| Author |
 Topic  |
|
`Ilio Nui
`Olu`olu
USA
826 Posts |
 Posted - 06/14/2007 : 12:23:30 PM
|
Back up your data.
Back up early! Back up often!
I recently noticed that one of my hard-drives was not showing up on my desktop (Mac). It's a disc I haven't used much in recent times, but it did contain a lot of archived data, including some very important recordings. The drive never made any strange sounds or indicators that something was wrong, but I WAS STUPID. Only parts of it were backed up. Yes, I got complacent.
Needless to say, I was fortunate that a hard drive recovery service was able to recover most of the data. AND, it only cost me the price of a 3 series Taylor. You may not be as lucky
Don't be stupid like me. Back up your data.
dog
|
Edited by - `Ilio Nui on 06/14/2007 12:26:09 PM |
|
|
Larry Goldstein
Lokahi
267 Posts |
Posted - 06/14/2007 : 7:34:54 PM
|
Mahalo Dog, for the reminder to be attentive. Of course you aren't stupid, you're just in good company.
Computer complacency can be the undoing of otherwise thoughtful slackers.
Not long ago my hard drive at work crashed, and of course, the only data that couldn't be recovered was the most important data. Thank goodness it wasn't music.
Larry |
 |
|
|
Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2007 : 02:44:23 AM
|
Dave, I feel for you. I am glad that you have been able to recover most - don't think about the money, just be happy you got it back.
Disk crashes are among my greatest worries. Yes, lots of music,pictures and essential docs, and I run the rest of my whole life on computers, too - financial, commercial, personal and every other kind of transaction you can name. And I am not a business, either, just a person :-).
I have every document image (I don't care about the OS) on 4 different machine drives on 3 machines, AND I have an entire system image on a bazillion DVDs, and I am still scared - I think my main machine C: drive is getting sick (noisy).
So, I am going to get another type of backup that is not electromechanical - a big flash drive. They have come down in price and increased in size a lot. Moreover, like my portable hard disks, they are portable and can be attached to any healthy machine. Sarah already has one. There is no such thing as computer safety, you can only do your best.
(BTW, those web based backup services, that have sprouted up recently, scare the pants off me. No way am I going to have a bunch of sensitive data on somebody else's system)
Gotta go back up yesterday's transactions (a couple of international ones, too).
...Reid
|
Edited by - Reid on 06/15/2007 02:45:16 AM |
|
|
|
hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2007 : 03:01:42 AM
|
I have recently purchased a portable harddrive that sits beside my home computer to redundantly store my most important files. It is cheap insurance.
Jesse Tinsley |
|
|
|
Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2007 : 03:38:43 AM
|
From ---
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/computers/external-hard-drives/review.html
Important Features: External hard drives
Reviews say the following about shopping for an external hard drive:
* Choose an external drive based on your source system, operating system and backup needs. If you mainly plan to store or backup data files, you don't need the fastest external hard drive. Those who plan to back up multimedia files need more storage capacity and faster transfer speeds. Mac users should gravitate towards FireWire 400 or 800 instead of USB 2.0. If you want an eSATA drive, you'll need an adapter for your computer.
* Look for preloaded easy-to-use backup capabilities. Whichever external drive you choose, you'll want software that makes backups easy so that you backup often. Some models build this into the hardware design by providing one button backup capability.
* If your storage needs are modest, consider a USB flash drive instead. Because it's solid state and doesn't have the mechanical vulnerabilities of platters wobbling at 7,200rpm, flash technology is emerging as one of the safest and most practical storage mediums today. Current capacity tops out at about 8GB, but larger capacities are on the horizon.
* You might need different backup software. Experts and owners often aren't crazy about the backup software that ships with external hard drives. However, you can always use other software. The current Editors Choice software at PC Magazine is NTI Shadow (*est. $30).
* Assume that eventually, your drive will fail. Many reviewers recommend that you choose two smaller drives – one as a backup to the other – instead of a single large drive. There's certainly safety in numbers, so the more repositories of important data you're able to find, the better you'll sleep at night. Reviewers uniformly agree that an external hard drive should be part of an overall backup strategy, which should also include backing up to removable media or storing important files online.
|
|
|
|
Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2007 : 04:06:15 AM
|
Where I work we have two backups, on separate drives. The first drive is what we "back up" to, and the second drive is an automatic copy of the first drive. This, on the theory that drives will fail, but the likelihood of two drives failing *simultaneously* is very small.
For Mac, we use ChronoSync (now up to version 3.3.5), which is quite easy to use and not very expensive at $30
http://www.macworld.com/2005/06/reviews/chronosync3/index.php
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/13652
Among other things, you can set it to back up only those files that have been modified (which takes much less time) and to save X number of revisions before deleting. And of course you can set a time for these backups to be performed automatically. |
|
|
|
Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2007 : 07:38:41 AM
|
| My philosophy has long been that digital data DOES NOT EXIST, unless it is stored in a minimum of two different places. |
|
|
|
Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2007 : 08:18:57 AM
|
quote:
My philosophy has long been that digital data DOES NOT EXIST, unless it is stored in a minimum of two different places.
All too true.
But let's not forget the other side to the story: digital stuff goes obsolete plenty fast. Anybody know what I can do with all the MIDI sequences, sys ex data and custom synth patches stored on floppies? Or the back-ups of my early books on syquest? Written in scoring programs that no longer exist?? Or SCSI hardrives??? Jazz carts???
Removable hard drives formatted for Roland and Tascam gear? Mix automation data???
Oh heck, I forgot the boxes of 1/4" 8 track sessons; 1/4" half-track masters; 1/2" masters; two inch 16 and 24 track... oh, and let's not forget the shoeboxes full of 4 and 8 track cassette sessions... and the data cassette back-ups from Yamaha DX7s, Alesis sequencers and drum machines...
Ouch. After writing that list I feel like I'm the stoopid one, Dog. Cuz I never took the time to convert all of this stuff when I still had the chance. It may be backed up, but it's as good as gone.
At least someone around here still owns an adat and a dat...
|
|
|
|
Retro
Ahonui
USA
2368 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2007 : 4:24:19 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Mark
Anybody know what I can do with all the MIDI sequences, sys ex data and custom synth patches stored on floppies?
--------
At least someone around here still owns an adat and a dat...
Get a used laptop that has both a floppy port and USB and transfer that way?
I still have a DAT recorder (in storage, though.) Transferred a bunch of radio stuff to MD a couple years ago. |
|
|
|
hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2007 : 10:19:26 PM
|
Since I have bunch of recordings on minidisc, is a minidisc a medium with a fairly long life? Longer than the CD or DVD that I'll burn the wav files to?
Because Sony decided there should be proprietary software between me and my recording files, I'm afraid someday the discs will be unreadable because the software won't keep up the OS and computer advances.
Jesse Tinsley |
|
|
|
Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2007 : 04:55:26 AM
|
Jesse, I have a minidisc recorder, too. We stopped using it after about 6 months (for lots of reasons), and ran everything out to one of my computers via TOSLink through my Layla3G (which has both coax (SPDIF) and TOS In). The Layla really just passes the stuff through untouched. So, if your MD has either SPDIF or TOS output (mine has both), you have a digital source. Then, if your digitizer/sound card has the equivalent inputs, you are safe - for a while. Then transfer to a suitable current medium. Were I you, I would do so ASAP. The CDs and DVDs you talk about certainly have a somewhat longer life than MD. As long as there is a big real business in prerecorded CDS and DVDs, you are OK, AND, a drop in consumer uses of prerecorded CDs and DVDs are your "Canaries in the coal mine" and easily trackable/visible.
BTW, I spent a good chunk of yesterday (well, a couple of hours) putting all my new data on 4 different disks. I also bought a CORSAIR Flash Voyager 8GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) from Newegg for $80, to use as an easy *immediate* backup for anything new and important, each and every moment. (BTW, if any of you buy this device, or something like it, use a USB Cable to attach it to your USB port, as the junction is a very weak physical link, and can break easily.)
...Reid
PS. Dave, your tragedy inspired a lot of good action. "It is an ill wind that does not blow somebody good". Man, that old saw has lots of kaona :-) |
Edited by - Reid on 06/16/2007 04:57:22 AM |
|
|
|
`Ilio Nui
`Olu`olu
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2007 : 06:03:53 AM
|
Reid,
quote:
PS. Dave, your tragedy inspired a lot of good action. "It is an ill wind that does not blow somebody good". Man, that old saw has lots of kaona :-)
That's the main reason I started this thread.
Mark,
Yes, I too still have and use ADAT. I also still have a SCSI accelerator card in my Mac just in case I want to retrieve something off a Jazz, SyQuest, etc., drive.
Jesse,
Back up those MDs. I love my Sony MD, use it all the time, but I've learned to upload each disc as I record. I never record over them. Use 'em, toss 'em.
Good discussion,
dog |
|
|
|
Larry Goldstein
Lokahi
267 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2007 : 11:32:31 AM
|
I'm 58 and sometimes think I was born a century or so too late, given my proclivities.
Of course, we live in a computer age and our data are very, even crucially important. We can't diminish the reality of living in 2007. Not having adequate backup has cost me, for sure.
Yet, if my office disappeared in flames, I would still have my guitars, the music, and memories of the people and aloha at Kaupoa Beach.
Larry |
|
|
|
Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2007 : 12:12:37 PM
|
Before I suspended journalistic operations to finish the book, I wrote a great deal about business-class storage and data-security systems, and Glenn's advice fits what I learned (and adapted) from that field: get in the habit of some sort of incremental backup *every* day (I'm partial to Zip 250 disks and have just started on thumb drives); separate your data from your OS disk *and* keep a reasonably current copy of your OS system disk in a reasonably easily-restored format; do periodic all-data backups to a format/device different from your dailies (I like DVDs and external hard drives); store one set of these away from your usual workplace; rotate everything and be willing to migrate/duplicate to new storage technologies as they become reliable and affordable. (I have a feeling that Vista is going to make a lot of people crazy as old drivers fail to work and manufacturers don't bother to write new ones--that happened with XP and my favorite DSL modem.)
I have more dead or comatose general-purpose storage formats than anyone I know--I reluctantly gave away my 8-inch floppy subsystem a few years back when I realized there wasn't an S-100 system to plug it into any more. But I still have a couple of 5.25-inch drives just in case, and all my machines still have 3.5-inchers. (That doesn't count the miscellaneous review items that manufacturers never took back--anybody need a Syquest cartridge drive? Or a nice Jazz setup? Or an L-100 SuperDisk?)
|
|
|
|
Mark E
Lokahi
USA
186 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2007 : 8:59:45 PM
|
Aloha Dave -
I am now backed up thanks to you. I don't know if you are enough of a saint that you feel recompensed for your trouble by the trouble you have saved others, but I hope so - at least to a goodly extent. In addition to the benefit of being backed up at the moment, you have also given a neat lesson that I hope I will remember the next time I stumble into some pitfall - to remember to put up a "Look Out For The Pitfall!" sign for others.
So mahalo nui for this. We who have read your sign, owe you.
Mark E |
|
|
|
`Ilio Nui
`Olu`olu
USA
826 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2007 : 05:31:52 AM
|
Aloha e Mark E,
Me and Saint are never used in the same sentence (except here), but I appreciate the very nice words.
There are three main positives that came from the experience:
1) The helpfull and giving responses by my TaroPatch cohorts.
2) I bought another drive and am now backed up. I set up RetroSpect to do it automatically.
3) This one I didn't count on. I got rid of a major amount of inane crap that was sitting on the crashed drive. When the recovered data came back, many of the files had lost their "handles and pointers" to their original files. In other words, they were lone files that I had to deal with. After going thru 1200 files and either reassigning them or trashing them, I had a streamlined version of the original disc. This has subsequently forced me to to do a Spring Cleaning (not to be confused with a junk program of the same name) of my other discs. It's amazing how much "stuff" there is we keep for no good reason.
Well, I guess it's time to go out in the garage and do the same thing.
Mahalo nui,
dog
|
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
Topic Locked
