Backup....online versus external hard drive?

[MacsGreat]

Hi,
I recently posted question re music CDs failing to play in my mac mini. Version 10.6.8. I received helpful replies for which I'm thankful. Now I must confess...... I have procrastinated (very unwise of me) about backing up my files. So that's my priority now.

I've read reviews re online versus hard drive backup, but I would appreciate advice from the forum. I don't know if forum policies allow you to make a recommendation for a specific company? If not, just your opinion re. online versus external hard drive would be greatly appreciated! I am not very tech savvy, so I'll need a system that's simple. Thanks so much!

 

[Kaveman]

I'm a big fan of TimeMachine and TimeCapsule or a large external drive. Its fast its seem less and fully automatic and happens hourly. I have this on my "work" Mac.

On my "media" Mac which only changes weekly as I get more music or movies, I have a second drive the same size and clone it on Wednesday night using Carbon Copy Cloner.

I'd like to turn on iTunes Music Match, but I can quickly load up my iPod or iPad via iTunes and re-downloading my media seems like a pain. As to using any other internet service, you still have the Time and Broadband costs, down where I live it would truly take months to put my library in the cloud. So I can't comment.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

I don't have any Mac devices besides my iMac so iCloud isn't much use to me.

I used MegaUpload to store some personal files in the cloud and when they were seized by the FBI for major copyright infringement I lost access to my stuff. I didn't keep a note of what was there but I had it backed up to ext drive anyway so it didn't matter. Point is I learnt that if I use the Cloud (not Mac iCloud), I need to first, write down what is actually stored up there, and secondly, don't rely on the one Cloud service. Certain other Cloud Services went down too, because of what happened to MegaUpload, they panicked so there is a kind of domino effect in that.

I have various files stored with Mediafire & A-Drive, two Cloud services that offer large free accounts. I only upload encrypted data though and am prepared to lose it if something goes wrong with the service. In the Terms & Conditions you have to agree that once your files are up there, if it goes belly up, then there's no recourse it's out of anyone's hands so to speak.

With MegaUpload, there were parties working towards reuniting honest folk with their lost accounts to salvage their files but I'm in Aust and the company was Spanish and I had to give them all my personal information up front which I decided would be going way too far. So I was happy to learn from that experience.

Some services have limits on file size re: upload/download so those 2 services I now use are good for me. I rely mainly on Time Machine & a 2nd Ext HD. I store all my media on Ext Drives.

 

[MacsGreat]

Thank you both for your replies. If I understand correctly, Time Capsule would be the Apple product for storage AND backup that works with the Time Machine software that's already on my computer?

I googled "external hard drives compatible with mac mini" but I have no idea how to choose from those results. I've searched around, and it seems there are other products that aren't really external hard drives, but a "drive enclosure?" To make sure I get the right product, should I just go to a retail store instead of shopping online since I really don't know what I'm doing!?

Also, is 2T considered a large external drive?

Thanks so much!

 

[morenbana]

A "drive enclosure" is like a card reader, only it reads your disk drives.

I'm not too sure for mac mini, but I'm using a MBP OSX Lion. I got myself an ext hdd WD 1TB, which was compatible for windows. I had to copy the content of the exthdd, which contained a folder so it would work on windows, onto my mac desktop (so that I could use my exthdd on Windows also), then I reformatted the exthdd with Disk Utility>Select the exthdd>Erase>Format>I selected MS-DOS, because I want it to be compatible with both Windows and Mac. Then I copied the folder that I left on my desktop, into my new 1TB.

If you don't plan to use it for Windows, you could select MacOS Extended (Journaled). Journaled is so that when something like a powerout happens, your files are backed up.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2355

"When you enable journaling on a disk, a continuous record of changes to files on the disk is maintained in the journal. If your computer stops because of a power failure or some other issue, the journal is used to restore the disk to a known-good state when the server restarts."

When it's done reformatting, you can use it with TimeMachine. I think your "mac mini" would prompt you if you want to back up your files with TimeMachine.

If anything goes wrong, the Mac OSX Utility would pop up when you start up your computer. You're asked if you would like to restore your files with Time Machine Backup and would be asked to connect your ext harddisk.

Though by replying, I don't mean to say I am a professional. Just putting my 2 cents. :O