Backup strategy?

zimmerframe · Nov 27, 2007, 12:29:56

Netters. How many of you have a backup strategy for your home computers? This is somthing I really want to set up for myself following a recent crah of my PC, ( I got away with it this time, it was a PSU fault. Next time probably not so lucky).

I have a PC and my wife has a laptop. Total storage on both about 220 Gb. I use a wireless router/modem, (Netgear 834G). The PC connected wired and the laptop wirelessly. I do have a DVD-RW so that a possibility for use.

I was thinking of a NAS device and possibly something like Ghost or Acronis software, to create images on the NAS. I've looked at several devices but am not sure what I should get. Some have drives installed, some allow you t add your own drives. I would be looking at spending ~£150

What do you folks do?

Rik · Nov 27, 2007, 12:36:21

Hi Zimmer

I use Acronis TI to create images of the system drive before any major changes, and afterwards when I am satisfied all is well.

On a daily basis, I backup to one internal HD and three external HDs, with a subset of the most critical data being written to a DVD-RW.

Weekly, I make an extra backup to a USB HD which is then stored 'off premises'.

I am, of course, a little paranoid about data.

Nick AJ · Nov 27, 2007, 12:51:01

Hi Zimmerframe.

Well we do a combination of back-up to DVD on a supposedly regular basis.

Cross backup - eg laptop to PC and v/v

Daily backups are to 5 rotated 1GB USB pen drives.

Tbh, most of the stuff on a PC doesn't need backing up, windows, programs etc.are usually better reloaded after a disaster. So it's letters, photos, music etc. All our PC's have virtual drives, C for windows, D for programs, E for data, and F for music and downloads, so it's pretty easy to backup the relevant bits.

We use a program called GR backup http://www.grsoftware.net/, its now $59 but it does enable you to create different backups (eg. Full, Daily Incremental etc) and do things like turning off the PC after completion.

Like you I'm looking at NAS both for back-up and ease of access to files. Quite tempted with the Synology products - although that may blow your budget a bit.

Nick AJ · Nov 27, 2007, 12:56:15

Must say Rik -Acronis looks pretty good

zimmerframe · Nov 27, 2007, 13:01:36

I'm seriously looking at this device

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=272748&CatId=2720

It looks to have everything I need. Network connectivity and USB expansion, (should I need it). It comes with backup software, though I havent heard of it. Acronis has had very good revues so I would probably go with that.

I think I am right in thinking that being a NAS, both of my machines would be able to easily use it as additional storage too. Would it have to be a mapped drive?

Rik · Nov 27, 2007, 13:02:06

Quote from: Nick AJ on Nov 27, 2007, 12:56:15
Must say Rik -Acronis looks pretty good

It really is a 'get out of jail card', Nick. I've used to to restore a 'known good' Windows installation in a matter of a few minutes, and then been able to copy back and changed data from the daily backups. Clean PC in 10 minutes from start to finish. I do recommend it...

Noreen · Nov 27, 2007, 13:23:01

I do a full Acronis TI (v9) hard-disk backup to an external Maxtor drive once a month and create a Windows System Restore point on alternate days. The most important data on my laptop are my genealogical records and they are also backed up on CDs and flash drives. I've not yet had to restore the Acronis image but have occasionally had to use the System Restore and it's never failed me.

mrapoc · Nov 27, 2007, 13:29:43

The only thing i have worth backing up is music, downloads, films and photos. I do this by first of all,

Having an internal data disk (keeps it seperate from program files etc. keeping it clean and fragment-free

I back all this up onto an external HDD whenever i think about it (once a month)

I keep college work on USB stick

I dont really see much point in myself saving backups of Windows (i quite enjoy a nice freshly formatted drive) and dont really mind reinstalling games etc.

Lance · Nov 27, 2007, 14:15:30

On my desktop machine, I make a full HDD backup once a month and incremental back-ups to this full backup once a week. I have my critical documents zipped and stored in my webspace as and when.

My laptop only has critical documents, and these are backed up on my desktop and webspace as and when.

My music and photos are duplicated and are on both my desktop and laptop.

Ann · Nov 27, 2007, 14:21:48

I don't need to back up much. Most of my stuff, if you really look at it, is rubbish! What I do want to save I keep on a pen drive and when I think of it, redo it.

As for windows, I allow the computer to make restore points when it wants to which it seems to do almost daily and that's it. If something major goes wrong, I format and reinstall. I tend to do that once in a while anyway as I like it all clean and tidy. I permanently moved My Documents to the D drive so that reinstalling windows on C doesn't cause me to lose anything. So a simple format and reinstall of windows is easier.

colirv · Nov 27, 2007, 19:27:53

I use ERUNT to give automatic and more comprehensive restore to safe points, a USB drive using SyncBack (in incremental mode) for weekly backing up My Documents and other odd files, and webspace for important photographs in case the house burns down! All this software is, IIRC, free.

Simon · Nov 27, 2007, 21:43:05

I have to be honest and admit to rarely doing backups, other than of music / photos / pics, etc, which I usually copy about once a month to an external hard drive. The actual program data on my PC hardly ever changes, so I see no real need for a strict regime, as if everything went to pot, I would have to reinstall all my programs anyway.

Lance · Nov 27, 2007, 22:34:34

Whilst I agree about if something goes wrong, then a fresh install is best, I just know that the time it happens to me would be the time I need to get something done quickly and that's why I like an image based backup

Rik · Nov 28, 2007, 00:14:08

Same argument here, Lance. Problems never occur at convenient times, image-based backups can be a lifesaver in that situation.

I should, perhaps, qualify my elaborate backup strategy. I do it as a matter of habit. When I was a freelance designer, my time was effectively what I sold. The files on the computer could represent hundreds of pounds of billable time, it was cheaper to back them up than to recreate the work, so...

Buzz · Jan 03, 2008, 14:21:24

Hey.

I'm also an advocate of Acronis TrueImage. I have a base XP install image burnt to a self-booting Acronis Boot CD. All work/personal files are separate from the runtime partition and are incrementally backed up, usually once a week. Any source code is remotely stored on some magic SVN server somewhere, and backed up by a datacentre.

The gaming rig gets ripped back down to a base install whenever I need to update graphics/mobo/video/sound drivers due to any incompatibility with a game.

I wonder if there's a way to "diff" the registrys between two images. Even though I could install an application on a separate partition, it will still write keys into the registry which I'd need to preserve on the root drive... $:-\$

Rik · Jan 03, 2008, 14:23:22

You could try using Erunt.

drummer · Jan 03, 2008, 17:37:29

Another Acronis TI user here. When I first used it I nearly cried because it made me reflect on how many hours/days/weeks I'd wasted reformatting and reinstalling from scratch, when the whole thing can be done in a few minutes from an image program.

Rik · Jan 03, 2008, 17:41:03

Acronis does teach us the error of our ways, doesn't it.

Adam · Jan 03, 2008, 20:23:41

I use an online backup service which automatically backs up files as they are changed in selected directories. The service doesn't "waste" bandwidth and only sends the changes, not the whole new file. It obviously does require a local app be installed, but even that is only around 5mb and uses very little memory.

colirv · Jan 03, 2008, 21:30:45

Quote from: Adam on Jan 03, 2008, 20:23:41
I use an online backup service which automatically backs up files as they are changed in selected directories. The service doesn't "waste" bandwidth and only sends the changes, not the whole new file.

I'm interested in this. Which one do you use? What happens if you accidentally delete a large part of the file you're working on and it does an auto back up before you can stop it?

Adam · Jan 03, 2008, 21:44:55

Quote from: colirv on Jan 03, 2008, 21:30:45
I'm interested in this. Which one do you use? What happens if you accidentally delete a large part of the file you're working on and it does an auto back up before you can stop it?

I created the program that does the backups myself using a combination of open source software and free tools. The files are stored using Strongspace, though I'm thinking of moving to Amazon S3. The software stores everything as a revision, so if you were to delete the file it'd be possible to simply go back to a previous version.

Sebby · Jan 03, 2008, 22:14:03

I'm strongly considering some kind of online storage now. I have an external drive, but I don't like to keep it on, and so I tend to only back up when I think of it, which is generally once a month.

Adam · Jan 03, 2008, 22:32:16

Quote from: Sebby on Jan 03, 2008, 22:14:03
I'm strongly considering some kind of online storage now. I have an external drive, but I don't like to keep it on, and so I tend to only back up when I think of it, which is generally once a month.

I can see little benefit to doing backups onto DVDs or external drives when there are online services which offer a much better, and often cheaper, solution. If you look around you can find online services that will even allow you to encrypt the server side data so nobody can read the data but you.

Sebby · Jan 03, 2008, 22:42:56

You've hit the nail on the head there. For me, it's the security issue that's a concern. It'd have to be quite a reputable company for me to put my trust in them.

Adam · Jan 03, 2008, 22:48:44

Quote from: Sebby on Jan 03, 2008, 22:42:56
You've hit the nail on the head there. For me, it's the security issue that's a concern. It'd have to be quite a reputable company for me to put my trust in them.

There are a few out there that offer decent encryption and are backed or owned by well-known businesses, an example is Mozy who is owned by EMC. If it's just reputation you're looking for I'm sure Tesco or Google will be happy to offer you something.

ducky22 · Jan 03, 2008, 23:11:24

Acronis gets my vote everytime.

I do daily images to a 2nd hard drive.

I'd recommend staying the hell away from Western Digital. I've found the performance on their NAS/USB products ridiculous. Their support is even worse. I spent 2 hours arguing with them over a slow USB hard drive. They insisted the problem was my workstation, I insisted it wasn't. I proved the enclosure they supplied would only function in USB 1.1 but still they wouldn't give me a replacement :-(.

DeViTTo · Feb 02, 2008, 21:57:17

I use Acronis to, the trouble I have with it if you have a raid0 sata configuration the OS needs the driver installed to recognise the drive. This can be a pain, because you have to restore to a single drive then run acronis from that to restore back to the raid (something for others to watch out for using raid0 Sata drives). You might think that the backup is ok and validates but it doesn't work when you need it to.

I have a SCSI perc/4dc raid0 config and it will restore to that no problem mainly because its hardware implemented.

Anyway back to what other ways to backup. I myself don't bother with system or applications not worth it really, I'm forever reinstalling, but I do keep a copy of my latest fresh install. I also use USB Drives and sticks for my installation files and personal data. I find with Acronis if dual booting I take copies of both OS's so I can restore the boot file correctly.

I use other wise as a backup for files A Qnap109pro which comes with or without a HD, I have a samsung 500GB installed. Its a very usefull device you can run slimserver(excellent player), twonky media, itunes server, ftp, php, mysql, qbackup, Joomla, qget BTorrent program which enables downloading of torrents with computer off (which I dont really use BTW) and many other programs. I use it as a webserver for hosting my website. It really worth considering as a backup device which can do so much more.

Price wise its above the 150 but only slightly depending where you buy as mentioned by the OP.
This is where I bought mine. I went for the pro but the normal one just doesn't have Linux NFS functionality.

http://www.store2go.net/shop/discountstore/p/category/0706104272-QNAP+TS-109+Pro/

1 review:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/networking/review/2007/08/06/QNAP-TS-109-Pro-Turbo-Station/p1

I can recommend it to anyone if your looking for a NAS device and many other features especially backup. It will run on demand and sleep otherwise. It uses I think less than 14w in use and a lot less in standby. I used to run a server computer doing some of these things, but this one does the lot.

btw I do not work for the company, but I do like i nice useful product when I see one lol.

ducky22 · Feb 03, 2008, 02:27:24

What sort of read/write speed to you get to the hard drive on Qnap?

I've a similar device but could only get around 3mbyte/second - its currently sitting pieces somewhere because I got annoyed with it.

DeViTTo · Feb 03, 2008, 22:23:38

Quote from: ducky22 on Feb 03, 2008, 02:27:24
What sort of read/write speed to you get to the hard drive on Qnap?

I've a similar device but could only get around 3mbyte/second - its currently sitting pieces somewhere because I got annoyed with it.

7-8mb read 9-10mb write thats using netmeter to measure throughput. I have just installed new BT Beta and all previous issues have been addressed. Thats with Samsung Spinpoint 500GB drive BTW.

http://forum.qnap.com/

I just find this one of the most useful products i've bought in a while its replaced a computer running as a server. I can highly recommend it

Sebby · Feb 03, 2008, 22:48:57

I read a review on the QNAP NAS a few months back and thought it looked very interesting indeed. I may well give it another look.

Lance · Feb 03, 2008, 23:00:44

I'm on the lookout for a decent Nas box too!

Sebby · Feb 03, 2008, 23:07:32

I was looking at the Buffalo LinkStation; I know this is somewhat hackable and can do all kinds of things. I think the QNAP is a bit more advanced, though.

DeViTTo · Feb 03, 2008, 23:40:25

I can highly recommend the Qnap, but if you dont need Active directory or Linux NFS get the 109 not the 109Pro. I like slimserver and the bitorrent program Qget, also web server in fact I just rate this product as damn useful. Its quite no fans it rocks

Sebby · Feb 03, 2008, 23:54:27

Thanks for the information. I'm also looking at installing Xubuntu onto an old PC I found today and using that for BitTorrent, and so on, so I'm going to have a think.