Hi Barbara, There has been a lot of discussion about Dropbox here lately.
You may like to go to the list's archive (see the link at the bottom of every LUG post) and search there for past comments. I like Dropbox so much I now pay them a subscription to get more than the free space they offer and store everything that I'd normally put in "My Documents" there - including my Legacy data files, which I've never kept in the default location*. . * For a long time now, my working theory has been that every- . thing I'd want to retrieve in the event of a computer failure . (as much as possible) is kept in "My Documents", so my . backups (when I remembered to do them!) would comprise mainly . of that folder. Before I became a paid subscriber at Dropbox, and only had the free space, I kept particularly precious things there - such as my Legacy backups. The original data files weren't kept there. You could do it the other way around (data file in Dropbox, backups elsewhere) if you wanted; once it's set up, you don't have to think about it again. Whatever service you end up using, consider how easy it is to retrieve your files from it. Does the service simply hold a copy of your folders and files, or does it convert them to another format (eg a compressed backup format) that has to be converted back to the original before you can use it? I'm not saying that's a bad thing, there could well be features of that method that suit your requirements, but I'm thinking about how easy it would be for YOU (as the user) to restore your files after a disaster. Such things might be quite easy for you, or they may be a daunting prospect you don't want to consider. Dropbox stores a copy of my files and updates them immediately a file is changed when the computer is online, and I can access them from any other online computer - as long as I can remember my password! And if the worst happened and I had to set up a new computer, once I installed the little Dropbox program and logged it into my Dropbox account, all the files in my account would be downloaded automatically, ready for me to use. The only consideration then (because of the large volume of files I have there - currently almost 70GB) would be how much of our monthly data allowance provided by our ISP would be used up in that process - but that is minor (merely a matter of money) compared to the prospect of loosing everything from my current computer. Hope this helps. :-) Kind Regards, Wendy Barbara Pixley said the following on 8/11/2013 8:16 a.m.: > I recently had my pc crash and thought for awhile I'd lost > Legacy-all 13,000+ names, notes etc...also lost a few years off my > life! I backup on Carbonite and an external hard drive. I understood > that Carbonite backed up everything automatically but didn't! > Evidently you have to 'adjust settings'. 'Did manage to get my Legacy > restored from the external hard drive. Legacy support also suggested > SkyDrive and Dropbox, neither of which I use. In a recent Family Tree > Magazine a site recommended was backupmytree.com > Would like feedback from anyone who uses Carbonite, SkyDrive, > Dropbox and/or backupmytree.com as to how you like it, ease of use, > success in restoring files etc. > Thanks, > Barbara Pixley Legacy User Group guidelines: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Etiquette.asp Archived messages after Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Archived messages from old mail server - before Nov. 21 2009: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Online technical support: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/Help.asp Follow Legacy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/LegacyFamilyTree) and on our blog (http://news.LegacyFamilyTree.com). To unsubscribe: http://www.LegacyFamilyTree.com/LegacyLists.asp
