backing up files?
 

i want to make sure i have a backup of my files incase anything happens to the pc, if i get an external hard drive, will that do the job?

Is there anything i need to know before i buy one like sizes etc?
anyone know where i can get a cheap but decent one?

Re: backing up files?
 

Good questions will keep an eye on this for information.

Re: backing up files?
 

I have just bought a maxtor external hard drive and I back everything up on there and you can select the frequency at which it does it and trust me its easy
tony

Re: backing up files?
 

I bought a Phillips 500gb external hard drive from Argos, £75. stored all my music on it. I thought that was a good deal.

Re: backing up files?
 

Hi emamum.

When you go for an external backup drive, you don't need one any bigger than the hard drive in the machine. Most of them come wth a setup cd that allows you to schedule the type and time of backup.

Retlaw

Re: backing up files?
 

Is the music on just the external drive? If so you will loose it all if it dies on you. The idea of a backup is to have your data saved in more than one place at once.

Re: backing up files?
 

If its just a backup of your data what about DVD, do you have a dvd writer on your PC?

Re: backing up files?
 

no i dont...theres data and photo's that i dont want to lose.

Re: backing up files?
 

Then a DVD writer might be the best and cheapest way. How much data do you need to backup?

Re: backing up files?
 

also make sure you have a copy in another location. If your house burns down it usually takes all the stuff thats there :D

burn pictures to disc and leave teh copies at a friends. online storage is a good idea, see ksh's thread for one option

Re: backing up files?
 

Which is why DVD is a cheap option

Re: backing up files?
 

Backing up to a DVD is the most cost effective option if your data is measured in gigabytes and a lot of them.

The next best option is a 2GB memory stick (if you have a spare USB port). They are probably cheaper and larger now but my 2GB memory stick cost me £15. I use it for backing up data that changes daily.

Failing all that it can only be a series of CD’s. You should be able to store two or three hundred pictures on a CD but that will depend on the picture sizes. But not many tunes.

I’m looking forward to the day when the “Memory Stick” is developed into humungous sizes (a few hundred gig) with a super fast USB port, thus making a traditional hard drive obsolete.

My OS partition is backed up using Paragon imaging software and a copy of the image is burned to 2 re-writable DVD’s once a month.

My data partition is also backed up to 3 re-writable DVD’s as standard files also once a month.

Re: backing up files?
 

I got a new 8gb memory stick off ebay (well won it, just waiting on delivery) and it cost me £10 so might be worth investing in one of these instead of cds / dvds etc

Re: backing up files?
 

this is going to sound sooooooooo stupid but....i backed my photos up by sending them all to my email addy, i can then access my pics wherever i am

Re: backing up files?
 

flash is available in large sizes now. 16 gig is easily achieveable. some PCs are now coming with Flash instead of a Hard disk. Asus Eeee Pc being one of the first.

Re: backing up files?
 

That’s not being stupid.

That’s called, in the modern parlance, “thinking outside the box.”

BT gives you some storage space for just that reason. 10MB I think it is. I seem to remember seeing 10MB being mentioned when I log in sometimes.

With BT you can have up to 5 different email addresses and each comes with it’s own 10MB storage space plus 15MB of free web space. You don’t have to build a web site in your free web space. You can dump pictures in there if you want.

Then if the URL of your web space is http://uk.geocities.com/[email protected] you can view your pictures by typing http://uk.geocities.com/[email protected]/001.jpg into your browser address field, where 001.jpg is the name of your picture.

Just try this:
The URL is http://uk.geocities.com/[email protected] and http://uk.geocities.com/[email protected]/nipper.gif

You can progress from that to writing your own simple web site that will show all your pics one after another at the click of a mouse.

Re: backing up files?
 

Better still go to this URL http://uk.geocities.com/[email protected]/pictures.html for an idea of how your slide show might look.

Just click on each picture to go to then next one.

Re: backing up files?
 

ah thanx for that Jambutty, i'll give that a go tomorrow, to be honest i've never ever used my BT internet account, even though i've been with BT for 2 years lol

Re: backing up files?
 

seems like a lot of hassle for a few megabytes when BT digital vault offers gigabytes for nowt if you are a BT total broadband user. Keep your eyes open as they often offe it for 'free' as a special offer to anyone.

there are other services that you can use for this as well. e.g. 110mb.com

Re: backing up files?
 

Get Norton Ghost, and burn it to a DVD, cheap and easy, backs up your entire PC

Re: backing up files?
 

Including all teh bloatware, trojans, viruses, malware.......

Ghost is good but you should do a clean install, put on only teh apps that you really want, set all your configuration as you like it and THEN burn a ghost image( or if your tight like me invest 5 minutes in understanding how to use a Linux Live CD and teh dd command which is just as good). Data should always be considered seperate from system/apps as it makes it far more portable when you buy a new PC etc. IMHO you should put all personal data on a seperate partition so you can ghost/dd just your data. It also means you can splat teh system/app partition with little risk to the data

Re: backing up files?
 

With BT Total Broadband Option 1 you get 5GB. With Option 3 you get 50GB. No mention of Option 2.

1. BT Digital Vault with 5GB storage included with BT Total Broadband. Auto Backup facility inclusive with Option 3. Opt in required. Service will continue providing it is used at least every 90 days. Conditions apply. Auto Backup currently not Mac compatible.

2. £4.99 a month. One month minimum term. Auto Backup currently not Mac compatible. Conditions apply.

Re: backing up files?
 

I've never been with BT but I have a 5gig account :D

they do offer it out for free every now and then, keep your eyes on hotukdeals.com and teh other 'deal' websites

Re: backing up files?
 

We need a bargain/freebies forum on AccyWeb so we don't miss out on this sort of thing.

Re: backing up files?
 

Gmail also has a ridiculously large email storage space - email yourself a .zip or rar or tar.gz and it'll be held on google servers for ya. Easy.