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ghporter · Jun 25, 2006, 05:10 PM

After just re-re-rebuilding my desktop PC (one of the two SATA controller channels did something bizarre and corrupted ONLY the OS partition... go figure) I had to restore all my stuff. Fortunately I had seen this coming and had taken steps-I copied all my personal data to a different partition, including that messy but very important Outlook mail file, so all I had to do was basically copy stuff back to where it went in the profile directory.

But I want to start doing regular backups so that this doesn't catch me off guard some time.

Aside from my particularly useful personal data and my Outlook .pst file, I need to figure out what to pay attention to and what to ignore. I already figure I can just rebuild the OS and reinstall the apps (I'm going to image the apps partition shortly; I already did the OS partition).

So what do you back up? And I mean "really back up," not what you figure you should but don't back up.

mduell · Jun 25, 2006, 05:30 PM

I backup the Documents and Settings folder.

Do I get a lot of stuff I don't need? Yes.
Do I miss anything I do want? No.

demograph68 · Jun 25, 2006, 05:33 PM

I backup essentials from my home folder. Documents Pictures Music Movies Software Sites

ghporter · Jun 25, 2006, 05:35 PM

Mark, good point. Do you use Outlook, and if so, how do you back up the settings for your email accounts? I had to redo all of mine (three or four accounts from various places) when I restored everything else by copying my .pst into the new Documents and Settings folder.

Kenneth · Jun 25, 2006, 06:00 PM

I do a full backup or a hard drive clone once a month.

davesimondotcom · Jun 25, 2006, 07:18 PM

I back up everything. And clone my drive every once in a while.

Never can have enough confidence.

I don't have a DVD writer, so I'm looking into that to back up my photos and music on more reliable media than a hard disc.

©öñFü$íóÑ · Jun 25, 2006, 07:37 PM

for me, i backup mostly software updates (system and 3rd party) and hardware drivers on my external hard drive. For frequently used and altered personal data, like resumes, passwords, bookmarks, or even homework, I keep on a 'large 1GB USB jump drive'. For serious archive-worthy material like family photos and family videos, i choose DVD-R or CD-R.

I don't bother backing up much of anything else... well..... maybe the occasional 'latest and greatest' Linux ISO..... but that's it.

indigoimac · Jun 25, 2006, 07:38 PM

I do a daily backup of both of my machines automatically at 6:00 and 6:15 to a network drive using ChronoSync, it seems to work very well and it's reasonably fast.

I backup on the PowerBook
Documents & Desktop(the whole thing as it's where most of the stuff is)

on the iMac
Photos
Music
Docs
and Desktop

It's a nice scheme which I hope to expand at some point to maybe include tape or to a work computer offsite.

Also I keep image files of all my apps w/ updates so when I reinstall or in case of a crash I'm good to go in one day.

darth-vader000 · Jun 25, 2006, 07:42 PM

Documents in my home folder,
My aperture library

Basically my data.

I back up the documents to my .mac account and my aperture library goes to an external disk and to DVDs. I want two seperate backups of my images, they are priceless and cannot be replaced so I make sure I have a pretty current backup that goes off site.

Person Man · Jun 25, 2006, 07:44 PM

I back up everything, because it's a PITA to have to reinstall the OS and all my applications.

production_coordinator · Jun 25, 2006, 07:52 PM

I make hard copies of everything just kidding

davesimondotcom · Jun 25, 2006, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by production_coordinator

I make hard copies of everything just kidding

Like that kid who tried to print the Internet?

Person Man · Jun 25, 2006, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by davesimondotcom

Like that kid who tried to print the Internet?

How about all those idiots that decided to help her waste paper?

ghporter · Jun 25, 2006, 08:24 PM

Well I just set up a schedule using the rather crude ntbackup that comes with Windows XP. At least it lets you do different kinds of backups and set a schedule. Maybe it looks this way because of the "wizard" it opens with by default.

I have a basic copy of my data and I've scheduled daily incremental backups to keep things close to current. I hope this works out well.

RAILhead · Jun 25, 2006, 08:34 PM

Home folder and apps

Cadaver · Jun 25, 2006, 08:35 PM

I backup all my data... documents, photos, music, mail, calendars, etc. Virtually everything in my home folder. I have Apple's Backup 3 set to do a daily incremental backups to my file server.

While most of my general documents are stored on my MacBook Pro's HD, all my photos, videos and music files are kept strictly on the file server (too big otherwise to keep on my MBP's internal drive). File server is accessed via gigabit ethernet when I'm at my desk, and via 801.11g when sittin' on the couch.

My file server itself then uses a mirrored RAID to maintain the integrity of its data, especially since there is data on it I don't have on my main machine's HD (i.e., the photos, music, videos mentioned above).

My file server has four 160GB hard drives in a RAID 0+1 configuration via FireWire 800 (hardware stripe times two, software RAID 1), for a 320GB mirrored RAID. I'm very satisfied with the speed via gigabit ethernet. Speed is nearly identical to a locally-connected drive.

kaze0 · Jun 26, 2006, 09:11 AM

That thang.

mduell · Jun 26, 2006, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Mark, good point. Do you use Outlook, and if so, how do you back up the settings for your email accounts? I had to redo all of mine (three or four accounts from various places) when I restored everything else by copying my .pst into the new Documents and Settings folder.

If you import from the .pst, rather than just swapping them out manually, I think it picks up the email accounts.

osiris · Jun 26, 2006, 10:06 AM

I do a bi-weekly back up of my documents, photos, mail and anything else that fits on a dvd or two.
Once in a while I do a clone to a firewire. If I had the space, I do a full clone every month.

Andy8 · Jun 26, 2006, 10:11 AM

I ask myself and tell my friends..."How much are you willing to lose"

Ghoser777 · Jun 26, 2006, 10:41 AM

I back dat ass up.

DeathToWindows · Jun 26, 2006, 10:43 AM

As I have multiple computers, this is my poorly-followed backup plan:

Everything lives on the G5. Backups are made to the 2nd, non-RAID hard drive (a 250GB Hitachi). Currently-useful things (documents, code, photographs, music, research) are also mirrored to the MPB. Absolutely mission-critical stuff (where I would claw hair out, etc if lost) goes on a 1GB flash drive that lives on my keychain.

If I was better about it (and not $650 in debt from the MBP), I might pick up a cheap LaCie FW400/800 drive and just do regular data dumps.

DVDs get used to back up photos and Mythbusters episodes more than anything else. My really critical stuff, ironically enough, is very small (C++ code and data).

DeathToWindows · Jun 26, 2006, 10:43 AM

fscking DP

finboy · Jun 26, 2006, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by ghporter

So what do you back up? And I mean "really back up," not what you figure you should but don't back up.

Full image. Norton Ghost for Windows. SuperDuper for OS X. Then I restore full image when I need to. Otherwise, it takes 2-3 days to redo a machine. I used to bother with "incremental" backups and restores, but they don't catch everything. Disk capacity is much cheaper than my time/energy to sit there restoring and reinstalling.

TheoCryst · Jun 26, 2006, 12:07 PM

My "Documents" and "Pictures" folders every few weeks or so. Anything I have in my "Applications" folder is replaceable, and anything in "Music" is already on my iPod.

MacMan4000 · Jun 26, 2006, 01:02 PM

What do I back up?

Nada... I like to live dangerously

Y3a · Jun 26, 2006, 01:19 PM

I back up every other night using retrospect. I toggle the place it backs up TO so I get 2 different days of back-ups. Same for my laptop, and same for the giant Music folder.

Timo · Jun 26, 2006, 01:38 PM

My main drive with app's and all the rest is mirrored. I have an external drive for jobs that is also mirrored with a spare (the Miglia one); this also has a partition with a day-old mirror (using SuperDuper) of the main drive. I rotate the spare external drive off-site every Friday.

There's also a week-old jobs archive to another computer.

Seb G · Jun 26, 2006, 02:16 PM

My whole home folder once in a while, to an external hard drive. Everything else is replaceable. iTunes-bought music gets copied to my iPod after purchase. Photographs get burned to CD (I'm a bit old-fashioned equipment-wise) immediately after transferring them from camera to computer, because that's the only stuff that's really irreplaceable - it's my own creative work (well, sometimes), and usually full of personal memories.

Lost a hard drive in a severe system crash once. I.e. the PowerBook crashed from the desk to the floor (apart from the broken hard drive, it fixed the notorious AlBook-wobble).

bradoesch · Jun 27, 2006, 04:15 PM

I use Backup to backup my Home Folder daily to an external disk and monthly to DVD.

I also use Backup's Personal Settings and Data plan to backup to iDisk and external disk daily. At least I think that's an included plan and not one I made up and named. I don't really remember.

My PC gets no backups because it's stupid and loud and I don't care about it.

Gossamer · Jun 27, 2006, 05:04 PM

I back up my laptop's itunes and iphoto library to my desktop, not much besides that.

cgc · Jun 27, 2006, 10:42 PM

I backup using psync via cron to an internal backup drive. My most important stuff gets Chronosynced to my USB thumbdrive. Other documents are perriodically burnt to a CD.

Things I backup are: documents, web site, iTunes, and photos.

MacMan4000 · Jun 27, 2006, 11:49 PM

Lets just pretend for a second that I was going to buy a new external HD. and I want a raid setup so that if 1 drive fails I lose nothing. and I need around 500 GB of storage.

Is that possible and how much should it cost for a good/reliable one?

JoshuaZ · Jun 28, 2006, 12:16 AM

PIctures, documents. Its all I care about, and the only things that can't be re-downloaded.

waxcrash · Jun 28, 2006, 12:30 AM

At home - just the important stuff onto DVDs.

At work - everything. I have an external firewire drive I backup on, plus a script on the Debian server that copies my HD every-night.

Sage · Jun 28, 2006, 12:33 AM

My entire Home folder. Easy, simple.

ghporter · Jun 28, 2006, 07:57 AM

Originally Posted by MacMan4000

Lets just pretend for a second that I was going to buy a new external HD. and I want a raid setup so that if 1 drive fails I lose nothing. and I need around 500 GB of storage.

Is that possible and how much should it cost for a good/reliable one?

Possible? Sure, and not too difficult either. There are 500GB drives on the market that are not horrendously expensive. But to be useful, you'll need at least TWO such drives (in a mirroring configuration -I forget which RAID level that is), so it's kind of expensive.

Doofy · Jun 28, 2006, 08:13 AM

Originally Posted by MacMan4000

Lets just pretend for a second that I was going to buy a new external HD. and I want a raid setup so that if 1 drive fails I lose nothing. and I need around 500 GB of storage.

Yes, I do just that.
I have two 500 Gb firewire drives in a software RAID 1 (mirroring) where my Home directory lives.

For backup, everything also gets transferred to another RAID 1 setup.

Originally Posted by MacMan4000

Is that possible and how much should it cost for a good/reliable one?

Check the price of LaCie D2 drives at your favoured retailer.