[Macpilot]

So I have been a .mac member forever.

Have been using the Backup program (from .mac) and have had pretty good luck with it.

My routine has included backing up everything (about 100 gigs) to my external HDD, backing up settings and little stuff to my iDisk, and backing up iPhoto and Documents to a DVDRW.

The new Backup 3 really frustrated me with its overly complex interface and unreliable tendency.

So I reverted to Backup 2 and it started causing problems.

So I downloaded the trial to Retrospect and it's interface and terminology make Backup look easy. Not to mention the over 250 page User's manual that I was not really interested in delving into. And it costs $119 to $129.

Just tried Carbon Copy Cloner. I suppose it's free, which is great. Pretty simple interface, except it does not appear to give an option to select individual folders to backup. It just lists your Apps, Users, Library, and a bunch of other giberish. It is running now on my main machine and I am looking forward to seeing how it works.

Does anybody here have any thoughts/recommendations on their backup programs/strategies? Thanks!

[chabig]

CCC and Disk Utility both do the same thing. But CCC can be scripted to do incremental backups. I use Backup 3 to keep important files on my iDisk. I used to use Retrospect to backup to tape and it's a great program but too expensive for my tastes.

Chris

[Randman]

I use CCC to clone my drive to an external (actually I use it to clone both my PB and my mini). I use Backup 3 once a month or so to make incremental backups (such as my iTunes playlist, Mail stuff, Safari bookmarks, etc.) and every couple of months, I burn DVDs of my music collection (nowadays I just create a Smart Playlist based on time and burn that Playlist which has all my newly added music, Podcasts and audiobooks) and other crucial things such as my iPhoto library, fonts and other stuff.

It's a bit of overkill but once I did the major part, it doesn't take long to backup at all now. Oh, and I keep the discs at work in case there's ever a fire or something at home.

[angelmb]

I like SuperDuper

[Morpheus]

Avoid Retrospect by all means. It's awful, really awful.

I'm happy with Synk.

[Maflynn]

I use CCC and Backup.

CCC for creating bootable images on my external drive, backup for select files backed up on my .mac account.

CCC is donation where and with a .mac account you get backup, so for short money why not use both.


Mike

[kcmac]

SuperDuper for me as well.

You can use it for free. If you want a couple of extra nice features, then you will need to pay. I use it at least weekly.

[TETENAL]

Backup 3 is much easier to use than Backup 2 (better user interface) and with incremental backups it's much more useful. The only drawback is that you can currently not restore files to a different location.
What problems do you have with the interface? It is very easy to use.

[kcmac]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

The only drawback is that you can currently not restore files to a different location.

Thats why I don't use it. Backup 3 is a big improvement over 2 which was a big improvement over 1. Apple has taken a long time with this app when they have had so many to borrow ideas from. Course, that's pretty much par for the course with .Mac.

[Mac Write]

Yes you can restore to a different location with Backup 3.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

Yes you can restore to a different location with Backup 3.

Well, I can't and neither can many others.

[wataru]

I use my own iPodBackup to back up just my home folder to my iPod. Then on occasion I also use CCC to backup my entire drive to an external hard drive.

If you're mostly concerned about stuff in your home folder, iPodBackup might work well for you. And you can use it with any drive, not just iPods.

[Randman]

Since you have .Mac, give Backup 3 another try. It really is a major improvement. And the quickpicks can help you if you feel intimidated by it. I also like that you can have multiple backup plans. I have a small weekly one where Mail and iTunes playlists are backed up to my iDisk, a monthly where text files, Safari bookmarks and other stuff in a couple of Smart Folders are backed up to my external and a every-other month one where a major amount of files (iPhoto library, updated iTunes addtions *using a Smart Playlist*, etc) are burnt to a DVD.

Again, it may be anal and overkill, but I feel better knowing my stuff is backed up in case of just about anything bad going wrong.

[Lee33]

Add vote for SuperDuper.

[EmmEff]

I've been using CCC with great success but I want to write a full backup to DVD-R for archival purposes. How can I do this with CCC or SuperDuper?

[kcmac]

With superduper, you just tell it where you want the back up to be written to. I haven't used CCC so I can't say. SD lets you copy full bootable backups to CD, DVD and external hard drives.

[EmmEff]

I wish they'd mention this in the user's manual... looked last night, but didn't see it.

Is it possible to create DVD ISO images (since my DVD writer is not in my Mac)?

[Rainy Day]

I know Backup 3 is only available to .Mac users, but (other than backing up to an iDisk) is it tied to .Mac? If one were to subscribe to .Mac, and later not renew, the app would still work “standalone” for backing up to DVD and/or HD, yes?

[Randman]

You can use Backup 3 on your iDisk, any external drive or burned to a CD (or any combination thereof). Don't know what happens if you get it and let Dotmac expire. You'd probably get to keep it since you would have had to pay for Dotmac for a year anyway.

[TETENAL]

Without .Mac Backup 3 is in demo mode and only backs up max. 100 MB.

[Rainy Day]

Thanks for the info about Backup 3.

Seems to me Apple needs to untie it from .Mac and ship with every Mac… or make a part of iLife or at least make available for purchase separately… as this is an essential product for every Mac owner.

Tying it to .Mac in this way is clearly a ploy to add value to .Mac, but one which really isn’t strongly linked to the service (the backup-to-iDisk feature is a weak link, IMO, and better used as incentive to subscribe to the service). .Mac really ought to stand on its own two feet, as it were, IMO.

I use Retrospect, but the interface is really more complicated than it ought to be. Would love to try Backup 3, but not if i have to subscribe to .Mac every year. It’s like renting software, and i don’t want to rent, i want to own. How can Apple “get this” for music, but not for software?

[Eug Wanker]

How come SuperDuper! doesn't copy all the files?

I'm doing a backup right now and it says: "29,831 of 29,848 files evaluated, 29,826 files copied."

So what are those uncopied 5 files? The difference in disk usage seems to be about 80 MB.

[brettcamp]

I've used the freeware iBackup and it's pretty reliable.

[cms]

Originally Posted by Morpheus

Avoid Retrospect by all means. It's awful, really awful.

I'm happy with Synk.

Why do you find Retrospect "awful, really awful"? I use it all the time, both for my own backup requirements and on the different (mixed platform) networks I manage. I find it flexible, amazingly comprehensive in what it will do, as well as being fast and accurate. I admit that its quite complicated, and the manual is rather daunting, but once you get your head around the basic principles on which it operates, it's really easy to use.

I think it's worth every penny (or cent). It's never let me down. Not once. Not ever.

[inkhead]

Screw those all. Use "iBackup" it's better than them all. I use it to transfer about 200gb of files every week.

[Rainy Day]

Originally Posted by cms

Why do you find Retrospect "awful, really awful"? I use it all the time, both for my own backup requirements and on the different (mixed platform) networks I manage. I find it flexible, amazingly comprehensive in what it will do, as well as being fast and accurate. I admit that its quite complicated, and the manual is rather daunting, but once you get your head around the basic principles on which it operates, it's really easy to use.

I think it's worth every penny (or cent). It's never let me down. Not once. Not ever.

I have to concur. I think a lot of folks find the interface intimidating, and so they don’t like the product. I have to agree that the interface could be improved/made more intuitive. And so could its handling of media when doing verified writes (i.e. it should perform its write, then perform a verify pass before ejecting the media and prompting for new ).

Many of the other programs mentioned here won’t do incremental backups, nor write to media like CD or DVD. This is bad because it tends to encourage a single backup copy, and to discourage off-site backups. If your house or office burns down, your backup is likely destroyed too.

And i am more than a little leery of some of these freeware/shareware products not being as throughly tested as they ought to be; you may never know they don’t work until you need your backup.

I have used Retrospect to go back to older versions of files before. Very handy. I really like incremental backups to CD/DVD media.

[B Gallagher]

I'll put in another vote for iBackup. It's easy to use, and you can select exactly what you want to backup. Multiple backup sets is great as well. And it's free. It seems to be updated quite frequently, so keep in mind to check the website often to make sure you have the latest version.

www.grapefruit.ch/ibackup

[Rainy Day]

Originally Posted by TETENAL

Without .Mac Backup 3 is in demo mode and only backs up max. 100 MB.

Don’t know if this still works or not: Running Apple’s Backup Without a .Mac Account