Back-Up

We all know we should do it, but how many of us actually do it?

I mean, how hard is it, really?

What types of backup are there? How much will it cost? Which type is right for me?

The simplest solution: An External Hard-Drive.

Western Digital My Book 2TB External Hard Drive

This is easiest way to keep your data safe! And it’s not that expensive. You can get an external hard-drive case (for a 3.5” HDD) now for around $30 – The actual hard-drive itself will be extra, depending on the capacity you want – and they connect straight into a USB port. I couldn’t be simpler. I recommend though, that you spend a little extra, around $60~$70, and get one with a LAN connection, that you can plug straight into your router – This is very simplified NAS (Network Attached Storage) – That way, if you have multiple PCs in your household, you can backup every PC on your network (provided you get a big enough hard-drive).

You will need to set up your backup schedule in Windows – either every day / every week / every month – and after the initial backup, it will only need to back up any new or changed files each time thereafter. For a single drive unit, you can now get up to a 4TB hard-drive.

Moving up a notch: NAS (Network Attached Storage)

QNAP TS-410 Network Attached Storage (NAS)

A NAS unit can be just a single disk, or it can be multiple disks connected together in a RAID array. A NAS is basically a low-power, headless (meaning no monitor, keyboard or mouse) computer that is always on, running in the background, sharing files with all the other computers on your “LAN” network. You can connect with the NAS in your browser – IE, Firefox, Chrome, etc. They can be a little tricky to set up, but once they are up and running, you can basically set & forget. Most ready-made consumer models generally come in 2, 3 or 4 drive configurations, although you can get them with more than 12 HDDs. Needless to say, they are more expensive than a simple hard-drive case.

Off-Site Back-Up

If you decide to use an external hard-drive or NAS system for your back-up, you are technically only half covered. These will protect you from data-loss in the event of a catastrophic hard-drive failure in your PC, but they won't protect your data from natural disasters - Being in Japan, earthquakes & tsunamis come to mind. If your house/apartment were to be flattened or washed away, you would lose all your data. The best way to ensure redundancy is to also have a second (or third) back-up hard-drive set up in a different location - the further away, the better. The best way to do this is to work with a friend or relative in a different city, or even a different country. Have them set up an external hard-drive on their system. You can then use a (FREE) service, such as BitTorrent Sync, to make an identical copy of your back-up drive hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

Paid On-Line Back-Up Services

These services are, by definition, Off-Site. Depending on how important your data is to you, and how much you’re willing to spend, you can get full on-line backup for all of you precious data. Some of the more common on-line back-up services are: Carbonite, CrashPlan, Mozy, and MyPCBackUp. Prices range from between $3.00 ~ $10.00 per month; most with unlimited storage. These services offer the most protection, as your data is spread across these companies' multiple servers, so if one goes down, your data is still safe. Here is a list of the Best 10 On-Line Back-Up

For the best protection, a combination of all of the above will certainly ensure that you will always have copies of your important documents and precious photos, videos and music safely preserved, and up to date, in (hopefully) several locations. Don't forget to check out Cloud Storage for Safety for some extra tricks to keep your personal files safe.