Yesterday I picked up a Toshiba 1 TB Canvio 3.0 plus external drive.

I was able to copy all my pictures to the drive and it didn't take very long. However, when it tried to back up my computer it seems to "bog down." It has EZ back up which for some reason doesn't seem to be working, or maybe I'm just not patient enough?

Unfortunately, I didn't see rave reviews when I looked this item up on line, after the purchase of course.

If I can copy/save my pictures, music and documents, I'm good, but not sure I should be satisfied with that as it's supposed to do an automatic back up.

Any suggestions from my Vintage computer pals out there?

 

Hmm maybe I spoke too soon. I just changed the settings to back up music and documents, and it's 38% done. Maybe I just expected it to be faster.

However, still appreciate any input on these things. I have a ton of pics on my computer. Most are also backed up to CD's or flash drives, but I'd like to remove some from the computer to free up some space and don't want to do that until I'm sure I've got the back up x 2.

 

Hi Lainey

You have a lot of stuff on your computer. I use external backups all the time.I have them run at night.
Just turn it on and walk away. It sometimes take an hour or more for them to do a full backup. Just doing pictures and docs is much shorter. You do want to do a full system back up with a start up program if you lose everything.

fltsfshr

 

Just curious why you opted for a hard drive back up rather than a “cloud” version such as Mozy or Carbonite? I currently use Mozy for both home and work files.

 

Thanks, flts. My home PC doesn't have much info on it, it's the pictures I fear losing. Thanks for the reply. I can back up the entire system, not a bad idea. I'll check the settings on that as well.



Mns...I don't know much about the cloud.....this seemed to suit my needs for little expense.

 

Carbonite is my friend for all of my pictures.

An external hard drive does the main backup less pictures

 

An interesting twist Lainey. One advantage online storage has is, it is not at your house.
If someone breaks in and steals you computer stuff they're just as likely to take the backup drive as well.
or a fire will damage them both just as easily.
So for certain "really important" Documents or photos on line is much better.
google drive is 5 gig for free. 25 gig for $2.49 a month

amazon also has a 5 gig for free deal as well.
so there is 10 gig />

mind you I'd probably encrypt anything before I put it up there.

 

^
Duh, never thought of the fire/theft issue.

 

Decades ago, my childhood home burned to the ground.

The loss of photos was one of the lasting losses: clothes, furniture, and other stuff can be replaced. Photos represent memories, and are irreplaceable.

I'd urge everyone to keep a backup of the irreplaceable stuff offsite. Not necessarily everything you have ever taken, but certainly a "best of" collection you could live with if it were all you had left.

Do you want to pay to ensure that a disaster that may never happen has no effect on you at all, or just pay enough to feel you're merely OK with the outcome if the unlikely does happen.

 

Backup drives are so inexpensive now days that it is possible and advisable to have a couple. One could be stored off site, say at your parents or neighbors house to avoid a loss such as a fire.