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What do you use to backup files?

ufobaby11

ufobaby11

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What do you all use to backup files/project/footage? My new mbp (nov. 2021) bricked and I'm kicking myself for not having a backup system in place.
 
I use either WD or SEAGATE extrernal Hard Drives of between 2TB and 5TB capacity.

These are the most cost effective and crazy slim
I copy the files over UNCOMPRESSED, since I have lost files to corruption on recovery.

It is NEVER a good idea to compress files since they already contin data that is compressed using the video codecs and copressing a compressed file is not only risky, it will not save much space at all. You can pick a 2TB for $70-80. Well worth it,

I'm now so paranoid from losses over the years that everything is double backed up. I've had 2 hard drive failures in the past 10 year, 4 failure in the past 20 years...those earlier failures saw a bunh of edits go too of which 20 % remain unlocated.
 
Wraith said:
I use either WD or SEAGATE extrernal Hard Drives of between 2TB and 5TB capacity.

These are the most cost effective and crazy slim
I copy the files over UNCOMPRESSED, since I have lost files to corruption on recovery.

It is NEVER a good idea to compress files since they already contin data that is compressed using the video codecs and copressing a compressed file is not only risky, it will not save much space at all. You can pick a 2TB for $70-80. Well worth it,

I'm now so paranoid from losses over the years that everything is double backed up. I've had 2 hard drive failures in the past 10 year, 4 failure in the past 20 years...those earlier failures saw a bunh of edits go too of which 20 % remain unlocated.
Click to expand...
you ever consider a NAS?
 
Is there a 100 TB version?

I’d be mortified if it failed so I’d still use my portable since they just plug into my TV, BD or PVR USB ports and they play directly.

Not all are recognised by other equipment but most are…

Good idea mind you…
 
goes up to 200TB apparently.
could be worth having a NAS + a separate external backup. since if you've got a 2 hard drive NAS, the likelihood both fail very close to one another is quite slim. but i don't know that much about it - i'd have a look into it if it sounds appealing.
 
Hmmmmm…
Just did a quick call….
Hmmmmm….
Edit

A WD 28TB is over 1000 bucks…
Gonna be a while before I rip all my discs and drop in my edits too….price per TB is about 40% more but I have to say, given the rate that storage is growing and prices falling… might be 3 years…

It would be nice….
Thanks for the reminder they exist…(one day homes will be built with it included, just like hot water and drains)…
 
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Wraith said:
It would be nice….
Thanks for the reminder they exist…(one day homes will be built with it included, just like hot water and drains)…
Click to expand...
lol that's the dream
 
First of all, do not use compression on the files you store anywhere. If you use Windows compression it is not a good. If you archive the files you won't save much, since the files are already compressed.

Portable drives are ok, but even those fail in time. Even if you would use 2 of the same capacity and copy files to both there is still a high risk of losing your files. I highly recommend a NAS with NAS grade drives. There are multiple options here, it all depends on how much you want to spend on it. There are some good NAS devices from Synology or other manufacturers, some supporting proper RAID and able to use 4 or more drives. As soon as you want something with more than 4 drives the price will rise exponentially.

There is also the "do it yourself" way and I read about a lot of people in the States that were able to get servers at very good prices. Even an old desktop with enough power or a Raspberry Pi 4 with NAS attachments can be used as long as you use SATA drives. It takes a little of tinkering and you can enlist the help of a friend that knows a little about installing and configuring an OS. Use NAS recommended drives even when using RAID, regular drives are not made to be on 24/7.

I made my own NAS with an oDroid H2 and I am using 3 Seagate IronWolf drives at the moment (WD Red are just as good), but I have been working with Linux for the past 11 years, I like a lot to do things like this and it came quite naturally. 2 drives with 8 TB used in RAID 1 is the easiest redundant way (the higher the RAID, the more identical drives you will be using). Powerful enough hardware can even run DLNA or Plex server, you can stream your fanedits to anything capable of playing them.

A ready NAS with 2 NAS drives can also be good enough. Most of them can now stream media from them as well. It all comes down to what you want to spend and if it is worth it for you.
 
Wraith said:
Hmmmmm…
Just did a quick call….
Hmmmmm….
Edit

A WD 28TB is over 1000 bucks…
Gonna be a while before I rip all my discs and drop in my edits too….price per TB is about 40% more but I have to say, given the rate that storage is growing and prices falling… might be 3 years…

It would be nice….
Thanks for the reminder they exist…(one day homes will be built with it included, just like hot water and drains)…
Click to expand...

Are you a Mac user? Do you use time machine to backup everything?
 
I am a PC user.

I long since stopped using back up programmes for a variety of reasons.
  • Compression can corrupts files
  • it's unrealiable
  • restores can be a pain
  • product makers want you to subscribe, and if you don't your backups are worthless
  • products become obsolete
  • Windows backup is SHIT
  • it's no quicker than COPYING the actual files you want to BACK UP by copying
...so this is what I do...I copy across what I need to save/backup. I just need to be a bit more organised on how I store but it is foolproof. I just search for files from a specific date (the last "backup"), and copy ...OR I delete the old "backed up" directory, and copy across the new one with the files I want to "backup", sometime just an entire drive at a time.
 
ufobaby11 said:
Are you a Mac user? Do you use time machine to backup everything?
Click to expand...
No offense but Time Machine is not a good option. I don’t fan edit so my video back up is small, but I have terabytes of music (over 5k albums). Time Machine simply can’t handle it. I’m sure my technique is not the most sophisticated but I clone my storage drive to an external drive and put it in a fireproof safe. I update it every six months or so.
 
Moe_Syzlak said:
No offense but Time Machine is not a good option. I don’t fan edit so my video back up is small, but I have terabytes of music (over 5k albums). Time Machine simply can’t handle it. I’m sure my technique is not the most sophisticated but I clone my storage drive to an external drive and put it in a fireproof safe. I update it every six months or so.
Click to expand...
Sounds familiar... (and sensible)
 
Oh, I raise your floppy with the fact that I played PONG on some x86 hardware in 1985-1986 and I saw Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back in the cinema in my country around the same time. My mother worked in the IT center of a big factory and they had a very large room with tapes for storing stuff and perforated cards for running the programs. My first ever home PC was a Sinclair ZX Spectrum clone called HC-91 (Home Computer 91). Floppy disks were a luxury for HC-91, I used to load programs from cassette tape. 1 GB is 1024 MB which translates to 712 3.6 inches floppy disks. My HC-91 could only use 5.25 inches floppy disks. We've come a long way since then.
 
tmihai20 said:
Oh, I raise your floppy with the fact that I played PONG on some x86 hardware in 1985-1986 and I saw Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back in the cinema in my country around the same time. My mother worked in the IT center of a big factory and they had a very large room with tapes for storing stuff and perforated cards for running the programs. My first ever home PC was a Sinclair ZX Spectrum clone called HC-91 (Home Computer 91). Floppy disks were a luxury for HC-91, I used to load programs from cassette tape. 1 GB is 1024 MB which translates to 712 3.6 inches floppy disks. My HC-91 could only use 5.25 inches floppy disks. We've come a long way since then.
Click to expand...
I'll see you 80s and raise you one word....

ABACUS
 
SERIOUSLY WTF!!!!!

Just had a 4TB WB External Passport HDD fail on me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazingly, even though I bought this 2 yrs ago, AMAZON have seen I have bought so many, than they issued me with a credit
:)

Don't ask, Dont' Get!....

PS

Stay away from WDs....its the third failure I have had....I now go with Seagate. None have failed and my oldest is over 15 years old.
 
I dropped a WD 2TB once, it fell about 20cm, and immediately failed, lost a lot of files. I've got two Seagates, have dropped them or bumped them somewhere a ton of times, nothing. Very resilient HDDs.
I guess I could just stop dropping them, but since that's unlikely, Seagate is definitely the way to go
 
Wraith said:
I'll see you 80s and raise you one word....

ABACUS
Click to expand...
I had one of those too 😁

Regarding HDDs, I am using Seagate drives in my NAS and my desktop and I none failed so far. I read on the Datahoarder subreddit about people shucking WD drives and using them quite successfully (although in RAID setups most likely). Seagate is my go-to drive whenever I need a good quality one. I cannot find HGST anywhere at a decent price in Europe, let alone in my country.

Beware of portable drives from any brand, not all portable drives are equal. For instance, a Seagate Backup Plus Hub USB 3.0 external drive worked extremely well over USB with an SBC for well over a year (also a Seagate Backup Plus, the USB 3.0 in a metal enclosure, but only as a desktop transfer drive). Do a little work and read about what others are saying about what you want to buy. It will save you a ton of trouble later. I read the Backblaze report from time to time when I want fresh information on NAS drives.
 
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I tend to stick to 500gb drives and then back them up on a couple of other 500gb. Better to lose 500gb than terrabytes. I'd only fill a 4TB up and then lose the lot :) as has happened before.

For the editors here in the UK - if you go to bootsales or have friends and family getting rid of the old sky boxes grab them ...rip them apart ..take out the drive, reformat and then use a caddy to power. I do this all the time and then store them in antistatic bags which can be picked up cheaply. I pick up old sky boxes for an average £5.00.
 
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