[clug] RE: Hard drive wanted [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[Alex Satrapa]

On 22/09/2007, at 04:24 , fiddleheadfern wrote:

> Actually, I've been really good about following a regular &  
> detailed backup
> protocol. Unfortunately though, the Seagate external drive was my  
> PRIMARY
> backup location, meaning that it was where I'd stored all of the  
> most recent
> & _complete_ images/wizards AND the recovery files (bad!) for my local
> drive.

My favourite backup strategy is:
1) mount external USB drive
2) clone internal hard disk to external drive
3) send USB drive to safe place (my brother's)

Of course, at $500 a hit, I can't afford much redundancy :\  The two  
I have should be enough to save me from failure of a single drive in  
a fortnight (during which time I can try to scrounge the replacement  
funds from somewhere).

> To make matters worse, I'd JUST moved a TON of files (all my photos,
> installation files, etc) onto it _temporarily_ while I was replacing a
> faulty HD in my laptop.

Finagle's law strikes again!

> ... maybe update my most crucial thesis
> files to a flash drive every day too, just to be sure.

Just make sure you keep track of which version is the latest. I've  
been thinking about managing my entire home directory as a huge "git"  
repository, meaning I can work on any machine that I have and just  
transfer the latest version of X from wherever the latest version  
happens to be...

The attraction of one central repository is the easy of maintenance,  
but the downside is the ease with which you can lose everything.