microsoft called ?SyncToy?, a free PowerToy that makes the backup process really fast and relatively easy, since it lets you choose what to do with sub sequential backups; i.e. replace files, synchronize files, shadow copy, etc

You can even set it up to back your stuff up in the Time Capsule?s disk, an AirPort Disk, your home server or some other drive, it is really helpful. As I said, it is totally free, yet you have to go through the validation process so known of Microsoft, if your copy of Windows is legitimate you won?t have any problem though.

Hope this is helpful

[markdoiron]

Okay, I won't tell you my back-up scheme. But, I will tell you that I've been through several in the past decade, and that my back-up scheme provides for on-site and off-site storage, and currently uses two different software packages, one of which does the back-ups as the files/folders are changed (and that software is free on the Internet). That's background for the point I want to make: I use spaces in directory/folder/file names and have NEVER had a problem. Other than that, your advice to create (in my case) "Mark's Documents" is spot on. --mark d.

[mhinnewyork]

Mark, If you'd like to email me about your various backup schemes and what worked and didn't work abut each, I'd be interested. Whether a space in a file/folder name will cause a problem depends on the software being used. For some software it can be a problem. Michael Horowitz

[cabowabo]

Why backup files when you can clone your entire HDD? This is the ONLY way to go IMHO.

I use removable HDDs which plug into the 5.25 slot on my desktop and clone the c: drive weekly with Acronis True Image Home 11. I then remove the cloned HDD and put it on a shelf away from the desktop. I use multiple removable HDDs and alternate between them.

What a pure pain and huge time sink reinstalling XP can be! When, not if, your HDD fails all you have to do is pull the crashed disk, destroy it and toss it in the trash and insert your latest cloned HDD into the desktop and voila, you are up and running just like nothing ever happened.

Of course, if you have some recently created very important files or apps installed, just conduct another clone before the scheduled weekly clone. I mark each clone date in red on my calendar where I will be constantly reminded how long it has been since the last one.

I run CCleaner, AusLogics Disk Defrag at a minimum before each clone.

If you have a laptop, simply use an external HDD to clone and then the process is the same except after you remove the crashed internal HDD, you use the external cloned HDD to clone the new internal drive.

I don't know how Apple's Time Machine works, but backing up files on the same HDD is not going to help you much when that same HDD crashes!

The other main benefit of doing all of this yourself is you don't have to take your PC into a shop and have a stranger copy and move all of your personal files for you. How do you know if they erase everything after you leave?!? YOU DON'T!

[superswiss]

I went through several schemes. I'm currently using Windows Home Server to backup all my computers including my laptop. Best solution yet. WHS uses a very efficient backup strategy it does a full backup of each computer, but it only stores a file once on the server. So if you have the same file on multiple computers (for example all the OS files), it will only get copied to the server once and WHS remembers which computers have the same files. It backs up computers nightly and fully automated. It can also wake up a computer if asleep, back it up and put it back to sleep afterwards. In addition it manages all the backups. You tell it how long you wanna keep your monthly, weekly and daily backups and it cleans up every Sunday getting rid of old backups. It puts time capsule on MAC to shame! I'm also using a RAID5 NAS for most of my files. All the important shares on the NAS get mirrored to shares on the WHS every night, so if my NAS dies I still have the files on WHS and vice versa. Also, a single disk failure on my NAS won't cause a data loss. WHS can also mirror files between multiple disks, so you get RAID benefit w/o needing RAID.

[AnthonyNYC]

Just Got Vista Ultimate, it has free built in backup tools, I made a complete system backup on one removable double layered dvd, another on an external hard drive, and set it up to do automatic weekly backups of my Anthony folder, which includes everything person, and even a My documents folder inside there.
People, Vista is major improvement if you give it a chance.
:)

[dvdross]

I don't back up because it is time consuming and I have terabytes of data-- so back up to what, where? I keep my own self-generated and critiical data files on external hard drives.
I protect my created files and don't back up programs or my c drive because the biggest problem is not data loss, but c drive failure, and Microsoft has dropped the ball on making it easy to reinstall your operating system on a new drive. What good is all your data backed up without being able to re-create your old opsys?

[Mikeybabes]

I have never owned or used backup software in my life. If you gave me one I probably would not know how to use it nor would I want to use it. But I do in fact backup religiously. I have a NAS drive on my network plus I keep USB external drives. Whenever I put pictures, music, documents on the computer I file them by type and date, creating folders that tell me exactly what the files are recording the foldernames in a strict format.
Backing up means dragging and dropping the folders onto the USB drive and to the NAS drive. How hard / complicated is that? When I finish I unplug the USB drive and store it in a fire-proof safe.
The most important documents for me are pictures of my kids and family, old scanned photographs and scanned legal documents.

[mhinnewyork]

The more organized you are the better in terms of simplifying backups. You are very well organized indeed. Michael Horowitz

[hnwaldren]

I don't do regular backups as often as I should because I am LAZY. That almost covers it. When I do make backups though, I just copy/paste to an external drive (why would anyone need software to do this??)...but it's getting to the point where I need to buy a bigger drive now. That's the other reason; although it's kind of the same one, because I'm too lazy to buy another external drive too....

I suspect that it all comes down to laziness for most people: too lazy to learn about the file system, to lazy to buy the appropriate media, too lazy to sit down and just get it done.

[conjaques]

It is not an integrated feature of Windows XP Home and after several sudden hard disk failures and the many hours it takes to upload service packs you begin to wonder why this was never addressed by microsoft. Latey I have been using 3rd party disk imaging software on portable external USB hard drives and creating rescue boot disks. It now takes me minutes to completely restore my hard drive after a complete failure.

[Sewwolf]

why would anyone need software to do this??)... exactly if you computer fails you are going to have to reinstall your apps anyway and should have disks for this. And chances are if you system fails it's toast anyway. If you have your data files on disk or external hard drive you can work on any computer you can put your apps on and pictures, music, office data don't need any other apps the withat Microsoft or mac already provides. I guess it really varies depending on what your doing. But for the avg home user copy and past is the way to go.

[dbassett101]

Heeeeellllllppppppp meeeeeee..... Just yesterday the external hard drive that I've used for my backups -- and for a WHOLE LOT OF OTHER CRUCIAL STUFF (archiving my outlook, etc) failed. I'm so distraught. THIS was the hard drive that was supposed to save my butt if my laptop's hard drive failed.... THIS hard drive wasn't supposed to fail! I realize now how naive that thinking was. So here are my two dilemmas (Mike please help advise on this!!)-- (1). What's the most cost effective way to get my data back on the failed drive? (2) Considering that the laptop doesn't have enough disk space for me these days, I want an external drive to hold the less-frequently used (but still important to keep) files. So how does one backup that external drive for redundant safety? Buy 2 external drives the same size? Back up to one of them, and the occasionally replicate that first external drive to the 2nd one? Makes sense, but how does one DO that? I'm already out of USB ports with all my printers and cameras and everything. Heck, I don't even have any power outlets left, I've probably got the biggest fire danger in town lurking under my desk. Help!

[RM686]

RAESON PEOPLEM DONT BACK UP THEIR HARD DRIVES IS BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR USER RESPONSE THE SOFTWARE OUT THEIR DOSENT WORK OR SCREWS UP THEIR COMPUTERS. I BOUGHT A WB 500 GB EXTERNASL DRIVE AND THE FIRST SOFTWARE I BOUGHT WOULDNOTR EVEN EXTRACT TO BE LOADED. BE CONSTRUCTIVE AND TALK VABOUT WHAT WORKS. I MAKE MY LIVING WITH MY COMPUTER AND DONT HAVE THE TIME TO TEST ALL THE CRAP THAT IS BEING SOLD. I LOVE WHEN YOU GUYS GIVE A PROGRAM 5 STARS AND YOU SUBSCRIBERS WIND UP RETING IT 1 STAR.

[lastgem31]

There are many confusing issues with backups, for ex is the first backup you make ever changed during subsequent backups? If the first backup is not changed during subsequent backups then that means that each back up is new information and becomes a separate file. If you have been backing up for a few years, how do you find the files/programs that you want to restore without restoring the the entire backup? If you keep making system backups you eventually backup a degraded system. If your OS is constantly being updated how do you back up your OS with confidence that the years gone by have not degraded the original OS. How would you restore 1000etc Windows updates? If I have 100 system backups when I crash should I restore the last OS backup which may be problematic or do I restore the orignal OS backup and search for all the updates?

[Chili_Pepr]

MozyHome works pretty well for me ? on both Mac and PC. Their 2nd level support is good if you ever need it.

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