Backup Hardware |
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Last Updated: December 29, 2007
There are many was to store a copy of your data or hard drive including a second hard drive, CD, DVD or the internet. Here are some pros and cons with each type of hardware.
- CD or DVD - Can't accidentally erase files and is great for offsite storage, but a backup may take several discs.
- CD±RW or DVD±RW - Reduces number of outdated discs over time, but they are slower than CD-R, DVD-R and DVD+R discs.
- USB/Firewire/eSATA 3.5 inch external hard drive - High capacity, fast hard drive, but not that portable for off site storage as it requires a power pack.
- USB/Firewire/eSATA 2.5 inch external hard drive - Hard drives for notebook computers are smaller and don't require a power pack, but the capacity is capped at 320GB.
- Second internal hard drive - Fast and convenient, but it's vulnerable to the same disasters that face the main hard drive.
- Second internal hard drive with RAID 1 - The main hard drive is mirrored in real time to a second hard drive, however, it's vulnerable to the same disasters that face the main hard drive. Software is not needed.
- Networked hard drive - More expensive than an external USB/Firewire/eSATA hard drive, requires gigabit network, may escape theft/fire/flood if located in a different part of the house.
- Internet - Can access data from anywhere, monthly/yearly fees add up over time, upload/download is slow, and you're trusting your sensitive data with someone else.
- Tape Backup - Slow, extremely expensive, requires many tapes for each hard drive.
- Anything else - It's probably proprietary (non-industry standard) and won't be around in a few years.
Removable Internal Drive
This may be the fastest way to make a portable mirror image of a drive. Steve Bass at PC World recommends installing the $26 Addonics Snap-In SATA Mobile Rack. Insert an empty SATA hard drive into the rack. Steve Bass recommends using Acronis Tru Image to make backups since it's faster than an USB external drive. I read a comment somewhere that suggested making this drive bootable (part of the formatting process) and making a mirror image of the C: drive (backup software). If the real C: drive fails, replace it with this drive. You'll only be down for a few minutes instead of hours. As always, test your backups!