Data backup advice needed

Question

Hi,

I currently had a system with a small ssd only used for the OS, programs and games. My collection of music, movies, files and photos is stored on an external usb 3 samsung 1 tb pcket drive.

I have had this pocket drive for about 2 years, its fast, small and does a great job. My question is how long will it last? If it fails can i recover my data? I have like 800gb of stuff on there.

Is it over the top to buy a second pocket drive and make a 2nd copy of this data? Any opinions/advice will be appreciated :)

morblore · Accepted Answer

I have 3 backup drives. 2 inside my main desktop and a 3rd external I hide under my desk. I try to protect my self from HDD failure,teft and fire/hurricanes ( I live in Florida ).

The two in my computer are my main backups. The third I hide under my desk incase of a burglary and they take my desktop. I plug that one in and update it like every couple weeks but the main ones I do on a regular basis. Is that over the top? Maybe but I have stuff like pictures that I could never replace. I have a 4th but it's online storage...it's just not big enough so I only move very important things to the cloud. Good thing is it can't burn or flood

I know I know...who will runaway with a 110 pound Area 51 desktop LOL

Tesla1856 · Accepted Answer

If it fails can i recover my data?

Is it over the top to buy a second pocket drive and make a 2nd copy of this data? Any opinions/advice will be appreciated :)

Not likely.

I suggest you keep 2 copies of everything you value. If that means another drive, so be it. Second copy could also be at someone else's house (that you trust). Or online cloud backup (but getting it up there is sloooow).

Tesla1856 · Answer

I know I know...who will runaway with a 110 pound Area 51 desktop LOL

first burglar who sees it

Also the TVs (even if they have to remove them from wall), guns, and anything else of value.

Good to hear you also planned for fire and flood.

bills889 · Answer

haha x51 is an easier steal, nice and light

good to hear, i'll buy a 2nd pocketdrive for backup. I can just copy and paste data from one drive to another right? Or should i use certain software (free that is) to make the copy.

Thanks for your help

stevenkclee · Answer

If you can, look for one of those synchronisation software that you can set it to always copy new changes to 1st drive to the 2nd (and where the software allows, not to delete any files form 2nd drive automatically).

If both drives are connected permanently to the computer, and where the synchronization software has the feature, to do the synchronization on a periodic basis. Otherwise, you can do the synchronization manually.

Microsoft used to have a software "SyncToy" for Windows XP...

Can take a look at some of the offerings here en.wikipedia.org/.../Comparison_of_file_synchronization_software

Cenobitez · Answer

I would look at getting a static drive 3.5" jobby, mobile drives get knocked about and oh so easy to kill.

800gb+ density, you have quite literally zero chance of your data being recovered from a head crash for example.

It may sound like overkill, but if you have more than one PC or Tablet in your home, I would consider investing in a NAS, look at a 2 Drive unit, run it in Raid 1 (mirror) and plug your mobile drive into that every few days for back up. I would invest either way, but more than 1 device would mean you could share media between them, and you can access them over the internet also while away, so many advantages.

think of how you would feel should the drive not spin up and everything be lost ?

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Data backup advice needed

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