no subject

[lotesse]

Hey guys, can I ask for some tech advice? I need to figure out how to run a reliable backup system for my laptop. I realized last year how much it would suck to lose all my files, but here I am still running like a college student, no net to catch me if hard drive failure. I figure I should do something about that.

My current MacBook Pro stats are:
Available: 215.77 GB (215,772,102,656 bytes)
Capacity: 499.25 GB (499,248,103,424 bytes)

I don't actually need to save the videos I have downloaded, which is a big chuck of data, but I get the sense that it might be easier to run things like Time Machine and just back up all of it?

I've never used cloud storage for anything, due to a superstitious sense that I want my actual files saved on actual physical objects, but if it makes most sense for my situation I could be flexible. I probably only need to update the backup every month or so, none of my immediate time-sensitive work stuff is really involved, it's just my personal a/v ecosystem and back stacks I want saved somehow. I am quite broke, so cost is my biggest factor. All of this is a bit of an anxiety trigger, but it'll be better once I've punched through and fixed the underlying problem. I'm just not sure where to start! What do I need?

Comments

[musesfool]

I run Time Machine to an external Western Digital 1TB drive and also back up to the cloud, so I think either is feasible? I like having the stuff available on a local hard drive, but I also feel like having the cloud backup is helpful. I think you can get a 1TB external drive for $50 on Amazon, and maybe cheaper elsewhere.

[starlady]

I ran Time Machine to an external hard drive until the drive died on me with no warning, leaving me with no backup and an expensive brick that I eventually had to pay to be securely disposed of. So I switched entirely to cloud backup; the file restoration method is definitely easier.

I use a service called iDrive and I'd recommend it--the UI can be a little clunky, but it's possible to designate specifically which folders you want to backup, which is handy if you (like me) don't want to backup every video file you have. (Though one time I deleted a movie before I was done clipping it, and being able to restore it immediately was handy.) This article has a link to an offer for 3TB online storage for $14 for the first year; apparently they also offer 5GB free, which I did not know about.

[lotesse]

Yeah, my sibling relied on externals for a few years and had terrible luck with them. It sounds like cloud storage might be more dependable! Thanks for the rec - iDrive looks like a good service.

[msilverstar]

I use Time Machine with almost no special excluded files, it requires no thought and that's good.

I also use Backblaze for cloud backup, and again, I just let it back up without worrying about what to set and what to forget.

I have restored some stuff from both of them -- always test that!

[lotesse]

No thought is always good, in such cases as these!