dandekarv Loc: Lake Forest, Ca, US

Sorry if this answer has been discussed before.
Please clearly define backup and on-line storage. Backup is not a storage. The original files should exist on the computer. Backups get deleted if originals are deleted from computer. I made that mistake and lost important files and data.

Dave327 Loc: Duluth, GA. USA

I use Carbonite and had a crash. Everything came back just fine. It took about 12 hrs overnight to download. I have heard many radio ads for Idrive (idrive.com) and took a look at their site. A personal account is $70 on sale for $52 for the first year for 1TB. They also offer a service were they express you a hard drive for backup then return to them. Backup in incremental from there. The same service can be used for a crash. You avoid the long download times. They also offer back up for all your other devices, even your Facebook page.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

BTW Backblaze is $60/yr unlimited storage

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's a big plus for BB - getting a hard drive in the mail.

hbryant

I've used Carbonite for around 8 years and am very happy with the service. It's inexpensive, works well, and has solid customer service for questions. Also an app that allows remote access to the files in the cloud.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

I contend it doesn't matter if they do. I have 3 copies of all my data here at home. Crashplan serves as an off-site repository. If they go out of business, I'll simply select another and carry on.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

In my mind, on-line storage is just another hard drive connected to your PC. You can copy data there and retrieve from there at will. There is no software comparing the files there with the ones on your primary drives to see if anything has changed.

Cloud backup will (should) incorporate some software that keeps track of what is stored in the cloud and compares it with what's on your PC. If something changes on your PC, the software will make a new copy of the changed file on the cloud backup.

The benefit of the backup (vs storage) is that EVERY file doesn't have to be sent to the cloud EVERY time a backup is made.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

I use Carbonite for a year and found it was running too slow It took hours to down load a days shoot. When renew time came I found out they don't like photographers how shoot a lot. It was set up the more you put on (after a point) the slower it loaded. It took a while till I spoke to a person to say that. It's fine if you are not a big picture taker I guess.

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

I believe Carbonite only backs up the drive in your computer, not external hard drives. CrashPlan is a program that would meet your needs.

Bob Boner

I have all my files backed up on 3 external hard drives. I store one set at home, one at my wife's office, and one set at my son's house. I think this is quicker and safer than cloud storage.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Bob, before I retired, I did the same. I took one of the drives to my office, bringing it home one evening a week to refresh it. When I retired and that option was no longer available, I gravitated to CrashPlan to fill the off-site void. I haven't been disappointed. In fact, I would now prefer this to taking one to the office. As I've said to many, it just works.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

You have a good start. Redundant drives help avoid losses from mechanical failure. But you may not go far enough.

First, understand the difference between backup and archive.
Backup is for the short term. Extra copies of stuff you're working on now.
Archive is for the long term. Copies of stuff you are probably finished with but there's a chance you will want to revisit it when you (or your editor) gets better.

And multiple copies of the hard drive will probably work well. But you have to spread them out so they're not all in the same physical location. That avoids having a problem that wipes out all of them at once. e.g. you could keep one backup drive on your computer. Another drive (for backup and archive) somewhere else in the house. Another drive somewhere else where you can get at it but it's fairly far removed from your house. Far enough to be safe if your house burns down, even due to a forest fire that will get the neighboring houses too. And don't trust a fireproof safe. Yes, they have insulation, but there are no perfect (passive) insulating materials that will not let any heat through. And insulation is bidirectional. Once the heat gets in, it can't get out easily.

Carbonite (or other online storage systems) can be one part of the solution. The upside is that they are professionally maintained so that losing data is unlikely. At least it's unlikely unless the storage provider goes bankrupt (and you have no control over that). The downside is that you are connected by a limited bandwidth so restoring your data through an internet connection could easily take a long time. Personally, I prefer to have my data within my control at all times. I do have a crashplan subscription, but I'm hoping it will never be needed. However, you can't be too paranoid when it comes to protecting your data.

I should also mention that long term archives require maintenance. You have to test it occasionally to see that something hasn't gotten corrupted. That's whether you keep it all yourself or farm it out to a commercial source. If you keep it yourself you have to purchase the latest technology as it comes along so your system doesn't become obsolete.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

Google Jacques Lowe

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

(HAHA - I remember when 20 MEG was huge...)

Mary Kate Loc: NYC

I went to that link. My upload was 40..my download was 7. I have no idea if that is good or bad.