I ’m a swath - and - brace bozo when it comes to patronage . All this began one day in the mid-1990s , when I lost a day ’s employment on my PowerBook 100 . From that day on , I have been extremely prudent about how I protect my datum , and I currently use a multi - pronged backup approach , and even use multiple musical accompaniment for of import data .
What’s connected to my Mac
I presently use aMac mini , to which I have connected two 1.5 TB outside crusade via FireWire 800 . One of these drives is my medium drive , which houses my very heavy music collection , some picture , and other medium files . The second is a backup driving force , with two partitions : one for a clone of my startup volume , and the other for other relief . I also have an AirPort disk connected to my AirPort Extreme , which is available via Wi - Fi for Time Machine support . Finally , I have a disk loading dock connected to my Mac miniskirt , in which I order severe drive mechanisms for rotating backups , as I ’ll explicate below .
The basics
The inwardness of my backup strategy is Time Machine . With its automatic , unobtrusive , hourly patronage , I intrust Time Machine with the basic reliever of my home folder . I do n’t use it for my entire organization , because it would take too long , and because I clone my startup mass regularly . In addition , restoring a startup intensity from a Time Machine backupis time - consuming , whereas booting off a clone on an external mass takes second base .
In Time Machine ’s preference , I have exclude a figure of items : not only other volume connected to my Mac , but also sure booklet I do n’t want to back up , which are easy to reestablish .
Other regular backups
The next step in my backup chain is veritable day-by-day backups using Intego Personal Backup . ( Disclaimer : I have written documentation for Intego . ) I have a backup man of my Users folder scheduled for every four hour , and this backup is stored on one of my outside hard disks . It ’s a set - it - and - forget - it system , like Time Machine , where I do n’t even point out the backups .
In a way , it ’s a backup to Time Machine , whose hourly reliever protect me against contiguous data loss , but also provide older files . I only have this backup memory board four versions , so I ’m covered for a day or so .
In come the clones
But those backup methods are nowhere near enough . I use one of my external hard disks for steady clones of my entire startup volume , again using Personal Backup . I run this support every few mean solar day , and I run it manually before any major oculus sinister disco biscuit update . ( I do n’t need this to execute mechanically , in caseful something I installed cause trouble , and I only discover the problem after my knockoff has been overwritten with the new software program . ) This does n’t take long , as the backups are incremental — they only copy unexampled or changed filing cabinet .
If I have problems with my inauguration drive , or with Mac OS X , I can instantly boot from that volume and try out and solve thing . Even though I do n’t run these clones daily , I have my other fill-in of exploiter file on another partition on this backup drive , and can access my Time Machine backups at any prison term . I ask this a few months ago , when , on the spur of the moment , my Mac immobilize , and I could n’t boot . All the data point seemed okay , but the inauguration volume was no longer “ blessed , ” meaning that Mac OS X did n’t see it as a valid system magnetic disk . I boot off the clone , copy over my Users leaflet , then cloned the clone to the original startup book and rebooted . This take an time of day or so , but much less than a full restitution with Time Machine would have fill .
Backups in the cloud
I ’m not a big believer in “ the cloud ” for backups , because of the time it takes to direct datum to a waiter . My forthcoming bandwidth is only 100Kps , so tumid backups take hours . Nevertheless , since I have a MobileMe write up , I use Apple’sBackupto hunt an incremental backup of my home leaflet to MobileMe once a workweek . I ’ve never involve to recover any Indian file from it , but who know ? I may need it some day .
Better safe than sorry
Just in sheath you thought the above was obsessive enough , there ’s one more nexus in my championship chain . While a lot of people indicate off - site backups , it ’s not really practical for me : I work out of my house , and I ca n’t store a backup , say , at my office . So I have a fireproof safe in my basement , in which I store backup disks .
I have two set of backup disk , which I rotate every Friday . One is a backup of my media cause , and the other of my inauguration drive . I expend hard drive mechanisms in a disk bobtail , so the disks are easy to enrapture up and down the two flight of steps of stair . Since I have two sets of these disks , one remain in the good , and the other stay on my desk .
During the calendar week , if I make any major changes to my euphony collection ( rip a sight of CDs , grease one’s palms anything new ) , I run a backup of my media disk . I keep that disk in the dock , and turn it on whenever I postulate to back up my euphony . Then on Fridays , I swap with the safe disks , and bunk a fresh backup over last hebdomad ’s backup , to verify my music collection is secure from data personnel casualty .
One more thing
It ’s safe to have backups ; it ’s better to have multiple backups ; but it ’s even better to be trusted of the integrity of your championship . It would be terrible to get a backup platter in a time of motivation and find that it ca n’t be say . So I regularly run DiskWarrior on my backup phonograph recording , just to ensure they ’re in adept Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe . Also , every six month or so , I wipe off my backup disks ( not all at once , of form ) , and recopy all my data . This ensures that no file cabinet are affected by uncollectible blocks on the magnetic disc . lastly , I buy new hard disks every couple of old age ; I do n’t trust the long - term reliability of anything mechanical , and newer disks are truehearted , cheaper and have more capacity .
Is all this enough ? Perhaps not . In the competition to see whichMacworldcontributor is more paranoid about their data , I feel that I ’m a few lengths ahead ofDan Frakes . I ’m especially concerned about the value of my music assembling — not only the medicine I ’ve bought digitally , but the thousands of CDs I ’ve spent as many hours rip , tagging and managing .
I ’m not in a major quake zone , nor in a deluge zone , but other tragedies could take . Nevertheless , I feel adequately protect with my current organization . I ’ve lost data many times over the age , because of software or human error , and I ’ve been capable to regain it from my backups because of my supererogatory organisation .
[ aged contributor Kirk McElhearn writes about more than just Macs on his blogKirkville . Twitter:@mcelhearn . Kirk ’s latest Word isTake Control of iTunes 10 : The FAQ . ]
