>>> ! Backup Your Data ! <<< (Don't risk a melt-down)

jascoken · Dec 14, 2012

I just got off the phone with 'yet another' client who's lost loads of sensitive and important data because of drive failure... So, as a Christmas present to you all...

Follow my simple plan; and it'll never happen to you!

Get yourself a copy of 'Acronis True Image'
Get a USB2/3 external drive
Install Acronis & connect the USB drive
Set up a custom 'incremental' backup of your main Hard-Disk (saving the backup image to the external drive). I use a 120Gb SSD as my main drive and set Acronis to do the entire 'disk mode' image - but you can use a 'partition mode' if you need to. The backup image will be approx 20Gb for 60Gb of drive space used.
Set the custom backup scheme to create a full version every 5-7 incremental versions. This will now only save the incremental changes each time you backup (so less space used), but create a new full-backup every 5-7 versions.
Set the old version 'cleanup' to delete chains older than 30 days. That way, you have the entire last month's worth of images. (Use longer if you have the space on your external drive.)
Set the schedule to 'Upon Event' : 'System Shutdown'
If you can afford it, keep a 2nd HD which is exactly the same as your current main HD (in case of drive failure, so you can put this one in and restore the image to it.)
Run Acronis and create the backup/restore Boot-DVD which can be used in catastrophic failure to pull the backed-up image to the HD.
Test the boot-up DVD!

Now; every time you hit shut-down/power-off, it will clone your main drive to the USB drive...

...EVERYTHING is backed-up - and then it shuts itself down. Even if the drive completely fries (and 90% of disk failure happens at shut-down or boot-up) - you just pop another new drive into your PC and 'restore' the entire thing (a full clone of the drive) in 10-20 minutes.

I keep every essential system in this way. With a few spare 120Gb SSD's as well. (All my main HD's are 120Gb SSD's.)

This routine has saved my ass 3x over the last 2 years! And I only lost 15 minutes of time...

If you're making more than a couple of grand per month in IM etc. and you don't do this to protect your essential data/systems/processes, then you're quite simply MAD!

It also means that you have access to any file on your HD from every session you've used the PC in the entire backup time-frame (30 days minimum.) If you shut down once/twice per day, then each time, you create an image of all the changed files. GREAT for getting back to previous versions!

Ho...Ho...Ho... Merry Christmas everybody!

:drinking2

jascoken · Dec 16, 2012

Anyone else have any recommendations/systems that they use?

shurk · Dec 16, 2012

Sterling advice. I can't count the amount of times that I have seen drives fail in my day job (Tech support for a hosting company) and the client doesn't have backups, or just assumes that we have been taking backups for them (Or the best yet, client had 2 servers, and just assumed that the second was taking a backup of the first!!!).

The 'bare metal' style backups offered by TrueImage and similar are in my opinion the best, the quickest and easiest to reinstate.

If your data is important then treat it as such!

pooinmyloo · Dec 17, 2012

I find one of the best pieces of software to be a $9.99 p/month 100gb dropbox account. Ok it won't backup your settings on your PC, but for your most precious files and folders, like website backups and files, for 10 bucks a month you can't go wrong. Shares across all your pc's and accessible from anywhere. If your pc goes down there's a copy of everything in the cloud.

davids355 · Dec 17, 2012

See my sig - I offer unlimited data backup for $4.82 per month

Taking an image is also good if your setup is really complex.

SEOWhizz · Dec 17, 2012

jascoken said:
Anyone else have any recommendations/systems that they use?

As well as Acronis True Image, I have Macrium Reflect (either will do a good job; I'm just pedantic). Also, make sure that one backup is securely stored well away (off-site) from the main computer.

When you upgrade the above software, remember to make sure you create (and test) new boot discs/DVD's (as the old ones may not be backward compatible with previous versions' backups).

jascoken · Dec 17, 2012

SEOWhizz said:
As well as Acronis True Image, I have Macrium Reflect (either will do a good job; I'm just pedantic). Also, make sure that one backup is securely stored well away (off-site) from the main computer.

When you upgrade the above software, remember to make sure you create (and test) new boot discs/DVD's (as the old ones may not be backward compatible with previous versions' backups).

Good points...

I always copy my last disk image of the week (from each PC) to another external portable drive. That drive goes with me if we go away etc, so I always have a full data backup in case of burglary or fire etc.

LinkContractor · Dec 17, 2012

USB's, External HDD's, Dropbox & Box.net & G Drive + DVD's

-O), the physical items being stored in separate offline bunkers!

mic141414 · Dec 17, 2012

i totally agree .. been using Acronis Home since 2009 and saved my ass 4 times already !

davids355 · Dec 17, 2012

I used to keep image backups, but it was too long - even with an image, you reload and everything is out of date (unless you take images every week, but that's too manual).

Now days I run livedrive (2TB storage), I keep Everything in there, and nothing at all on my PC - except for software.

If I ever need to reload, I just reload, reinstall livedrive and all my data is back instantly.

Personally I think that is the future of the PC - very small hdd (probably ssd) and all data held in cloud (like what google trying to do with chrome os).

OloriOko · Dec 17, 2012

getting acronis is the best way - just had one of the early ssds brick on me and it was a MAJOR PITA to get things back to semi normal - fortunately I just used it for my main drive and had most of the stuff that mattered on a large mechanical drive - but still lost outlook files, etc - very important to get a usb drive and run acronis on it

davids355 · Dec 17, 2012

OloriOko said:
getting acronis is the best way - just had one of the early ssds brick on me and it was a MAJOR PITA to get things back to semi normal - fortunately I just used it for my main drive and had most of the stuff that mattered on a large mechanical drive - but still lost outlook files, etc - very important to get a usb drive and run acronis on it

USB drive no good, what if you have a power surge?

You need your data stored off site if its at all important to you.

OloriOko · Dec 19, 2012

davids355 said:
USB drive no good, what if you have a power surge?

You need your data stored off site if its at all important to you.

Thats why you have a decent power strip to protect against such things. Its good to have data stored offsite but depends on how sensitive it is and lets face it, nothing is without drawbacks - usb backup is an easy thing for most people tho without ongoing monthly cost - and its private

jascoken · Dec 19, 2012

davids355 said:
I used to keep image backups, but it was too long - even with an image, you reload and everything is out of date (unless you take images every week, but that's too manual).

That's why I explained the auto-backup on shut-down procedure above. It requires no thought and happens automatically every time you shut down. You just hit the power button and walk away. As long as you're shutting down at night or once a day then you're never more than a day out of date.

...The whole point was zero effort; so no excuses.

I also run acronis a couple of times during the day, especially after a coding session. There's even an option on acronis for continuous backups; kind of like a slow/delayed RAID backup effect.

>>> ! Backup Your Data ! <<< (Don't risk a melt-down)

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