Backup to a hard disk. Either to a portable USB one, or to another machine (via local network or the internet once you have a remote copy to synchronize to).
You can also get network attached disk drives (e.g. "Big Disk").
I had about eight old hard drives that I decided to backup onto this 340GB drive. Only the newest ones ( < 2 years old ) worked properly. One wouldn't spin up unless I shook it. A couple of them had a bunch of bad sectors and thus resulted in some lost files. Two were completely unreadable and unrecoverable. All of these old drives were working perfectly before I put them into storage.
I have five USBIDE boxes. In order to recover their data, and I used several techniques to recover the data from these:
- tried different brands of USBIDE boxes
- ran CHKDSK/F and/or CHKDSK/F/R (in a command window)
- ran defragmenter (this turned out to be a useful tool as it gave me a list of files that couldn't be defrag'd, and then I could merely delete them and complete the backup)
- used xcopy/s to do the final copy, in a command window, because Windows XP gui had a hard time copying all the large files because (I think) it would attempt to copy to RAM first.
So, I want a backup format that will last a lifetime (or at least for the rest of my life). Hard drives aint gonna cut it.
Thanks.
Bob
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Just a word of caution: Optical media might not last that long either. So far they've held up ok here but I did have the occasional CD that delaminated or developed a "purple cloud" and became unreadable. No idea how secure blue ray will be in that respect and I guess it's too new for anyone to say.
Sometimes it also helps to really peruse the data to be backed up. As an example many of my client directories contain projects which in turn contain all the datasheets of every single part used in the design. Because that's what the client wanted. For example I use jelly bean parts such as the BAV99 on almost every design. However, it doesn't make much sense to back up umpteen copies of its PDF file. In fact, most parts are so ubiquitous that this stuff doesn't need to be backed up at all.
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Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com/
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Fair enough. I guess they need periodic exercise to keep them running? But I would not trust optical media either - I have had plenty of unreadable CDs and DVDs. My current setup is that I also administer the network of another company, so we use each others machines for remote online backup. There are copies at 2 locations, with at least 3 machines total with copies at any one time.
I have had errors with tapes too, although it has been 10 years since I have used them and they were low-end types.
Maybe use a hard disk for now, in a couple of years flash may be cheap enough so you can put everything on a USB stick!
Optical data rates are retarded compared to magnetic tech. CDROM is retarded. DVD ...also retarded... HDDVD ...retarded.. BluRay .just as retarded. Whatever optical tech up next will probably be....retar_____
Sophisticated backup software and a 1TB drive (one terabyte drive costs about $150.00 over here) kicks ass... Keep the drive cool.
D from BC myrealaddress(at)comic(dot)com British Columbia Canada
CD quality is all over the map. Taiyo Yuden CDs are still considered to be high quality and are recommended for backup you care about. The store shelf disks like Verbatim, Sony and other common brand CDs are not considered reliable for backup. If you use store shelf CDs, you need to find out who really manufactured the disk (there are tools to read the real manufacturer data). Modern cheap CDs are much better than 8 years ago when CMC and Ritek put out disks that would rot in a year or two. Those two companies supplied the bulk of the CDs found on store shelves and were responsible for the bad rap CDs got.
DVDs are supposed to be much better. Specs say they should last 100 years (CD spec is something like 20 years). DVD media is laminated between two plastic sheets, CD media is protected by a thin coating on the top surface where the label is.
I use an external firewire connected hard drive for monthly backup. The drive stays off when not needed. I don't know why people keep their backup drives turned on and accessible. Seems like you're asking for trouble should you do something stupid or the OS goes crazy. My daily backups are on a memory fob which allows me to sync up my work and home computers.
Thanks, that's great information. Got to look for Taiyo Yuden disks then. It's now on my shopping list for this tax year. I also really like their passive components, good quality and favorable pricing.
Similar here. I do daily backups on USB sticks that are protected. That way I can carry always it with me. If someone steals one they won't be able to read the data, just re-format the whole thing and then the data is gone. Even re-formats aren't easy, almost got to be a pro for that.
Yeah, but: In the early 90's all my incremental backups fit on floppies with ease. I basically did the same kind of work I do now. Surprisingly none of those floppies ever failed. Over the last 15-20 years everything seems to have bloated by a factor of 100 to 1000.
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Regards, Joerg
http://www.analogconsultants.com/
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No. Small capacity optical discs (even though this is the largest capacity) in comparison to the medium you are "backing up" means that what you end up with is an archive.
What you want to do it go and buy a simple USB hard drive enclosure, and put a 1TB drive in it, or a 500 or 750 GB drive.
They ARE cheap right now, and the integrity of the backed up data is
100%. Not a claim one can make about problematic multi-layered optical discs. That doesn't even go into the price of the "back up software", which can be thousands. It is a bastard industry. You are far better off understanding the paradigm of what backing up your data is, and then doing it yourself with quality equipment. That means hard drives, not discs.
The best case is to buy SEVERAL hard drives, one for each day of the week. Then back up to a different drive each day, and re-cycle them through the next week.
Hell, a 1TB drive would back up three days worth of your data.
Write once, SINGLE LAYER. No reliability issues noted yet.
WO, DUAL LAYER The question is, have you EVER seen one, and have you ever even seen one being sold anywhere? Then, there is the severe reliability issue Sony has had with making multi-layer re-writable discs in this realm that actually work.
Same question.
Same question
Also, you should NEVER choose re-writable media for back up purposes.
Yes, which is another reason why using hard drives is a far better solution.
It doesn't even come close to being reliable. IT pros quit using optical media a long time ago for this. Hard drives are cheap. Not only that, but you will spend hundreds, if not thousands a year to make the archives in optical, and that doesn't even cover the labor tied to the operations.
3,50GB discs would cost you just as much as ONE 750GB hard drive.
Either a USB hard drive or a an NAS (Network Attached Storage) is the right way to go if you want to have a redundant copy of your drive available as a repair element in the case of a crash (back up).
Hard drives are just too damned cheap right now, and far too damned reliable to make any other choice. The back up is easy too. Get it started, and walk away. Optical discs require you managing each disc authoring session, and an upset to those sessions will render all the discs invalid. Optical is a VERY labor intensive methodology when the archive is far bigger than the archive medium.
With the hard drive solution, you merely start it at night when you leave, and change the drive to the next day's drive the next morning.
In fact, you can mirror the days data to the drive in constant real-time mode, and the back up will already be done at the end of the work day.
Also, in some businesses (such as mine) one has to maintain historical design data for a very long time. Can't use HDs on weekly rotation for that. I bet the FDA or FAA would frown upon that.
[...]
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Regards, Joerg
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DVD+R DL (should be but perhaps this is the most reliable and compact method.
just getting another 340GB hard drive will be cheaper, more compact (with the right enclosure), and probably more reliable than blu-ray media, certainly easier to use!
Yep. This Archimedes bozo obviously has a reading comprehension problem. He also seems to have a large bug up his arse (along with several other things, I would guess) and appears to know very little about a lot of things.
Bob
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| >> Has anyone here used Blu Ray for this purpose? | >
| > No. Small capacity optical discs (even though this is the largest | > capacity) in comparison to the medium you are "backing up" means that | > what you end up with is an archive. | >
| > What you want to do it go and buy a simple USB hard drive enclosure, | > and put a 1TB drive in it, or a 500 or 750 GB drive. | >
| > They ARE cheap right now, and the integrity of the backed up data is | > 100%. Not a claim one can make about problematic multi-layered optical | > discs. That doesn't even go into the price of the "back up software", | > which can be thousands. It is a bastard industry. You are far better | > off understanding the paradigm of what backing up your data is, and then | > doing it yourself with quality equipment. That means hard drives, not | > discs. | >
| > The best case is to buy SEVERAL hard drives, one for each day of the | > week. Then back up to a different drive each day, and re-cycle them | > through the next week. | >
| > Hell, a 1TB drive would back up three days worth of your data. | >> After reading a bit about the subject, it appears that there are four types | >> of Blu Ray writable formats: | >>
| >> BD-R (25GB write once) | >
| > Write once, SINGLE LAYER. No reliability issues noted yet. | >
| >> BD-R DL (50GB write once) | >
| > WO, DUAL LAYER The question is, have you EVER seen one, and have you | > ever even seen one being sold anywhere? Then, there is the severe | > reliability issue Sony has had with making multi-layer re-writable discs | > in this realm that actually work. | >
| >> BD-RE (25GB rewritable) | >
| > Same question. | >
| >
| >> BD-RE DL (50GB rewritable) | >
| > Same question | >
| > Also, you should NEVER choose re-writable media for back up purposes. | >
| | Ahm, didn't you just recommend hard drives? | | Also, in some businesses (such as mine) one has to maintain historical | design data for a very long time. Can't use HDs on weekly rotation for | that. I bet the FDA or FAA would frown upon that. | Perhaps Imations RDx stuff will do, (Dells RD1000) Cartridges are 2.5" HD's
Certainly another 500GB drive would be the cheapest and the easiest, but I just don't trust it.
The 9GB DVDs are very cheap, but do the math on how many I'd need to burn. However, I may end up using this technique in the short term. It seems to be the lesser of all the available evils.
Do you have any data to support your claim about Blu Ray unreliability? I have hundreds of burned CDs and dozens of burned DVDs. I cannot remember any of these discs failing. I would suspect that Blu Ray will be as reliable, but since it's in its infancy, who knows.
Bob
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Actually, its not a reliability issue so much as it is a technology issue. For YEARS, broadcast television relied upon u-matic tape for archival storage. Now, you can barely find a u-matic (new or reconditioned). Eventually, the same will be true of Blu-ray, or [insert technology here].
The Library of Congress is so worried about the inpact of the new technologies on archival media, that they've already claimed there are not enough machines available to even transfer the huge amount of material to "any" new format. (Thus, they will be lost.)
One company I met in New York in particular (I forget their name), stands to make a small fortune in this business. (Niche market: They developed a high-speed tape reader/archiver, but even they won't convert it all.)
The best strategy is multiple copies, on multiple media, in multiple places. (Sort of like the US Constitution).
Hmmm. I don't know. I'll look into that. It's not a bad idea. With the (low) price of sub terabyte drives, I could RAID several of them together and achieve adequate reliability.
Someone must make a handy little USBmulti-drive RAID controller. If nobody makes one, you should create it as a product. I'll be a beta tester and then keep the proto as payment for my suffering.
Hmmm...
Bob
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