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Do you backup your data?

  • Yes! I use Time machine to a drive or Time Capsule or some other regular backup strategy (Describe)

    Votes: 67 88.2%
  • Uh... not really. I'm going to start after reading this poll though! (Right!)

    Votes: 9 11.8%

03/10/2011 - ehMac Mac Poll - Do you backup?

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mac backup
3K views 28 replies 25 participants last post by  csonni 
#1 ·
We probably all know we should, but do we all do it? Are you backing up your data regularly?
 
#2 ·
I have a 1TB Time Capsule that my iMac and MacBook Pro backup to. Once every month or so, I'll make a backup of that and bring to my banks safety deposit box. Really important documents I have scanned and saved to an encrypted, password protected disc images that's on a USB flash I carry with me.
 
#4 ·
Wow, while nowhere near as comprehensive as John Clay, I do a super-duper about once a week on my man Computer (27" iMac) and once a month on the tertiary laptops. (though I do have Sugarsync, which is syncing all my important documents to the cloud and MobileMe which will get me going with Bookmarks and Mail acct's real quick if something died).
 
#5 ·
Backed up + 2x redundant backup. Nothing off-site, this I should address.

The current setup with my main computer a MBP, consists of the following (see image):
1/ 500Gb 2.5" apple drive in a bus powered NexStar enclosure used for TimeMachine.
2/ 1TB (2x500) OWC RAID box for weekly backup of MBP using CCC (clearly under-utilized)
3/ a Thermatake dual dock for redundant backup, storage, archive retrieval, etc. using various bare drives.
4/ an external 1TB in a Mascool enclosure for Lightroom catalog images.
5/ two USB storage sticks 2Gb and 16Gb for portability and backup of crucial or sensitive documents, in the field image card backup, etc.

The current set up (RAID box not shown):
 
#6 ·
I use to have an external HD that I backed up important files to, but now since I got my MediaSonic RAID enclosure I store basically everything except apps and non important things such as word docs that I will never need again but keep just because. But everything else (Photos, movies, music, app backups, basically anything remotely important) is in the external RAID 1 (mirroring) For me that works, might not for others. It is really just personal choice I guess.
 
#7 ·
I stopped using seagate. Why back up?

Once I got smart and stopped using seagate discs for my data, I never had a failure. No kidding, I used to buy discs in pairs so I could use one logic board from one of the pair to get the other drive to run long enough to transfer the data before sending the failed disc to seagate for replacement (refurbished, un-warranteed replacement, mind you.)

Then I discovered raids. The mac raid was almost painful to use and finally broke down and got a western digital 2TB drive. No problems. But man is it big.

Now I got a fancy 2.5" 1tb portable drive for when I am moving around, and so far so good. It is a seagate, so I should be complaining again in a week or so. Some hamsters never learn....
 
#13 ·
Once I got smart and stopped using seagate discs for my data, I never had a failure. No kidding, I used to buy discs in pairs so I could use one logic board from one of the pair to get the other drive to run long enough to transfer the data before sending the failed disc to seagate for replacement (refurbished, un-warranteed replacement, mind you.)
That just wrong as any type of norm. I have used Seagate for years and only had one failure that was rectified immediately via courier. I have three Seagate external HDs, two 350 GBs and one 1 TB. I also have a 500 GB Verbatim HD

I clone both my MBP and my Mac Mini daily, followed by a Time Machine backup. The MBP clone is on a single 500 HD and the Time Machine on the 1 TB. The Mini clone on a single 350 BG. I back up weekly to a DVD for all my important files, stored off site. I also cloud store those same important files and update them daily. Backup takes me about an hour daily to maintain.
 
#9 ·
Why are the only options to be a slave to Time Machine or to have no back up what so ever.

I have kept organized archives of what I want since I first got a syquest drive.

Migration through CD & DVD...In 20 years, I've lost one volume to hard drive failure and the biggest loss was half my iTunes library which I am currently reripping/redownloading (at least those songs I want)
 
#18 ·
Why are the only options to be a slave to Time Machine or to have no back up what so ever.
Those were not the only options.

The options were...
"Time machine to a drive or Time Capsule or some other regular backup strategy"

note the part where it says "some other"
 
#10 ·
I have a 2 Tb external drive setup to run Time Machine backups, but I also archive files to DVD on a quarterly basis (sometimes sooner depending on the amount of data).

I also user DropBox to house my designer's toolkit (fonts, brushes, stock imagery, samples, etc.) so I can access it anywhere and move files.
 
#11 ·
I have backup drives at home and at the cottage. A Time Machine, a regular HD for nightly incremental backups, and another drive for weekly backups at both locations, which I am at each week. So my off site storage is whichever location I don't happen to be at.
 
#14 ·
I have a clone backup on an external 500GB, I also copy sensitive files to user accounts on the other computers in the house. One of my drives is down at the moment, so it's being used as a main drive for the Mac Mini as the internal drive died.. but, thats usually my Time Machine backup for my MBP. Super sensitive files are stored offsite... mostly backups of music that I create.

I also take advantage of Dropbox and store some sensitive files there as well. All backups are done daily. =)
 
#15 ·
I use TM for local backups, and about once a month or so, I'll mirror my drive and take that offsite.

For sensitive / critical files I'll manually do offsite 'cloud' backups as well, either to MobileMe or to my work's ftp server.
 
#16 ·
Triplicates of everything, two onsite, one offsite.

Managed through various external cases (FW & eSATA) & a toaster drive with SuperDuper as needed (some daily, some weekly, some less than that).
 
#19 ·
Never used to, but since I import a lot of vinyl and cassette music I back up religiously! It is such a cheap investment for peace of mind. I never had a hard drive crash, but ya never know when it can get you.
 
#20 ·
for my laptop (main machine) i have 2 time capsules, one at home, one at the office. i also backup my important docs/database to idisk and i have a bootable CCC backup at home. my one work mini backs up to the work time capsule and my RAID 1-ed mac pro backs up to an internal 1TB TM drive.
 
#21 ·
As a victim of a failed HDD (quantum I think) a few years back and the loss of 1.5 years of client files I have been a backup fanatic.

I start with hourly time machine backups to a dedicated HDD in my MacPro.

On a daily basis I backup client files to a Time Capsule. On completion of a project, the project is backed up on DVD which is stored in my fire proof safe.

On a monthly basis, all client files are backed up on DVD and stored in the safe and another copy is ccc'd to my drive 4

On a bi-annual basis I replace my main HDD on my MacPro and I cycle all the drives down a position, the last drive being used as cloned copy of my main HDD (with operating system) and a complete copy of my client files. This HDD is then dropped off at my dad's house and stored there forever, unless I need it (which I haven't yet).

On any given basis I have three current backups of all my client files and if something happens again the most I would be without would be a week's work.
 
#23 ·
Daily backup of the MacPro to an internal drive (SuperDuper) and a weekly backup to another internal drive. Nightly backup to an external as well. And occasional backups to a 4th (external) drive that gets used when traveling with the laptop.

Keep meaning to set up a TM backup too, but haven't done so yet. Just call me the Department of Redundancy Department. :)
 
#26 ·
I use Time Machine on my Mini and my parents Mini; both to external drives. On my iMac G4 I've started using Data Backup 3 by Prosoft. The software came with an OWC drive I bought awhile ago. Any ideas on this? I heard Time Machine wont work right on my iMac G4 because its not a supported Leopard install. And the graphics card built into these iMacs isn't up to the Core image or Quartz standards.
 
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