Online back-ups

Dean

I think Claudia uses these? Does anyone else, and what are your thoughts? Who do you use etc?

Regards

Dean

claudialowe

Hi Dean

Yes I do use online back ups through

www.depositit.com

Sorry can't work out how to hyperlink with the new system.

It seems to work very well, but I have never tried to restore anything, so my re-assuring email could be meaningless

How I organise it, is that Outlook and my equivalent of my docs get backed up nightly and binned after 7 days (ie there are only 7 days worth backed up at any one point), and then things like payroll, Sage, PTP etc etc kept backed up weekly and binned monthly (ie 4 back ups at any one time). This keeps the size (and cost) manageable.

Hope this helps.

Claudia

Dean

Many thanks Claudia.

Regards

Dean

sheelagh

Online Backup

Before I start I should say (and I know this is sad) that I love my online backup system, I think it's the best thing since sliced bread, and it helps me to sleep at night!

I use Clunk Click, which is supplied and supported www.azaralogic.com. I am sure there are other suppliers using the same software and this is not the cheapest option but I like Azara Logic because the tech support people are friendly and helpful and the software is straightforward.
I pay £10 + VAT per month for 1gb of storage.

The user selects the data to be backed up (eg your my documents folder, plus your outllok folder) using system which looks the same as Windows Explorer.
The software does one initial back up, then looks for changes at every subsequent backup, so it takes a few minutes each day, and you can continue to work while it runs.
You can set a daily backup time, and run additional backups if you like, or if your PC isn't logged on at your normal backup time.
Restore is very easy. I have used it occassionally when I have accidently overwritten a file.
Having witnessed a (very sudden) hard drive failure I know what disruption it can cause. I have been known to hit the backup button at various points throughout the working day if I have completed a particularly challenging piece of work!

Plug over!!

jryorkshire

Yes I use www.mozy.com (I use the Pro version) it too uses a Windows Explorer type interface, just tick the drives/folders/files you wish to back up and Mozy does the rest. The software supplied monitors your selected folders etc and only backs up those files/etc that are new or updated. You can select the interval of updating (any from 2 hours up - I select 6pm each day) and away it goes in the background. You can even adjust the upload speed to ensure you have sufficient bandwidth while you work and it also backup file which you are working on.

I back up everything and have checked that I can retrieve files from the system. I have a 5GB limit which costs me approx GBP4 per month no GST as Mozy is based in the USA. I have also used their support on one occasion and my issue was solved quickly.

One point in respect of all online back ups - you ideally need the fasted broadband upload speed you can get/afford. Although download speeds are generally fast upload speeds are much slower and as you will be uploading this can take time.

I still back up each month to a portable hard drive as an extra precaution!

John

BIG WAL

Online back up

Just been browsing this discussion. You may also want to consider using Carbonite (www.carbonite.com). Cost is $49.95 for 12 months, which is just over £25 at the present exchange rate.

I use it to back up all the files on my computer, so in the event of a catastrophe, everything can be recovered.

Poodle

Hi

I Use BT £11.69 per month (incl VAT) for 2GB

But I also back up to an external source as well each night.

Poodle

Dean

Many thanks for all of your feedback.

Regards

Dean

shaxxa

Just to resurrect this thread, I have just started using Mozy (the free version is 2gb) and am quite impressed as it's a freebie.
I've checked that I can retreive my files easily without no hickups.
And like jryorkshire mentioned I always back up to another drive/pendrive.

Sharon

sheelagh

MS Outlook Backup

I'd be interested to know how people backup their MS Outlook files. I always find this a bit of a mystery and I have recently been told that there is a better way to backup email, contact and calendar than the routine I been using.
I have been exporting to the .pst file in the application data folder, this being the default option in MS Outlook. I have been told that some people have trouble restoring this file.

Poodle

Hi

I thought that I would ressurect this post and share a recent experience, especially with all the people who look as though they are starting up as MiP's

My hard drive 'broke' at the end of last week and It was only then that I discovered that my local back up had not worked properly:crying:

Had I not set up BT remote back up to back up my data files daily as well as the local back up then I would have probably have emigrated by now!!

It took a day to reload software and recover data and test but I am now up and running again:001_smile:

Poodle

deanshepherd

Great timing Poodle.

I have just about had it with my existing supplier so I was about to search for this thread to find out other options.

Here's a little tip from someone who also had a hard drive die:

Buy a piece of software called Casper XP and install a second hard drive on your machine. Casper will do an identical copy of your drive as often as you want it to. I set mine for once a week. (I believe Drive2Drive by the same software developer will do the same - website here).

If your hard drive dies then even with all your data safely backed up online (like mine was) you still have to reload windows and all your programs back onto a new drive before restoring your data. You won't have lost any documents but will have wasted a whole day doing so. If you regularly 'clone' your hard drive then if one dies you should turn off your computer, take out the old one and the spare will pick up from where you last left off - real time saver!

If, like me, you only copy drives once a week then you only have to restore a weeks work from the online backup.

Oh, and the reason I only copy once a week is this..

If you get a virus that you cannot seem to get rid of then you can format the drive and use the spare. Again, massive time saver. This has happened to me a couple of times even though I use subscription anti-virus programs and firewall.

monkeypuzzle47

i have also looked into mozy.com and was considering backing up my files to them, so i too can sleep at night however my concern is transferring all client files containting information such as n.i numbers/bank acs and such to an external backup!! Is this aceceptable what with data protection of personal records etc. I feel uneasy about this.
Please advise! What does everyone else do???

deanshepherd

In my humble opinion, it's the lesser of two evils.

Protection against data loss is surely of greater merit than the risk of confidential data leakage.

I have heard commentators before suggest that it is illegal under the DPA to allow data to be transferred outside the EU.

I believe the only person that can sue under the DPA is the person whose data you are storing so I would suggest a revision to the letter of engagement to explicitly permit storage of data overseas for the safe protection of that data.

deanshepherd

Incidentally, I have been trialling Carbonite over the past week (as suggested above) and I find it too resource intensive and I am not entirely happy with the method used for backing up data. Although, as there is no fixed quota, the price is very competitive.

I am currently trialling Mozy and will let you know my thoughts on that in due course.

monkeypuzzle47

thanks dean do! im trialling it too.

regards jenny

deanshepherd

Update:

I have been trialling Mozy for a week now and have been very impressed. It does everything I want it to without being intrusive. The restore function works a treat.

$135 for a two year licence is half the price I was paying my previous provider (ZuuBackup) for a 1 year licence so no complaints there either.

Poodle

deanshepherd wrote: »

Great timing Poodle.

Buy a piece of software called Casper XP and install a second hard drive on your machine. Casper will do an identical copy of your drive as often as you want it to. I set mine for once a week. (I believe Drive2Drive by the same software developer will do the same - website here).

Dean, is the copy identical? i.e. could you actully look at the drive and it looks like your 'c' drive where you could just pick up an individual file and restore.

This was the probem that I had with maxtor, everything went to another drive but if you looked at that drive you could not identify what was what with the back up being taken in one file, and when I came to restre it did not work:crying:

I now still have my remote BT back up, and by the way, even though it backs up each day, If necessary I am able to go back several weeks to retore previous versions of files. For local back up I have set up a scheduled task through windows that backs up files to an external drive in their existing format

Poodle

deanshepherd

Yes, the copy is absolutely identical.

I also have a maxtor external drive that I back up and stick in the fire-proof safe. The problem came when my hard drive fried because you cannot boot up windows from an external drive. I therefore had to buy a new drive, reinstall windows and then transfer the data from the Maxtor backup. Wasted a whole day doing this.

With Casper I have an identical drive so if one fails I can turn off, switch jumpers, and reboot from the copy as if nothing had happened.

The second drive is always accessible too, just under another drive letter. So if you accidentally copy over or delete a file you can restore from the other drive instantly. Although to be honest I would use the online backup for this as it backs up overnight rather than weekly.