backup advice??

[kenny1999]

Now I have A LOT of information on Google Drive, it includes everything like personal photos, vidoes and document. But I have no backup

When Webshots closed ,I lost a lot of memorable photos. I still remember I lost my data in somewhere else for a couple of times but I forget their names.

Do you think Google and its service - Google Drive is so great and so reliable that I don't have to worry about creating backup? At least when they are still as powerful as now

If you backup, where do you make your backup???

PC and making several copies on local offline PC? or another online cloud service?

 

[tremmor]

Never used the cloud service. I have a primary and secondary hd.
I backup on the 2nd drive and copy a backup to the primary.
Then maybe every 4 or 6 months i use the sync command built into windows
to copy the missing files to the other.

 

[kenny1999]

Never used the cloud service. I have a primary and secondary hd.
I backup on the 2nd drive and copy a backup to the primary.
Then maybe every 4 or 6 months i use the sync command built into windows
to copy the missing files to the other.

hi
1. never use cloud service?? Not even Google Drive?? I believe Google is the 1st in the world.
2. I am interested. Sync command bulit into windows?? How does it work? Is it a kind of crack or third-party software??? Please let me know how it works. Thanks

 

[tremmor]

Its built into windows. But i have a profession ver. You might have it.
If you have both drives duplicated for the first time you can go back
6 months from now and use the sync command. What ever is on one drive
will be duplicated to the other automatically. makes them both the same without
copying the whole drive to the other drive again. just the once that are missing.

I checked wasn't on my upgrade to Windows 10.
checked at Microsoft and found it. Search for sync
and you should find sync toy I think. Should be there for you.

 

[Geoff]

The real question is why are you using cloud storage as your sole source of storage? Do you not have a hard drive with enough space to store it on your computer as well? I would never rely solely on cloud storage. Not because I think Google would lose your data or go out of business, but because if you need that data you are reliant on your ISP. If you have lots of data, hundreds of gigs to terabytes, most ISPs wont let you download that much a month. Even if they do, your download speed is much slower than having the data local. If there is ever a natural disaster you'd likely be unable to get reliable internet access for a while.

I'd recommend having a local copy, and then use Google Drive to keep it synced with their servers.

 

[kenny1999]

The real question is why are you using cloud storage as your sole source of storage? Do you not have a hard drive with enough space to store it on your computer as well? I would never rely solely on cloud storage. Not because I think Google would lose your data or go out of business, but because if you need that data you are reliant on your ISP. If you have lots of data, hundreds of gigs to terabytes, most ISPs wont let you download that much a month. Even if they do, your download speed is much slower than having the data local. If there is ever a natural disaster you'd likely be unable to get reliable internet access for a while.

I'd recommend having a local copy, and then use Google Drive to keep it synced with their servers.

Hi, thanks for your input.

But Your concern is not my concern. The things I really need to backup is mostly text document but they are very important and confidential . They are not eating up storage, and I have fast internet connection. Speed is not a problem.

Most of the time I create those document directly in web-based Google Drive. It creates and stores at the same time and same place. That's why I usually do not have a copy on my local drives.

And local drives could die far more likely than any reputable cloud drive isn't it??

Everything is possible. However, is it likely... is it risky that Google Drive would down or lose the data of their users some time a day?

 

[kenny1999]

Its built into windows. But i have a profession ver. You might have it.
If you have both drives duplicated for the first time you can go back
6 months from now and use the sync command. What ever is on one drive
will be duplicated to the other automatically. makes them both the same without
copying the whole drive to the other drive again. just the once that are missing.

I checked wasn't on my upgrade to Windows 10.
checked at Microsoft and found it. Search for sync
and you should find sync toy I think. Should be there for you.

Can I sync the files between particular locations only??
I don't need to sync the whole drives.
I only have small amount and small quantities of files to backup.

Thank you.

 

[tremmor]

Answer is yes. I jumped on it to see how it worked. I had a directory with say 20 pictures.
I created another directory on another drive and copied say 4 of the pictures to it. I played
with sync command and it copied the 16 pictures from the first drive to the other directory.
then had the 20 pictures in both directories. I think if you delete data too it will duplicate on
the other backup drive. its a training process. you can play with it and test it. think its an
interesting command to work with and can be useful.

 

[beers]

And local drives could die far more likely than any reputable cloud drive isn't it?? Everything is possible. However, is it likely... is it risky that Google Drive would down or lose the data of their users some time a day?

A 'cloud drive' isn't a single drive, you have your data strewn across multiple redundant storage mechanisms. The downside is that you're leaking all of your 'private and confidential data' to a third party organization.

But yes, it is possible to have an outage or have your remote data become unreachable, whether it be the remote end or some segment in between you and the server.

When Webshots closed ,I lost a lot of memorable photos

Simple, store your data in more than one location.

 

[Geoff]

I really need to backup is mostly text document but they are very important and confidential .

If you have confidential information, the last place you want to store it is on Google Drive. You should read the terms you agreed to when signing up for Google drive.

I have fast internet connection. Speed is not a problem.

My point was that if your internet goes down, whether it be due to a natural disaster or a technical problem, you now have no access to your data.

is it risky that Google Drive would down or lose the data of their users some time a day?

Google Drive does go down from time to time, rarely. So there have been times when I need to access data but can not. Your data isn't lost though, and if Google ever shut down Google Drive, they would likely give you notice and the ability to backup your cloud storage first.

 

[kenny1999]

Now I have installed Google Drive for PC and SyncToy. It sync between Google Drive and Google Drive Folder. The Google Drive Folder sync with another locations on my PC.

Enough copies??

 

[Geoff]

Now I have installed Google Drive for PC and SyncToy. It sync between Google Drive and Google Drive Folder. The Google Drive Folder sync with another locations on my PC.

Enough copies??

I don't get the point of SyncToy in this case. The Google Drive app keeps a local copy on your PC. Why are you syncing this to another folder? Also, SyncToy is very outdated, I'd recommend Freesync.