Ask DLS: What's your backup process?

Cobian Backup, which I read about on DLS as it were. Differential copy, and it's saved my ass at least once already when I saved over a file. An excellent program, freeware too. I would ponder Windows Backup but that doesn't let you back up TO the drive Windows is on, which is precisely what I need to do.

The only backup I do is from computer to computer, i.e. just copy the most important files to another computer in my house. I'm already planning on an 8TB NAS (or 4TB with RAID) box after I lost a 1TB hard drive about a year ago (almost to the day, actually!). It contained all the footage I have ever filmed (I'm a cameraman) up until that point. Cost me a potentially good client too, because I couldn't afford at the time to have it recovered.

I use Mozy Home (2GB free version) to back up my most valuable documents, and Acronis True Image to back up most of my computer every week. I say "most", because I have Acronis set to ignore the c:\Data folder, which contains all of my music, video and pictures. This is backed up to an external drive every morning at 8AM. I also back up my music to an old XP PC once a month or so, and burn my pictures to DVDs once a year or so (I don't take that many).

It's not pretty, but it works.

Personal Desktop and Laptop are automatically backed up every few days to Windows Home Server.

All Software, Movies, Music, Photos and Videos stored on Windows Home Server, and an offline copy stored on external USB drives.

Once every 6 months, if I remember, to a Western Digital hard drive.

Kind of living on the edge since I'm one of those who turned on my PC 6 years ago and except for updates I never turned it off. Never needed to back up so I usually forget.

A server/NAS running FreeNAS and unison. One of these days I'll add a third location in someone's cloud. I have been putting off deciding which cloud is best for me for far too long now.

Crossed fingers.... ;-(

Seriously, I've got like 1.2Tb of data amongst 4 drives that would qualify as "needing backups", but having it as just another local drive suffers from the "eggs in one basket" dilemma, and online backups won't work due to my measly 5Gb per month data cap on my broadband service.

Windows Home Server + Dropbox.

Weekly backups to local HD, monthly backups to a HD I keep at work.

I use Dropbox for Photos but even with a paid account it simply isn't big enough for anything else...

I use JungleDisk backed by Rackspace for off-site storage of essential files, Dropbox for all portable apps, and SyncBackSE to an external hard drive that I mirror offsite every 6 months (I keep it at work in a locked cabinet). I used to use Dreamhost's 50GB service to rsync my web server, but it went down so much it wasn't worth paying for.

Windows SyncToy scheduled into Windows Task Manager copying over any new files to a second hard drive. Works OK for me. If I lost everything I would like to think it would be kind of liberating and wouldn't cripple me too much as a person. :P

I recently set up CrashPlan to back up the files from an external hard drive on my file server to another external hard drive, as well as to CrashPlan's online service. They have unlimited storage which I like, and claim that it will always be unlimited, unlike some places *cough*Mozy*cough*. You can back up from computer to computer, or to another device on the same computer with the free version. You have to have the paid version to backup online though (makes sense). Most of my stuff is on my file server, but some is on my individual computers. I need to get better about backing up individual computer stuff.

Thanks for the great reminder about backing up. Backblaze is a sponsor of World Backup Day and we are offering 10% off our service with the coupon code worldbackupday at checkout on http://www.Backblaze.com . We are also giving away 10 unlimited online storage packs for a year. Tweet using #backblaze for your chance to win!

Backblaze provides completely unlimited cloud storage for $5/month, backs up all data, backs up external drives, and is native on both Mac and Win.

I have a FreeNAS server behind my Desktop (I know it's not offsite, but it is all that I can do - gotta love bandwidth caps in Canada), and a free backup software called GFI Backup to backup my files once a day.

Hope

I pulled the trigger on Mozy about 2 weeks before they put the breaks on the unlimited backup. My thought at the time was if I spent $44/year with them to back everything up (about 200gigs right now), in 10 years I'm out $440 and was well worth the piece of mind. With that said, and while I really like the program, I will be switching at the end of my term as it will cost me $120+/year. Too many options out there to pay that much.

I'm using SugarSync because you get 5 GB for free and because it's easy to use (better than Dropbox IMO). Their referral-system also is pretty generous. By using this link both you and I get 500 MB extra space (a total of 5,5 GB): https://www.sugarsync.com/referral?rf=ed8j8gqe47dr4

I use Oops!Backup, Dropbox and Paragon.

Oops is like Time machine real-time back up for windows. My Dropbox contains my document, My pictures folders with in windows so they are backed up to the cloud in realtime too.

Then I image once every six months just in case, But I tend to just do a fill wipe and new install every 6 months instead.

For my website http://www.dropdeadcomedians.com and its server. I export all the data as moveable type then back up the data base with Cpanel. I am thinking of using the Automatic service vault press however I as it's in beta, I'm not that trusting right now.

I use good ol' tried and true Time Machine on my Mac. No thrills or spills, but does the real-time element does the job great. It's saved my ass more than a couple of times.

For my documents, I also have a spare backup in the cloud with Dropbox.