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adamtech78
join:2006-01-25
Chicago, IL

adamtech78

Member

[WIN7] from Mac user: What app do you recommend to backup

I have been using Mac at work before and had a Time Machine.
Now using Win7 x64

What do you recommend I use to backup my files?
I namely keep everything within my Profile folder.

I'm looking to backup:
- MsIE Fav
- Chrome Fav
- User\My Documents
- User\Download
- User\Desktop

I would like to run automatically on a set schedule. Backup to External HD, ideally it would be encrypted.

Thank you.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena

Premium Member

Windows 7 does come with a built-in backup program, but the backup will not be encrypted. It does work rather well, and can be automatically scheduled.

However, in recent years I have dealt with clients that have had the following happen:

- Theft of computer AND external hard drive following a burglary.
- A house fire which burned both computer and hard drive.
- The unfortunate incident of both hard drives crashing within several days.

After having to tell the client with the 2 crashing hard drives that he had lost his family photos forever unless he was willing to shell out several thousand dollars and have the drives shipped to a specialized recovery facility, I began recommending online backups to the few clients I have with my side business.

I personally use Carbonite, and that is what I recommend to my clients, but there are of course quite a few online backup services available. They generally cost about $5 a month, and often offer unlimited storage.

Upsides:

- No fire, theft, accident or natural disaster will prevent you from not having your files. They will be there in a data center.
- Backups are "live". In other words, you download a few photos from your camera, the photos will be backed up almost immediately in the background, without you noticing a thing.
- Most backups have a 14-day or 30-day retention, meaning that if you delete a file and you realize a week later you really did need that file, you can get it back.
- The data is encrypted. No one but you can access it.
- Carbonite has a real easy "back this up" right click feature, which I have used for data on other hard drives. Comes in handy when you just want to add a folder to the backup, without having to re-configure your scheduled backup to include a folder.

Downsides:

- The initial backup will take time to upload. It took a week for my 120 GB of data to be uploaded. Once it is there though, it just needs to be updated.
- There is a monthly fee. To me it is worth it, but not everyone may value their family photos as much as I do. $5 a month is a small price to pay for me.
- Restore can take some time. Downloading 120 GB of data can take a full day, even with today's fast internet connections.

In the end though, I am extremely happy with my carbonite setup. I still make local backups from time to time as it is easier to recover from a hard drive crash, but only once a month or so.

I have recovered 2 client's data with carbonite, after their laptop hard drive crashed in one case, and their computer actually caught fire after an electrical problem in another case. Without it, they may have had a problem.

dib22
join:2002-01-27
Kansas City, MO

1 recommendation

dib22 to adamtech78

Member

to adamtech78
Check out Macrium.

»www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
adamtech78
join:2006-01-25
Chicago, IL

adamtech78

Member

At home I use Crashplan+ (backup to the cloud).

At work I do have a network folder however it is a pita for those guys to do a restore if you need... so I would rather have something locally.
adamtech78

adamtech78 to dib22

Member

to dib22
I'm looking for a free solution. Macrium is a 30 day trial.
HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21

HarryH3 to maartena

Premium Member

to maartena
said by maartena:

- Most backups have a 14-day or 30-day retention, meaning that if you delete a file and you realize a week later you really did need that file, you can get it back.

This is one reason I prefer CrashPlan for offsite storage. They will save deleted files forever: »support.code42.com/Crash ··· s_Backup

For local backup I use Macrium Reflect Pro. I have it set to make a full backup one night a week and then to make differential backups all the other nights of the week. (The free version will only let you make full backups, which can eat up a lot of disk space if you're doing backups very often.)
adamtech78
join:2006-01-25
Chicago, IL

adamtech78

Member

I suppose I could run Crashplan to a folder. However I'm looking for an "easier" way to restore if my laptop drive dies I'd have to get OS running and install the app, enter in login info and key, and then restore.

Perhaps what I need is this:
- full drive encryption
- app that will clone / copy a folder

Thoughts?
HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21

HarryH3

Premium Member

Macrium Reflect will do the local backup/restore. It can even restore an old backup to a new computer. Select ReDeploy from the boot menu and it deletes all the hardware settings in Windows and forces Windows to redetect all the hardware and load the correct drivers. I've had a hard drive crap out and then had my PC booting to the new drive in about an hour. Everything was just as I had left it the night before once the restore finished.

CrashPlan, Carbonite, etc. are best used as a second line of defense, for those "when the $h!t hits the fan" moments. I only store the pictures and documents that I could never replace offsite. If I ever come home and my house has been burglarized, burned down, flooded, wiped off the map by a tornado, etc. then my most important stuff will still be available, even though all of my local copies are long gone/destroyed.