HarleyDog

What's your offsite backup solution? - Ask DLS (Download Squad)

Nov 19th 2007 2:03PM I've tried offline storage, several times...some details below. But found a second internal and two external usb drives works perfect. Use "SyncBack SE" synchronization software, although others would work just as well. One external drive is software apps backup primarily. The internal is primary backup for C drive's data. After that, I have them synchronizing to different clearly named folders between themselves at various times per day in a cascading fashion, so I have at least three copies of everything at any one time. I never have to touch it.

Then I have a manually run backup to my notebook as my "off site" backup, not touched by the automatic syncs. Every few months, I update a set of DVD backups to have hardcopy. Overkill? Perhaps, but once it's set up it takes care of itself, deleting when I delete and not continuing to grow.

And the price is right for my localized system. The online offerings are either too slow or small, and/or offer upgrade packages with a monthly fee. No thanks.

Have tried online backups, but too slow and small. The storage size for free sites is changing--the "safe storage" that comes with our time-warner cable company holds my critical data files only...those ones I can't lose if the house burns down. DriveHQ offers 50GB, but that's not big enough for everything, and weirdly you can't select multiple folders/files into a single backup. You read right...when I asked them about that, their reply was basically that it is an intended "feature," to give it the flexibility to have multiple independent backups...blah, blah, blah... And then their's the speed thing. Upload speeds are slow, and while only the first time is the slowest it's just not ready for prime time for me.

I've tried XDrive, and others as well. All earn similar comments. Lastly, I'm still not comfortable with my data sitting out there somewhere, even with SSL, compression and encryption, it's only as good as the person that designed it and who's to say it's really getting encrypted properly? I like my backps readily available when I need them, in standard file structures. Theoretically, my CPU could melt down and I have external USBs ready to go on my notebook with EVERYTHING on it. Can't get much more convenient than that.

All these links and more are available at our family's personal home page, at the "other links" at the bottom of the page. No ads, just a Hawaii information page built for our friends and family, but we recently added the content of our favorites, and most of these are already in there, plus many others. Find it at http://home.hawaii.rr.com/gonebananas
Aloha