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How often do you backup your rMBP?
- Thread starter Hieveryone
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Time Machine backs up routinely
Carbon Copy Cloner clones to 2 separate drives every night
Anything that is important is in Dropbox as well
Carbon Copy Cloner clones to 2 separate drives every night
Anything that is important is in Dropbox as well
Saw the title of this thread and immediately grabbed my harddrive. It's been like 5 weeks.
I used to use Time Machine, but at some point when I got my NAS I got issues and couldn't trust my Time Machine backups anymore, so that's when I bought Carbon Copy Cloner. I just have to remember to make them more often or try to fix Time Machine and use both.
I used to use Time Machine, but at some point when I got my NAS I got issues and couldn't trust my Time Machine backups anymore, so that's when I bought Carbon Copy Cloner. I just have to remember to make them more often or try to fix Time Machine and use both.
What is NAS and why is Time Machine not reliable? Has worked for me no major issues as of yet (touch wood)
Network Attached Storage, I have the Synology DS215j. This drive is connected to my computer via wireless network, but I found that after some time the Time Machine would tell me my backup was corrupted and had to be redone. Maybe they fixed this issue, I'll try again soon. Used to work flawlessly to my Time Capsule.
I've just learned over the years that storage is far less expensive and less hassle than data recovery 
I've just learned over the years that storage is far less expensive and less hassle than data recovery
Thanks for the tip. I will keep this in mind and make sure to backup carefully, as I have never had such an issue where I needed to pay for data recovery, and hopefully as a result of your post, I never will.
I do this as well, to my Synology DS213j. I found that it was a bit more difficult to maintain multiple external drives for my MBA, my wife's old MBP and now her rMB, plus my PC. However, I'll backup to both an external USB and my NAS because while TM can now backup to multiple drives, The external drive can be taken offsite, like to a safe deposit box at my credit union. That way for any disaster, I'll have it available when I need it.
Like it was said before, buying storage (internal or external) is a hell of a lot cheaper than paying someone for data recovery (and I'm in the IT field), and when dealing with computers, you are no-where near as vulnerable as your closest single point of failure.
Don't back up your computer? you're screwed; single point of failure.
Have only a single backup? You're screwed; single point of failure. Deltas between your machine as it currently sits and your last backup may be too great and still lose data.
Relying on that single backup? If you don't test your restore, you're screwed; single point of failure. You're not secure with your backups until your last restore of that backup. If the restore doesn't work, your backup may be corrupted.
Relying on RAID? you're screwed. RAID is not a backup; if the controller controlling the RAID fails, you lose the RAID.
Have multiple backups? Great! If you're storing them at home, single point of failure. Though it's very high odds, but if you lose your home, you lose all of it, including your backups. Store one away from home.
If you want to be secure and safe your data, have multiple backups and keep at least one in a remote location. That way you'll always have access to it in case of any major emergency, from corruption on your Mac, to corruption of a backup, to loss of your home.
BL.
What you use your Mac for makes no difference on that glum day when it won't boot. I'm not saying that sorry event is likely, but if it does happen a clone (exact replica) of your drive on an external SSD will be massively helpful. You can boot from a clone, copy it back to your Mac drive - just having it available is a potent tool in your computer armoury.
(1) When home: Time Machine to external drive on auto pilot, so once per hour. Carbon Copy Cloner to second internal drive twice per day.
(2) When away for more than a day: Carbon Copy Cloner to second internal drive once every three hours.
(3) When at parent's house: Carbon Copy Cloner to external drive once per day. Drive stays put at parent's for off-site backup. (2) also applies.
(Though I don't use a rMBP, but I'm not sure how relevant that really is to the purpose of the thread.)
(2) When away for more than a day: Carbon Copy Cloner to second internal drive once every three hours.
(3) When at parent's house: Carbon Copy Cloner to external drive once per day. Drive stays put at parent's for off-site backup. (2) also applies.
(Though I don't use a rMBP, but I'm not sure how relevant that really is to the purpose of the thread.)
This depends whether the files in your PC is important. I have lots of pictures/videos/music that I cannot afford to lose so I have multiple measures for this. From what you said, it looks like only documents is in your PC? If that's the case then you can just back it up to drop box/google drive or an external hard drive.
Here's what I do.
1) A clone of your OS is good incase your hard driver fails. I hate re-installing all the apps I have. I used an older version of Carbon Clone Copy which is free. I schedule it every once a week.
2) Time Machine that does its own thing in the background
3) Bought an app call GetBackUp 2 which I can choose what to back up (only medias - photos, docs, videos, softwares, musics). It is back up wirelessly to HDD #1 that is connected to my Airport Extreme. It is scheduled to do it every Saturday 8am.
4) GetBackUp 2 also backup HDD #1 to #2 on every Saturday at 8pm.
So I have 3 backup for my important files (Time machine, HDD #1 and HDD #2). My OS has 1 backup using Carbon Clone Copy.
Edit: Just realize that GetBackUp actually has a clone function too.
Here's what I do.
1) A clone of your OS is good incase your hard driver fails. I hate re-installing all the apps I have. I used an older version of Carbon Clone Copy which is free. I schedule it every once a week.
2) Time Machine that does its own thing in the background
3) Bought an app call GetBackUp 2 which I can choose what to back up (only medias - photos, docs, videos, softwares, musics). It is back up wirelessly to HDD #1 that is connected to my Airport Extreme. It is scheduled to do it every Saturday 8am.
4) GetBackUp 2 also backup HDD #1 to #2 on every Saturday at 8pm.
So I have 3 backup for my important files (Time machine, HDD #1 and HDD #2). My OS has 1 backup using Carbon Clone Copy.
Edit: Just realize that GetBackUp actually has a clone function too.
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Fully automated and scheduled, I've invested the time and money to build a solid scalable NAS equipped Mac Pro Server and Backup unit.
I think backing up your Mac once a day should be enough for the casual user. What are the chances your Mac and external source fail?
Once a day is good. Far better than most do I'm sure. Backup isn't just about hardware failure though. Ever been there sheets to the wind and over-written a file? Or needed to find what a document looked like in November last year?
Regardless, for a completely trivial expenditure, this is really simple stuff.
Regardless, for a completely trivial expenditure, this is really simple stuff.
- Both within a day, extremely low - environmental factors actually affecting both (such as theft or fire) notwithstanding. The more important consideration is if you would want to live without up to a full day of your data if your primary drive fails.
Eu também uso o Time Machine de hora em hora, com drive externo.
I'm thinking to start with the Carbon Copy Cloner too.
I'm thinking to start with the Carbon Copy Cloner too.
I changed my tune on that after a friend's Mac was destroyed by a water leak. Their backups were done hourly via Time Machine, but that did no good since the water got that external drive at the same time.
So now:
- Time Machine hourly
- Crashplan (cloud backup) catches up as my machine idles
- SuperDuper clones the drive every night
Once a day is good. Far better than most do I'm sure. Backup isn't just about hardware failure though. Ever been there sheets to the wind and over-written a file? Or needed to find what a document looked like in November last year?
Regardless, for a completely trivial expenditure, this is really simple stuff.
The big advantage with a Time Machine-like backup, is that when backed up often, Time Machine can also function as version control. Say you have a file that is your baseline, and you've made changes to it for an idea you have. Then you've made changes to it again overwriting the first idea you had, then made changes again, realizing that you want your first idea back. The baseline doesn't have your changes, nor does the current file. TM allows you to go to a particular time in the revisions of that file, and restore that particular version.
That's why I'm loving my Synology NAS; not only can I use it as the destination for my Mac's Time Machine backup, but it also has a Time Machine-like backup solution to where any machine I have that writes data to it can have this functionality.
A good word of advice: You can never backup often enough.
BL.