wanted opinions on backing up of data

hi, im not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but couldnt find another suitable topic board, so thought id try here. one of my harddrives just crashed, lost alot of data, do some backing up, but not enough, so now im worried about the 200 gb harddrive i use for storage of tonnes of various files. i going to have to back that one up, and am trying to decide the best way to do that. i could go out and buy the over 200 cd's i will need, then spend the next couple of weeks tediously burning each cd, i suppose if i could buy those cheap burnables, but ive read articles saying that those cheap bulk cd's only last about five years before they crap out. is that true, do the cheaper burnable cd's degrade faster? it would cost about 80 dollars i guess for all the cheap cd's, is it worth it to buy the more expensive ones? and if i pay more for the cd's, i was just thinking, why not just pay 200 dollars or so for another 200 gb harddrive, and just transfer all the data onto it, then put the harddrive in storage somewhere. but a friend of mine thinks that a harddrive sitting unconnected for a long period of time wouldnt be a good idea. how long can a harddrive retain data in storage?
so what do you guys think? should i take the time and effort to burn over 200 cd's? are those cheap burnables a reliable choice for backing up data for long period? should i buy the more expensive burnables? or should i go the the more expensive, but much easier way of just buying another harddrive, and storing the data on that? (and yes, i figured out that the files i have would be worth more than the cost of the harddrive, some of its personal stuff i couldnt replace)
ok, thxs for any advice

 

First off you have to make sure you only want what you absolutely need, since you have so much information because I doubt all of that 200gb of information is critical to save and not replaceable. anyways, I would buy like an 80gig hardrive for like $70 and then save the information that way. Its easier and your friend was wrong about it being not good for it. I mean, hardrives have to sit in the store shelves for long periods of time don't they?

 

One option:
DVD Burner?
can buy for around $50 and up
For about $100 can get pretty good one, maybe even with some burning software.

 

i agree with neo, i doubt that all 200 gigs is irreplaceable. i say go through it all and figure out what you can't be without in case of a crash and then refigure your cd count, it will probably be alot lower than 200. and either go for a smaller harddrive or burn it all.

eric

 

maxtor has this external HDD that was made to back up large amounts of disk space ... you just keep it connected and press the button at the end of your computing session and it automatically backs everything up with no hassle ... i forget what it is called but im sure if you were to troll maxtors website you'll find what im referring to

 

ok, to summ it up, you dont think putting a harddrive filled with data in a closet somewhere for a couple years is a good idea? my friend said something about harddrives storing their data magnetically, or something like that, that they need to keep connected to retain data. that if if a hardrive sits for long enough, it wont start up again.

I like the idea about external backup harddrive, but if i keep it connected, will it get viruses or whatever? as to the value of the data, well, im not sure i should talk about this due to all the legalities that are going on these days, ill leave it as vague as possible, but yes, it would cost more than a harddrive to replace all the cd's and dvd's on it if it crashed. i put all of my old cd collection from years ago onto my harddrive, cd's that would be hard to find again, or replace, some that would be imports, cd's that are over ten years old and are getting scratched, so this data is valuable to me.
if i do back it all up on cd's, is there a big difffence in the cheap burnables, do the higher quality, more expensive ones retain there data longer?

 

one other thing i forgot to add, about the dvd burner, yes, that would save time in that i would be able to burn 4.5 gb at a time, rather than just 700 or mb per cd, so it would be quicker, but the expense of good writable dvd's could get high, ive noticed that they have spindles of cheap burnable dvds, but are those reliable, are they just the same as the cheap burnable cd's in quality? will they degrade after a couple years? if im backing up important data, should i spend the extra dollar for the expensive name brand dvd's?
ok, thxs

 

it is my understanding that you must press the button on the drive to incrementally back your stuff up ... so if you get a virus you simply don't press the button, and remove the virus from your PC before backing up again ... read about it from maxtor:

http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/M...Products/External Hard Drives/OneTouch Family

and yea ... im not a big fan of using HDD as back ups but this is the easiest solution i can think of (keep in mind I haven't used it so I am not going to swear by this sytem)

 

ok, thxs for the link, i checked it out, i must say, thats quite the sales pitch maxtor has, i can feel my anxieties and paranoia's calming already...."Its not just data, its your life, save it, store it, back it up with the push of a button..."
i can feel myself soothed and comforted already
but the one thing i cant find, and im just browsing it now, so i could be missing it, is how much this comfort costs? and how reliable is it? i guess if its not attactched to the network then it wont get infectected, right, but if i transfer a virus infected file by accident to it, then does that mean i have format the whole thing? ahhh, i guess there is no absolute answer, but it does sound like a nifty device. has anyone out there tried it out?

 

What I do I don't know if its your deal on spending the evenings but I actually backup my stuff by CDs. Very handy and if you want to get rid of them, there really easy to dispose. That's my thing since I rely more upon my care than worrying about a hard drive not going to go bad but yea that's my thing Hope it helps.

 

i dont know if i missed this but does a harddrive that has been backed up to and stored unplugged from the computor,loose the data over a period of time.

 

does dvdr or dvdrw suffer the same degredation as cdr because if i backup photos to disc on cdr i would have to backup the same disc in a few years time just because the disc has degraded. would dvd discs do the same

 

thanks thats good enough for me

 

The data you'll have backed up onto the cdr's should only last you at the most 10-20 years since by that time you probably already backed up the data onto a different cd or you don't even use those programs or files anymore.

 

Pressed optical media (CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs) have near unlimited lifespans. CD-Rs and DVD±Rs have considerably shorter lifespans because the media is exposed (scrape off the label and you scrape off the data) and the method for ROM media (physical pits and lands) is more robust that that of R media (laser-scarred surface, but no actual pits).

Media lifespan is, of course, limited by the storage environment. Max lifespans can only be achieved by storing the media in a fully controlled environment: 50F to 70F, very low humidity, no light, stored in jewel cases or DVD cases or similar.

 

thanks for the imput. whats sad is that every so many years you have to backup the data again as the software used is outdated.

 

Hi,

I am using "IBackup" (http://www.ibackup.com/ibwin_new.htm) to backup my data. It has direct access to your files and is secure. Moreover you can backup and restore interactively or schedule regular online backups using their IBackup for Windows.
It supports mirroring of files/ folders to maintain the directory structure, which has worked great for me.

Regards
Bryan