Does anybody really make backups?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief November 11, 2007 · 1 min read

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All these talk about how Leopard’s Time Machine rocks made me think. Does anybody really make backups nowadays?

The closest thing most of us know about making automated backups is with MS Windows System Restore Utility. What Apple’s OS X 10.5 (Leopard) did with Time Machine is basically the same, but with an added bonus — add some uber-cool animation on the interface.

Time Machine

Leopard may indeed be the best backup utility now, but the question remains — do people really make backups nowadays? There are several common ways people go about doing their backups — CD or DVDs, ZIP drives, secondary internal drive, online storage (e.g. Amazon S3), external storage or NAS.

I used to do my backups on a secondary internal drive. Now, I got that Western Digital MyBook 500GB to backup important files and media from my desktop PC and laptop.

So, anybody else making their own backups?

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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44 Comments

James Marcus · 18 years ago

I dont do backups..Its good everynow and then start with a clean new computer with new files…any important files i have are at my gmail account..
Im suprised everytime i loose some data that I found new and useful things . Also great to leave things one thinks is going to use but never does.

http://www.videosearchtool.info

vern · 19 years ago

Backups become second nature once you train yourself that they will save your ass in the future. One of the places I work for requires backups and they have staff to do just backup that comes in at night 11PM-7AM to monitor the backup process.

I do personal backups of my webpages and anything stored remotely on my local Linux server using a python script that uses lftp and rdiff-backup. I don’t even have to think about it, but when things hit the fan, I have an entire local backup to rely on.

BrianB · 19 years ago

Hard Copy, baby! File cabinets, safety box, postal box, etc.

jay · 19 years ago

norton ghost in my winxp here at home, noback for my freebsd here at home…
i also have an account from a local hosting provider, i do have a backup on it, rsync through cron.. though they claim that they provide a daily backup.

jhay · 19 years ago

I use DVD-Rs and an old external HD for backups. You’ll never know when Windows spits out the BSoD and screws up itself again. :)

Mike Huang · 19 years ago

It’s always good to backup those important files. I remember losing tons of family pictures and “BRITNEY SPEARS” concert videos that took me months to complete. Yea…I felt like an idiot afterwards..

-Mike

J · 19 years ago

Me! I always make back-ups of my works, music, and videos, pics, etc. Since I don’t like the idea of having a huge hardisk, I just put my stuff in DVD for archiving ^_^.

ordnacin · 19 years ago

I do! I do!

I’m quite OC with my backups, I use Mozy to backup “My Documents”, Flickr for my photos, Picasa for my scanned items, Youtube for Videos. I use Gspace and Yahoo Mail for smaller files (mostly documents).

On top of that I have a spare PC which I use to backup music/video, and a USB hard drive to mirror everything. I also have an FTP server where I upload crap stuff which I fear I might need to access one day…

I’m thinking of putting up a personal wiki just so I remember where I place my stuff…

quezacolt · 19 years ago

i save them on dvds

jepoy · 19 years ago

i use cheap DVD-R for not so important files and branded DVD-R for important files :~)

viperkid · 19 years ago

oh yes! i use norton ghost on my mobile HDD. less hassle no fuss. no need to re-install programs and tweak settings, all i need to do is copy and paste d whole mirror image =). but of course, i also do separate backup of my music, video and other stuff juz in case d mirrored image gets corrupted.

Mikes · 19 years ago

im wondering if external drives like western mybook a safe backup since its very vulnerable on theft, accidental drop…for me secondary hard drive is still the best and cheaper also.

Baddie · 19 years ago

Wait, System Restore works? ZING! Seriously, I archive important stuff on two backup HDs.

JP Dela Torre · 19 years ago

I use Mozy also… works perfectly for me…

Kiven · 19 years ago

lol i do. why? because losing stuff you need ain’t pretty.

jayvee f. · 19 years ago

abe, i only backup my MP3s and some documents onto my external drive and some important files on the iPod.

btw thanks for the birthday cake and dropping by last night. medyo 4 am na kami nakauwi! :)

minor8 · 19 years ago

i use my 4gig kingstone flash drive

Andre Marcelo-Tanner · 19 years ago

I just upload an archive of my stuff to a server once in a while

Berlin · 19 years ago

I use amazon S3. .15 per month per gig.

John Peter Reyes · 19 years ago

I do backups my important files on my secondary HD.
Specially now I’m working on my thesis.

Christian · 19 years ago

I use Mozy for $5 a month.

Mikko · 19 years ago

I do. Hahaha. I started backing up my files on a regular basis after one incident when I accidentally formatted my hard disk. Yeah, I know its dumb but experience is the best teacher.