Recommend an external hard drive?

[Donna Kempster]

We have acronis which we currently don't use but need to instigate some sort of back up proceedure. We've been recommended

Western Digital 500GB "My Book"2 Home Edition USB2.0 / Firewire400 / eSATA / External Hard Drive

and before we commit our £95 I thought I'd ask the good people of the forum if there are specific features we should consider.

Thanks in advance D

[DarrenSpink]

I got a WD passport 320 so I can easily store it in a safe - very good!

[jont]

It is a nice drive and has all the features you could ask for .. only £64 on DABS inc VAT http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...ey=11157,50473

for the "essential" version which I think is USB version but likely all you will need.

[guccij]

Or you could go for an online back up service. See this thread for the most recent discussion: http://community.actinic.com/showthread.php?p=226087

[pinbrook]

Online backup is the best for peace of mind - make sure you choose someone whom you have sufficient trust in to backup your backups for example. And with an easy restore feature

Having said that (and i use my own online backup service) i double backup and have a Buffalo NAS (500gb) to additionally dump stuff too. Local HD is useful for music etc

[fleetwood]

I'd recommend you use more than one method or device for back up.
Our Western Digital MyBook suffered the click of death after about 13 months (conveniently just out of warranty) of mild use, and has been consigned to the HD graveyard, along with all the data we can't retrieve from it.

Thats not to say I wouldn't get another, but at the price they are (as Jont says Dabs do some good deals), I'd get more than one, or use an online back up as belt and braces.

[Duncan Rounding]

If it's going to be sitting on your desk and not lugged around then I'd go for a firewire800 drive. It'll be as fast to copy onto as an internal hard drive. I've a couple of Lacie FW800 drives that I'm very happy with.

[RuralWeb]

I used to use external hard drives but after one failing I have now switched to online backups - £24pa and you can backup every minute if you want. Technology moves on a step IMO

[fleetwood]

The major reservation I have about online back-up is what happens to your data if the company folds?
Using someone as big as BT, this is unlikley to happen, but who knows!

Even though technology moves on, I don't think there is any way around the fact that you really need more than one method for safer back up.

You only realise just how vulnerable your data is when your storage medium (HD, zip, DVD, online server) fails.

[jont]

I don't think there is any way around the fact that you really need more than one method for safer back up

Indeed - for the costs involved it really is a no brainer especially considering the amount of information that can be lost and the cost which may be incurred to a business.

[chris ashdown]

If you buy the acronis workstation, you can backup the whole disk image and restore it to any new computer, whilst the basic one just reinstalls your disk to the same computer (not so clever if you have a fire etc or stolen)

We did have the site files networked on our buffalo raid 0 as well, but with the V9 sinc problems went back to saving them on the main computer untill v9.3 which we pray will solve most problems

In the meantime we backup sites and sage to portable each night and take it home

[jont]

We also use an HP Ultrium 448 to mirror the entire server each... not cheap (especially with 2 weeks of rolling disks) but very quick and provides great peace of mind in addition to the other precautions we take.

[simonc]

For personal use I have a Lacie, but important data is also backed up to CD.

Work stuff is backed up to tape nightly and stored in a fire safe for a week.

[Donna Kempster]

Thanks you all for your comments. I knew I count on you! Must admit I have yet to understand all the jargon () but I shall work my way though it all your excellent comments and make a descision. I have read that the external drives can fail and therefore you need to cover that base so will look at all the options of getting more than one.

I did read the thread on online back ups before posting and thought the idea was sound just didn't like the costs associated with it (or the risks of picking the wrong supplier), although at £24 pa Malc that is well into the realms of reasonable especially if the hard drives only last 2-3 years (or less). Martin I must admit I have similar reservations to you re stability of online storage companies but I suppose it's a case of weighing up all the odds. Obviously I back up all the actinic software regularly but having to go through the process of re-installing everything program by program would be gaulling to say the least.

Anyway thanks again your time and knowledge is much appreciated as always. KR Donna

[g11ary]

Im using the Apple time capsule.
1 TB and it backs up automatically every hr
once full it removes the last backup which could be weeks ago.
You can also use it just to drag and drop in to, as a range extender or wireless hub.
You can also plug other hard drives to it or printers to make them wireless. Can be set up for remote access to.