I fail at computers.... Backup advice needed.

[gotta240]

OK. I'm a total fucking retard when it comes to computers.....seriously. Just got a new laptop. I have school papers, music, and important pictures on it. How can I protect all this to ensure it will always stay safe?

I was thinking of getting one of those external hard drives that are like the size of a small modem.... Is that ok? Better suggestions? Brand suggestions? Size suggestions? I was just going to grab one from costco. They have like 3 to choose from, all just under 100 bucks.

Thanks for any help/advice you can provide.

[Gnnr]

How much information (GBs) do you need to backup on a regular basis?

[1ZlowZ]

get an ssd so if you drop it, it doesnt mess up

[BustedS13]

redundancy is your friend. back up your most important data on dvdr's every six months or so. i back up my documents and images, but that's it. music and movies and tv shows are easy to replace.

[SimpleS14]

An external drive is okay. There are a wide arrary of options for you, but an external drive would be best for you as it's straight forward and simple.

I personally have a second drive in my computer that I use for weekly back ups and another hard drive in an external closure for monthly backups.

[BustedS13]

also if you just want to back up important documents, a gmail account is a solid option.

[BOROSUN]

i was looking at this earlier... all you need is a old sata hd or buy one. pop it in like a vcr tape. then take it out and store it on a safe place.
Newegg.com - Thermaltake BlacX N0028USU External Hard Drive SATA Enclosure Docking Station 2.5" & 3.5" USB 2.0 - External Enclosures (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066)

[gotta240]

How do you just "pop it in like a vcr?" I have a laptop.......and im retarded.


edit- I see now! Whats the advantage of doing that instead of just getting a ready to use backup from costco for 80 bucks?

[SimpleS14]

How do you just "pop it in like a vcr?" I have a laptop.......and im retarded.


edit- I see now! Whats the advantage of doing that instead of just getting a ready to use backup from costco for 80 bucks?


The advantage I can see is that you can use a spare hard drive that you don't want to waste. Also expand your backups across multiple drives. My existing setup is fairly similar.

However, for you, I don't recommend this setup.

[flip3d]

get a nice external hard drive that doesnt use an ac adapter. super portable and you'll have everything where ever you go in a tiny package.

[Gnnr]

Hard Drives are not considered reliable backup mediums.

Tape Backups, DVDs, Blu-Ray Discs and online backups (which themselves do tape backups and store the information in multiple regions) are the only true backup mediums that are considered reliable.

The key is that you don't want something that has moving parts that are easily damaged if dropped. If you want to go a step further you can buy a fireproof safe and put the discs there. It depends how valuable your data is.

Also if you backup to discs get Taiyo Yuden brand discs. They are a very respected brand, you can google it. I bought from Rima.com.

[gotta240]

GREAT advice. Thank you guys!