I am trying to find a nice and simple program that will backup files for me.
Let's say I did an event with 20GB of photos in the file folder called "Event". All I want to be able to do is send it to CD's or DVD's and label the disks produced as event backup disk 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. And store those 5 disks as "Event" backup somewhere on my shelf. When backing up, when the first disk is full, it will prompt for the next disk...and so on until the event is completely backed up on disks.
It sounds simple but Vista Ultimate 64 won't do it.
I'll look into the Synctoy from Microsoft. That doesn't really look like what I need but I'll give it a try. Those appear to be folder synchronizers but I need to just copy a folder of photos to several cd/dvds.
One is internal, the other is external and the same size. Say, 2 500GB drives.
I download files to the internal RAW drive. Then I immediately copy them to the external RAW drive and disconnect it.
Same thing with WORKING files. I keep files that I am working on on one disk internally, backed up to 1 external WORKING drive.
When full, or at the end of the year, I pull all of the drives and stack them as my backups. Then start with a new set.
With the growth in drive sizes, I have always gotten by with 4 drives per year. I am just about to grab all of those older, smaller drives - 80GB, 120GB for a few years like 2002-2006 - and copy them to a 1TB drive. Then I will recycle them for TV shows, etc.
I gave up on DVD's and CD's years ago, except for hand-offs to clients, etc. I used to pay $40 each for the 120GB to 200GB drives. Have not had to buy any recently, but 1TB SATA drives look to be about $100.
Yeah I backup everything to hard drives currently but I'm always scared I'd be screwed if one of them failed. If I had the events on DVD's I'd at least have a hard copy that can't really "fail" as a last resort.
I currently use SATA internal drives placed in external enclosures. When they fill up I take it out an throw it on the shelf and put a new one in it.
then make more than one copy. i have two backup drives that rotate them off site. as far as DVD backups are concerned, i consider them self-erasing media good for a year or two at best.
Joe Winn wrote:
Yeah I backup everything to hard drives currently but I'm always scared I'd be screwed if one of them failed. If I had the events on DVD's I'd at least have a hard copy that can't really "fail" as a last resort.
I currently use SATA internal drives placed in external enclosures. When they fill up I take it out an throw it on the shelf and put a new one in it.
I pretty much do the same thing - but also keep at least 2 external drives in a safe deposit box at my bank - every Friday morning - I go get the current one - back up files for the week and take it back that afternoon - this is in addition to having at least 2 externals + CD or DVD backups - I've never lost a customer's files as of yet, but I've heard to many horror stories to not keep this system intact. I have two internal 500 gig drives - I keep all current jobs on one of those + 1 active external backed up with the same files. This may be overkill, but I sure sleep better at night.
Good luck - Tom
Me too. I have 2 working drives that stay in the computer, and then 2 backup HDs (same brand, same make and size) for each working drive. They are rotated off-site every week.
If my working drive fails, I have one backup here at the office which I can work off of for the time being if needed, since it's an exact duplicate. If that one fails (odds are low) then I just go grab my other 3rd backup from my safe deposit box. If that happened, I might even look into getting the 2 bad HDs replaced before even trying to get data of my last backup.
I'm considering getting a 3rd backup, who knows. HDs are so cheap right now.
If you are worried about drive failures, I'd recommend doing online backup as well. I use Mozy (it's about $5 a month for unlimited data storage) in addition to two local mirrors (one internal drive, one external backup drive and then my primary external working drive). This way if I have a local failure/delete a file I can easily get it back from one of the local backups, but if I have a catastrophic local failure (ie fire or something that physically destroys the drives) I still have the remote backup set to recover from. I don't consider DVDs (especially burned ones) reliable long term storage. I don't even really feel that unused hard drives are that much better of an option - an always on drive has a very low chance of failure (especially before it is likely to be replaced by a larger drive anyways) since it is the starts and stops that really put wear on the drives. Also I keep a program that monitors the SMART status of the drives running and warns me of errors so I know to get a replacement (I haven't had to yet, knock on wood).
Yeah, I kinda missed with the links there... Sorry about that. I saw: "I am trying to find a nice and simple program that will backup files for me." and didn't seem to notice you talking about direct to CD/DVD.
If you don't mind paying a small price Acronis is your answer. This can not only backup "Partitions" (i.e it images your disks - very handy for backing up your OS like Windows) but you can also backup Data and browse archives.
The program will span volumes if a new volume is required and you even get the option of spliiting the archive files so that different file systems can be read.
The program also can create "Bootable restore" so you can even do a "Bare Metal" recovery if you lose your hard disk where your OS is loaded on.
Just go for the "Home" versions --don't bother with the expensive corporate junk --that's way overkill for a small office or a home network.
Incidentally I don't like online backups as you will have 4 problems.
1) If you lose your Internet connection you are royally hosed up.
2) Most broadband speeds have a really slow / sluggish upload speed. Downloads are pretty reasonable but try doing a 50 GB upload from a typical home / small business wireless network. Uploads are usually 3 - 7 X SLOWER than downloads.
3) Corporate greed isn't just confined to Banks -- a load of ISP's are beginning to charge for Bandwidth which is actually a very sneaky way of cashing in oodles of dosh especially when you want to do video and audio streaming. Doing regular large online backups will cost you an arm and a leg (not by the hosting server but by your ISP / Cable provider.
4) If you have something potentially sellable and you store it on the internet - as sure as "Eggs is Eggs" it will find its way into unauthorized hands - especially if the physical servers are placed in Low wage economy countries. I'm not trying to suggest citizens of these countries are less honest that others but it's a fact of life - where the average wage is a pittance people will make up the difference by other (usually not legitamate) means.
Joe Winn wrote:
I'll look into the Synctoy from Microsoft. That doesn't really look like what I need but I'll give it a try. Those appear to be folder synchronizers but I need to just copy a folder of photos to several cd/dvds.
My working files are on a mirrored pair of drives. I use Synctoy (free) to create an off line back up to a USB drive. After the backup , the USB drive is stored in another location. Backups alone will not save you if they are kept at the same location as your main files.
