do you use an online backup?

[HeatherPrins]

I need to do this this year. Who do you like/dislike?

[anke]

Oh my gosh, I used to use Mozy! It took me months!!!! to upload all my stuff and then they announced they were doing away with the unlimited storage for the amount I paid. It would have cost a fortune... So I cancelled and now I don't have any. I dread the thought of having to start uploading all over again! The other thing to keep in mind is the use of EHDs. Make sure the service will accommodate those. I think Linda mentioned that Carbonite now does, it did not at the time... For me that would be a must. Just be aware that it can take FOREVER to upload all your stuff!

[HeatherPrins]

oh good point. It worries me to have everything here though in case of fire or something, to not have it stored elsewhere.

[brenda_in_tx]

I'm going to watch this thread because I've been contemplating using one too. I'm just worried about privacy, etc. I believe Carbonite automatically backs up every time you log on? I did talk to one of the tech guys here at my office about the use of an online backup service, and he said privacy isn't as much a concern for him as to what happens to your data if they go out of business.

[Jen D]

I with Anke... it was a huge pain to me. So, I back up on EHDs and I have one off site stored at my parents.

I also upload every photo and scrapbook page to Flickr (all set to private). This way these precious things are off site and easy for me to get too in case the unthinkable happens.

[HeatherPrins]

I was thinking about flickr too

[cstaff]

I use my Fantom Green drive as the TimeMachine BU on my mac... works well... have a second EHD just for photo BU... do monthly DVD BU of all new product and pages completed then take those to my mothers to store... there was a fire system antifreeze solution leak in her apartment last month... through the ceiling... onto closet shelves etc... it missed my disks by inches... there is nothing totally safe...

[HeatherPrins]

Originally Posted by cstaff

I use my Fantom Green drive as the TimeMachine BU on my mac... works well... have a second EHD just for photo BU... do monthly DVD BU of all new product and pages completed then take those to my mothers to store... there was a fire system antifreeze solution leak in her apartment last month... through the ceiling... onto closet shelves etc... it missed my disks by inches... there is nothing totally safe...

well that is true

[tylertooo]

I use to use Mosy as well, and when they changed their pricing plan, dumped them - of course! I don't like having to spend all the time uploading, as I am sure I am like everyone else with gigs of stuff added each month. I decided to go the route of external drives. I now have 3 EHD's - one I carry with me to and from work, one backup at home and one at work. There are a lot of good companies that backup, but it just takes so long.

[justmp]

I tried Mozy and didn't like it. It really bogged down my computer. I switched to Carbonite, which works well for me because I don't care that it doesn't back up external hard drives.

[SallyJesse]

I use Carbonite and love it. It all happens behind the scenes. My machine was out of commission for about a week and Carbonite sent me an email letting me know they hadn't received any backups for a week. I love that their system tracks this and notifies you.

I have a Mac with a local (wireless) EHD backup as well.

[HeatherPrins]

I think carbonite does bu ehd now

[earlofoxford]

Carbonite has been backing up my EHD where I store my pics, supplies, and pages for almost a year now. They are restructuring their pricing, and my renewal will cost more, but I think it's worth it. My daughter-in-law had TWO hard drive crashes this year, and Carbonite was a godsend for her. Carbonite's new system will also back up programs, so I'm going to see if I can figure out how to back up ACDSee.

[HeatherPrins]

thanks linda!

[brenda_in_tx]

Are you ladies just backing up your photos or your entire computer?

[HeatherPrins]

well I am thinking just photos but not sure yet

[justmp]

I back up just about everything...photos, layouts, documents that don't contain super personal information.

[anke]

I back up everything, pages, photos, supplies. I use two large EHDs for backup and I store my photos and supplies on two separate smaller EHDs that stay attached to my laptop. I also use Flickr for pages and photos (when I think of it), but I think I might do DVDs for my photos also. I dropped an EHD a couple of weeks ago and it was done in.... anything extra is good!

[HeatherPrins]

well we have everything on EHDs too but I think something out of our house accessible from anywhere may be a good thing

[DonnaNJ]

I use Crashplan.. does everything including EHDs.. they also had the option of sending you an EHD that you copy everything to and sending it back to them to start your backup..once they 'seed' the backup their software catches up to whatever was changed since.. it cost $129 but it's one time and it was worth it for me because my internet connection is so slow and I have sooooo much to be backed up

[vfleslie]

I used Carbonite for years on the old laptop and have absolutely no complaints. They saved my data a couple of times. (the time I took the laptop into the fixit shop and the teenaged boy didn't copy over ALL the files.........ayayaya!)

However, with the new laptop I switched to Crashplan for a couple of reasons.

1. great reviews.

2. awesome pricing structure for backing up all the laptops in the household. I have 3 college kids, plus my laptop and dh's.

3. Ability to get an EHD of your backup mailed to you if you need to restore quickly. (for a fee)

4. Ability to seed your initial online backup with an EHD they send to you. (for a fee).

They send you the EHD, you backup your computer and mail back to them and then link your online back up to it. It took about 3 weeks to backup my data (you can customize the speed). I had the time, plus all my files are still on the old laptop so I decided not to seed my initial backup.

5. Crashplan keeps your data as long as you have a paid membership with them. Carbonite deletes old files after 30 days of not backing up. What if we win the lottery and get to travel around the world, haha?

6. I can also use the Crashplan software to backup to an EHD which I did just last week and will continue to do periodically and store one offsite.



Leslie

[TU_Jenn]

On my PCs (desktop and laptop) I use Crashplan, after trying Carbonite. I also have a windows home server (WHS) (where all my photos/videos are stored). Since I work in IT and have been through a couple of IT "disasters" - I probably go overboard. I have my photos (plus my lightroom main catalog) on drives that are mirrored (so if one fails I still have the other one) - that's my WHS. I keep all my scrapbooking supplies (and acdsee catalog) on an EHD. I backup the EHD to both my WHS (using Crashplan) and to the cloud (also via Crashplan). I like that crashplan doesn't complain when I take my EHD off my desktop and hook up to my laptop for travel/etc. I then backup both my PC and laptop to the cloud in case they die. So - multiple copies located locally and in the cloud (gives me options for faster restore if need be).

Whewww - sorry if that got overly technical....

Jenn

[Steph]

Love Carbonite! Saved me during 2 computer crashes!!!

[anke]

Originally Posted by TU_Jenn

On my PCs (desktop and laptop) I use Crashplan, after trying Carbonite. I also have a windows home server (WHS) (where all my photos/videos are stored). Since I work in IT and have been through a couple of IT "disasters" - I probably go overboard. I have my photos (plus my lightroom main catalog) on drives that are mirrored (so if one fails I still have the other one) - that's my WHS. I keep all my scrapbooking supplies (and acdsee catalog) on an EHD. I backup the EHD to both my WHS (using Crashplan) and to the cloud (also via Crashplan). I like that crashplan doesn't complain when I take my EHD off my desktop and hook up to my laptop for travel/etc. I then backup both my PC and laptop to the cloud in case they die. So - multiple copies located locally and in the cloud (gives me options for faster restore if need be).

Whewww - sorry if that got overly technical....


Jenn

How do you do the cloud thing? I love that idea

[Scrapbird]

I used Mozy for a while. The only time I had to download back to my computer, it took days and days and I had to request every single "packet" to be sent to me. A giant pain.

Last fall I had Carbonite for a month when my laptop crashed. Lucky for me! Downloading it all to my new laptop was easy peasy!! Still took a while (because I have too much stuff...!) but it was all automatic and it all went right back to where I had it. I highly recommend Carbonite.

[HeatherPrins]

thanks everyone!

[lizj]

I just got Crashplan and I loved that they sent me the EHD to do the initial back up. I back up my whole computer, programs, photos, digi supplies. I also have 2 EHD's for my PC, Time Capsule and a portable EHD for my MAC. Can't be too careful!

[TU_Jenn]

@Anke - when you purchase Crashplan (I think there's freebie version to backup to EHDs - been awhile since I purchased mine!) then you can set it up to backup to there servers (the "cloud"). Then of course Crashplan has all there servers and data centers setup for disasters, etc. If you go to the Crashplan site you can read about the difference offerings. I think i did the Crashplan+ family plan unlimited, and did the 4year plan or something like that. I just really liked how it would work with my home server, all my PCs and give me lots of flexibility to do both local and offsite backups.... And NOT have to worry about amount of data.. It just sort of runs in the background, and I get emails with status updates as it backs up.

[KariRDG]

I used Mozy, but when I needed them (my ehd died & I lost everything) I found out that I in fact wasn't backed up & I lost 700 GB of stuff.
I use Backblaze now. $5 a month & they ROCK. I back up 3 EHDs & my computer.