On Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:47:12 -0500, Robert Vassar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>I backup to a USB hard disk. I plug it in, backup, unplug it, de- >cable and park it in a filing cabinet. The disk spends 99.99% of >it's life powered off. It should last a decade or more like this, >but I buy a new disk to replace it every 5 years, regardless if it >needs it or not. Really critical stuff goes on a CD-R, stored flat >in a jewel case, and goes in the safe deposit box. My laptop is may main computer. My "backup" procedure consists of cloning the C: drive using a freebie utility called "xxclone" (http://www.xxclone.com). This one is one of the best cloning programs that I've tried and being free is a double bonus. The target drives are the same brand and size as what is installed in my laptop. The bare target drive is connected via a USB-to-EDIE interface cable that I picked up somewhere on the net for about $20. I use 3 drives in rotation so that I have 3 generations of drive snapshots at any given time. That has saved my cookies more than once when I realized after the last clone that I'd deleted something vital. The three "backup" drives stay in my fireproof safe inside zip-lock bags. The zip-lock bags are vital. I learned the hard way during a house fire that even though the fireproof safe protects the media from heat, it doesn't protect it from the acidic smoke and steam that are drawn into the cool interior. If the drive in my laptop fails, I don't have to do a restore. I simply get the latest clone drive out of the safe and install it in my computer and I'm instantly back up and running with the machine state being that of the last snapshot. I do a weekly clone and a daily differential backup to my linux file server running SAMBA using another freebie utility called SyncBack. A flash drive is another option for those non-networked computer users. http://www.2brightsparks.com/. Even when I've been very active, a week's worth of changes easily fits on a 4 gig flash drive. I still have the occasional nightmare when I think about tape backup. More accurately, the time wasted verifying each tape and even then, having the tape not read about half the time when it was needed. Never again! John -- John De Armond See my website for my current email address http://www.neon-john.com http://www.johndearmond.com <-- best little blog on the net! Tellico Plains, Occupied TN What do you call a blonde's cranial cavity? Vacuum chamber? _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.
