Branners Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 So, having nearly lost all my data in a recent hard drive crash, and not backed up for 6 months, I am looking at remote backup solutions. Computer Shopper are recommending http://www.carbonite.com . Anybody used that one, and does anybody have any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 RAID Array? Remote backup to another PC on the network using NT Backup/Windows backup (built into OS)? Cheap alternatives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted June 15, 2010 Author Share Posted June 15, 2010 Always a worry that if you lose the house or your IT equipment gets nicked then you lose the whole lot. Making sure I dont get in to the same situation again. I have 2 USB drives and the original process was to have a real time backup to one while the other is stored away from the house, then they get swapped over. But I didnt like the way the Seagate software worked so stopped it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsween Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I'm guessing this is for PC rahter than Mac? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creative Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 dropbox? never used it myself but I keep seeing it around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Dropbox is pretty cool, I use it for syncing some files, mainly as so I have access wherever I am. Only 2GB free though, but you gain an extra 500MB for referals, upto a max of 10GB... *ahem* https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTY3OTM5OTc5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallshinyant Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I have good experience with setting up carbonite for my mum, and made it nice and easy when she brought a new computer to get all her docs back. I personally just stick stuff on into google docs or picasso for pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ark Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Virgin broadband - they offer gigs of online backup and storage as part of the the ISP package. Unlimited space if you can go for the 50mb package. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 JB have you any FTP Storage/webspace? If you have you can use something like Acronis true image to schedule backups to your remote space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonkin Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I can recommend BT PC Backup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo2810 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I use Carbonite. It has a couple of interface issues with Win 7 64-Bit but nothing major (doesn't affect the backup process). It's pretty easy to use and restoring is simple. you can also browse individual files on the remote server to copy back to your system. Initial upload takes days depending on your disk size (I had about 500Gb which took about 12 days) but once the initial run is complete, it trickles through new files saved or modified fairly quickly. I have mine to run only outside my main usage periods so it doesn't steal bandwidth when I want it. Personally, I have 2x 1TB drives in main PC mirrored holding all my storage stuff. I then have a firewire external RAID array off that backing those drives up as well. Then on top of that Carbonite serves as the offsite storage. Total piece of mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted June 18, 2010 Author Share Posted June 18, 2010 Virgin broadband - they offer gigs of online backup and storage as part of the the ISP package. Unlimited space if you can go for the 50mb package. Just looking at this. Looked like the best option as it allows you to backup absolutely everything you have (Carbonite wont do video files unless you tell it to do each type, ie MP3, mpg etc). However the Virgin software seems to say that if you delete a file from your computer then it will only keep it in the archive for up to 45 days, and then remove it. So if my kids wipe half my pictures but I dont notice for 45 days then they just disappear. So looks like Carbonite is the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted June 18, 2010 Author Share Posted June 18, 2010 Looks like Carbonite is not the way to go either, that has a 30 day removal process. All I want is an online backup solution that will backup all my files and keep them safe even if they get deleted from the local machine. So, anybody got any suggestions for good backup software for the local machine and I will back up to USB drives instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Total overkill for a home setup but gotta say it - CommVault There's even cloud connectors built in now to Amazon, S3, Nirvanix, Iron Mountain etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 So, anybody got any suggestions for good backup software for the local machine and I will back up to USB drives instead. Ghost is the complete (possibly overweight for your needs) solution. I use SyncBack to sync particular folders with their respective backup folders on a NAS device. It could just as easily back up to a USB drive. You can schedule regular syncing, or manually do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted July 3, 2010 Author Share Posted July 3, 2010 Well I finally found something that works how I want it to. GFI Backup 2009 Home edition. It runs on a schedule, syncs my files to an external drive and if I delete the files on the local drive it keeps them in the backup drive and I can restore them back in. It has options to backup email files (and it knows where Outlook Express files etc reside) and you can pick off settings and all sorts. Totally freeware and worth using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 Cool, how much data are we talking. You can get a Sky Drive account, which is 25GB, but does not come with any other access apart from a web page. But, there is a product called sdExplorer, which allows you to attach your SD account as a network drive, allowing backups to be made to it. sdExplorer is a paid product, read cannot find crack, but there is a free limited trial, file size etc, that you can try out first. Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 I'm using GFI Backup to backup to a USB drive at the moment, but it will also back up to FTP, network drives, USB/removable media and DVDs. I'm backing up 35gb at the moment, and it will back up just the changed files. The main thing with online backups is that if you delete a file off the local drive it replicates that deletion to the backup so you lose the file completely. It is in the small print on almost all of the normal ones out there so watch out if using that solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 Yep, I'm looking at the software you are using to create backups to my Sky Drive.. Should be the best of both worlds.. Luckily I haven't got more then 25GB to backup, at the mo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo2810 Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 You guys are missing the point with online storage. It's not there for accidental deletions (that's what your in-house attached storage solutions are for). Carbonite and such are for situations where you lose all your local storage, ie: your house burns down. In that case your pc won't sync so nothing is deleted from carbonite. Once you've got a pc back up and running you log into your account and do a total restore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 true, but if somebody accidentily deletes half your pictures, and carbonite then removes them from the back up chances are you will never know. You then lose the hard drive in your machine 2 months later and find everything you thought was backed up isnt. I dont like any backup software that has the ability to remove files from the backup, as then you no longer have a reliable backup. I am tempted to use GFI to back up to a local space on my drive, and then use Carbonite to back up that folder as then even if files are deleted from the normal folders it will only ever be looking at the backup files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 Nope, I was going to use GFI Backup to backup to the Sky Drive folder, as it can be mounted with a drive letter. That way my backups are offsite and they should be incrementals, so be able to recover even if deleted from the local disk. Currently I'm thinking of syncing the files from my primary machine(s) to a machine which I use for downloading, so is on all the time, and then backup from there to the SD using EFI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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