Laptop backup and redundancy

Blueone

Well-Known Member
SILVER Sponsor
Jan 24, 2007
13,694
Lake Erie, Ohio
Boat Info
2004 420 Sundancer
Engines
Cummins 6CTA 450's
I have been working from home now for a while, what was suppose to be a short time has pretty much turned into full time. I only work with a laptop and an ipad. While at work my laptop backs up wirelessly automatically to the network drives... but when at home nothing so everything is on my laptop.
Today I had a small number 8 bolt and nut sitting on the keyboard to remind me to go to the hardware store.... phone rings.. get off the phone and realize I am late for an appt and slam down the screen.
I’m screwed... I just replaced the master tv so grabbed the old one..I have to tell you I might be on to something ...a 42” screen is pretty cool :)
This could have been a lot worse. Just curious what others are doing to backup their systems automatically... I don’t want to remember to turn on a backup, plug it in etc...I just want access to the folders and files when using another computer if something happens to my new one... I am by no means an expert so keep it simple if you have a good solution

9A039B64-2D41-4B63-8B80-2BB4168A0380.jpeg
44FC367C-6A31-4A71-B469-61A43AF100ED.jpeg
AC1B878B-3C9A-4F61-9267-C268B9653973.jpeg
 
I use Norton 360 which backs up the data files and have been pleased with their antivirus software..
 
You can get cloud backup from norton and/or a lot of other places, just goggle cloud back up
 
I have everyhting stores in my icloud account and see every file right from my phone also. I used to use google drive but switched to apple since it works better with my iphone.
 
I have everyhting stores in my icloud account and see every file right from my phone also. I used to use google drive but switched to apple since it works better with my iphone.
I get it but my work files aren’t going on the cloud... is it possible to setup a home cloud without spending a fortune
 
I use Dropbox for business and pay for it, but at lower levels of data usage it's free, or used to be. I use iCloud for personal files, not sure how usable that is on a PC. I thought a OneDrive (Microsoft version of iCloud) subscription comes with a Windows license, so that may already be available on your machine, you would just need to turn it on.
 
Look for a Network attached storage device. Basically a networked hard drive. A bit cumbersome to setup the backup process though.

I know you said you are loathe to store to the cloud, but a lot of companies are using corporate-level cloud storage these days. My company, which is ultra conservative about security, uses a corporate version of Box. It’s tied into our corporate ID. Very secure. Nice thing is I can access anything in Box via Windows explorer. Anything saved to the Box folder is instantly saved - no backup required. Really helps with cross team collaboration. Amex has standardized in Box as well. Box has also been FedRAMP-authorized, considered the global gold standard for securing cloud applications.
 
Get an external hard drive.
I have that on the two stationary home computers... I am all over the house with the laptop so I don’t want to drag a hard drive around...isn’t there a hard drive that just sits plugged in and backs up wirelessly ?
 
I have that on the two stationary home computers... I am all over the house with the laptop so I don’t want to drag a hard drive around...isn’t there a hard drive that just sits plugged in and backs up wirelessly ?

Now I understand.

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wireless-hard-drives
https://www.techradar.com/news/best-wireless-drives

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Wireless-Portable-Built-STCV2000100/dp/B00JSQV44S
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hard-d...es/pcmcat374100050014.c?id=pcmcat374100050014
 
So if I had something like this https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-my-cloud-home-6tb-personal-cloud-white/5990210.p?skuId=5990210 could I have all our iPhones and iPods.. and specifically my laptop use this to backup as the cloud from anywhere with WiFi service ?

I believe so, but to be sure I would talk to the guys at the store (hopefully you find the right one) to confirm that and any other questions you may have.

I could help you better with the prints and the notes in your earlier pic.
 
We have a 2T my cloud drive attached to our network for photos and backup. The wifi drives are really cool.....however, what will you have backing up your backup?:eek:
 
Pretty much every answer you have received will work. We use one of the major cloud services for all of our work files for people around the country. Everything is always backing up, near real time, so there is always a current file version on the cloud. If someone is offline their laptop automatically syncs when they get back online.

A NAS drive is a networked hard drive. Your computer can back up to it over your home network and the files stay on site. The NAS has to connect via ethernet, but then your computer can connect via wifi. They are a little bit of work to configure, but not a big deal. I use a Synology NAS, but there are other good brands as well. For additional redundancy you can back your NAS up to the cloud if you want, or to an external hard drive that you could put in a safe. You can pick a drive size that meets your needs, up to many TB. You can also configure them with built in redundancy so there are two or more drives in the unit, so if one drive fails your data is safe on the other. For a more complex configuration you can also access it when you are away from home.

Standard external hard drives will work
You just have to plug in for the backup.
 
I'm in the same "boat" as you. (I wish...) I work from home full time now. I connect to my work network drives via a VPN. It's seamless.
 
The only problem you're going to have as @OllieC alluded to is how are you going to backup your backup? Are you in an area of the country prone to lightning strikes? Power surges? Not to go all Chicken Little on you but what about fire, flood, or burglary?

I'm using One Drive with my Microsoft Home 365 subscription. I'm even availing myself of the "Personal Vault" feature which encrypts the files. It uses Two Factor Authentication (2FA) and has a time-out function. So far, it has worked for me.

To really set up a cloud storage/backup at home you should consider the off-site storage (at your office, safety deposit box, etc) of a duplicated backup device and you need to "sway these" every so often. That PITA factor was enough to push me to the cloud.

Jaybeaux
 
I'm in the same "boat" as you. (I wish...) I work from home full time now. I connect to my work network drives via a VPN. It's seamless.
I use VPN now.... I am going to see what my IT guy can do... I just hate asking him for help at home when he is at work all day... I thought there would be an easy solution I could do myself without going to big tech cloud
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,835
Members
60,931
Latest member
Ebrown69
Back
Top