Back up your backups, folks

[Feo Takahari]

I'm typing this on the small screen of an iPhone, after what was supposed to be a routine security update reset my computer to factory default and erased all my files and programs. (Apparently, Vista just does that sometimes--it even wipes all the restore points.) Anyways, I regularly back up my data onto an external hard drive, so it was a simple matter to perform a data recovery. I assumed that would be the end of it.

Right up until I opened the restored folders, and found that every .exe file was missing.

Most of my .docs vanished, too, but luckily, I manually copy all of my stories to a separate folder on my external hard drive, as a precaution in case something really goes wrong. My only major loss was my video game project, and I may be able to restore most of it from the copy I shared for testing. Still, it's quite a lesson about just how badly storage and recovery systems can fail.

 

[Chilari]

Actually that reminds me, I've not backed up in a while because it involves crawling under the desk to plug in the external HD's power supply. Gonna stop being lazy now and back up tonight.

Sorry to hear about your Vista. Oh and the crashing.

 

[Chime85]

Sorry for your crashing and loss of game data. I learnt the hard way a few years back to back up my files. I lost alot of writing and am currently going through it again. Yes, it was disheartening, but I think in the long run it has paid off. Stung once, I now have several copies on my hard drive, a usb copy and a physical copy I print every time I finish a chapter.

x

 

[Jess A]

Agreed. I always have a couple of external hard drives floating around. I suffer technology paranoia.

 

[JCFarnham]

Ah, Vista... That should say it all.

I really need to back up more as well. Not in the least because my laptop is likely to die any day now.

 

[Penpilot]

I'm paranoid. So in addition to my backups, yes plural, onto external drives, I email a copy of my current work in progress to my 6 different google acounts once a week.

 

[CTStanley]

I also do the emailing route after every major addition/edit. I don't trust my computers in the slightest!

 

[Steerpike]

I use Dropbox on multiple computers. Problem solved. Sorry to hear about the data loss.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I use Dropbox on multiple computers. Problem solved. Sorry to hear about the data loss.

+1 for Dropbox

 

[Graylorne]

+1 for Dropbox

SugarSync here, but the effect is the same. I use it on three pc's.

Plus I do a weekly backup from 2 pc's to external hd's. And I got the lot on an usb-stick.

 

[Jess A]

Emailing is a fantastic way to backup things. I use email a lot for this reason, in addition to the external hard drives. Which reminds me that I need to do some backup soon and I am behind.

 

[J. S. Elliot]

Ouch ... I'm familiar with how that bites. It's extremely disheartening to lose that much of your work. Hopefully the drafts you did find saved weren't that far behind a current date. *huggles*

But, how exactly does Dropbox work?

 

[mpkirby]

I use backblaze (Easiest Online Backup Service - Backblaze). It runs in the background and backs up to a datacenter. Took 6 months to make the first backup (I do a lot of photography), but it is pretty good. Costs about 60 a year.

Mike

 

[Steerpike]

Ouch ... I'm familiar with how that bites. It's extremely disheartening to lose that much of your work. Hopefully the drafts you did find saved weren't that far behind a current date. *huggles*

But, how exactly does Dropbox work?

Dropbox is a free program that runs in the background. It creates a Dropbox folder on your computer. Anything you save to that folder is automatically backed up to their cloud server and synced to any computer you use that has Dropbox. Since I have it on three computers, as soon as I edit or add to one of my stories and hit save, the changes are backed up to the web and the other two computers (provided they are turned on).

Did I mention it's free?

 

[ChantyLace]

Sucks about the loss of your information. I've had a computer crash or two, and I know first hand how frustrating it is. Which is why I have two external harddrives. One is my backup. The other is the backup of my backup. I'm pretty paranoid, but my life is digitalized. With countless GB of photos, and music, and memories, I'm not quite sure what I would do if I lost them all.

If anyone here is watching the new show "Revolution" it's definitely making me think of the whole "What if" scenario once a week. I temporarily panic at the thought of losing everything.