Beware of backing up important data on mechanical drives!!

passion4tech

passion4tech

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
155
I lost all my data because of freak accident. My keyboard was above my mechanical Hitachi external drive. The keyboard fell on the hard drive and never functioned properly again. Mechanical drives are easily prone to damage. I recommend using solid state drives with no moving parts or backup in the cloud. Don't make same mistake I did.
 
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First and foremost, any online media or storage device is a poor substitute for a proper backup strategy. You may be cloning data and making it somewhat redundant but that data is vulnerable to power surges, natural disasters, viruses, and anything else your PC is exposed to. If you really care about data, you need multiple copies of it and those need to be distributed in at least two different locations. Online, mechanical or magnetic media isn't the best way to do that. It's not the 1990's anymore.
 
Not sure if OP is trolling with cloud suggestion or just spamming to 100...
 
Dan_D said:
First and foremost, any online media or storage device is a poor substitute for a proper backup strategy. You may be cloning data and making it somewhat redundant but that data is vulnerable to power surges, natural disasters, viruses, and anything else your PC is exposed to. If you really care about data, you need multiple copies of it and those need to be distributed in at least two different locations. Online, mechanical or magnetic media isn't the best way to do that. It's not the 1990's anymore.
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OK I understand what you're saying somewhat, but are you saying SSD drives are still not an ideal way to back data?
 
Xinmosni said:
Not sure if OP is trolling with cloud suggestion or just spamming to 100...
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OK Smart Ass first off I'm not trolling, Second I'm simply trying to help people not make same technology mistakes I have made in my Life. I believe ssd drives are the best way to back up data to. Maybe cloud storage isn't the best but second best over mechanical drives.
 
passion4tech said:
OK I understand what you're saying somewhat, but are you saying SSD drives are still not an ideal way to back data?
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Nope, not ideal at all. Try recovering from a dead SSD vs a dead HDD. SSD's are also more expensive per TB than spinning rust. You should have at least 2 backups. I have ~10TB of data at home, about 1tb of that is irreplaceable. The 10TB is protected with dual parity and is backed up to another computer at my in-laws house. The important data is also backed up to carbonite and Google Drive.
 
DO NOT use SSD for backup!

I lost all my data because of freak accident. My coffee was above my SSD Crucial external drive and a stack of CDROM. I turned around my fat ass knocked over my coffee onto the SSD drive and the CDROM. The SSD never functioned properly again. SSD drives are easily prone to damage. I recommend using CDROM drives or backup in the cloud and exercise . Don't make same mistake I did.
 
WTH are you gonna back up on cdroms? That might have been viable in 1999 but not today. Hell even 50gb BDs are a pain in the ass to burn, are not cheap, and take lots of time. There is no one best back up solution in 2016. Your best bet is to diversify and stop dropping keyboards on stuff.
 
thesmokingman said:
WTH are you gonna back up on cdroms? That might have been viable in 1999 but not today. Hell even 50gb BDs are a pain in the ass to burn, are not cheap, and take lots of time. There is no one best back up solution in 2016. Your best bet is to diversify and stop dropping keyboards on stuff.
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You just don't get my point do you? Of course not. If I had an ssd instead of HDD in that moment, I would have never lost my data. SSD have less chance of failing than HDD.
 
passion4tech said:
You just don't get my point do you? Of course not. If I had an ssd instead of HDD in that moment, I would have never lost my data. SSD have less chance of failing than HDD.
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Lmao, and if your SSD died from the impact that YOU CAUSED, you would be here blaming SSD tech. The drive didn't die on its own, nor is it expected that it will survive an impact like that. That leaves... oh the one who caused the damage?
 
passion4tech said:
I lost all my data because of freak accident. My keyboard was above my mechanical Hitachi external drive. The keyboard fell on the hard drive and never functioned properly again. Mechanical drives are easily prone to damage. I recommend using solid state drives with no moving parts or backup in the cloud. Don't make same mistake I did.
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The mistake you made was not storing your backup safely.
The second mistake is only having one backup.
Treat backups like gold not coffee coasters.

I use my old drives and a USB drive for long term backups.
They are loose drives connected via SATA hot plug and a 4TB USB drive.
The loose drives are refreshed approx once per year, some data is older.
Anything essential is backed up twice or more.
Once used they are put out of harms way.
 
passion4tech said:
I lost all my data because of freak accident. My keyboard was above my mechanical Hitachi external drive. The keyboard fell on the hard drive and never functioned properly again. Mechanical drives are easily prone to damage. I recommend using solid state drives with no moving parts or backup in the cloud. Don't make same mistake I did.
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If that external drive was used for backup, then you still have the original files, so you didn't lose anything but the backup files. Right? Right?

(And am I the only one wondering what kind of working arrangement this guy has if his keyboard could somehow fall onto an external hard drive? I'm having a real hard time picturing it.)
 
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That's common sense brah.

SSD's can be just as dangerous. When they die, it's often instantly. And the data on them can be wiped in seconds with TRIM or Garbage collection.

The best backup approach is a strategy of multiples.

As far as HDDs goes. I handle those bitches like ancient artifacts, and never move them while they are spinning.
 
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Or maybe, just maybe, you can have more than one backup. I keep everything backed up and a backup of that backup.

Oh, and if you lost all your data because your external drive was destroyed that external drive wasn't a backup was it? If it was, you'd still have your primary copy of the data and you could just make a new backup.
 
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passion4tech said:
I lost all my data because of freak accident. My keyboard was above my mechanical Hitachi external drive. The keyboard fell on the hard drive and never functioned properly again. Mechanical drives are easily prone to damage. I recommend using solid state drives with no moving parts or backup in the cloud. Don't make same mistake I did.
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Ironically almost all cloud services use mechanical drives exclusively for long term data storage.
 
Don't back up you data on an SSD
I once hit it with a sledge hammer and lost all my data. definitely the SSD fault

Don't backup you data on DVD's
I once dropped them into a shredder and lost all my data. definitely the DV's fault

Don't backup you data on paper.
I once dropped a lit cigarette on it and lost all my data. definitely the papers fault



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I transferred files from different computer to Hitachi thinking it would be safe on there, boy I was wrong. These posts are so hilarious. Seriously though It's not funny people. Here is picture of my setup, this will help explain how this all happened.

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I had the hard drive laying on carpet below the keyboard platform and keyboard slid off fell on it. Now do people understand how this happened?
 
I will admit I accidentally knocked over my WD MyBook since it stands upright between my 2 PC's. It didn't break it though.

I guess you got my bad karma.

Shit happens.
 
passion4tech said:
I had the hard drive laying on carpet below the keyboard platform and keyboard slid off fell on it. Now do people understand how this happened?
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We already know you didnt put it away safely and left it where it could be damaged.
Why are you telling us again expecting a different result?
 
Dafuq?

Replace your non-computer desk which was designed with reading books in mind, and quit looking for sympathy when your own bad choices caused your predicament.

If you can afford that external, you can afford a $50 Generic Computer Desk, ffs...
 
Ok so this is going no where. I'll make one last point. Traditional Hard Drives can brake or fail much easier than SSD. I believe that to be a fact. I'm done.
 
Passion, we are being dicks to you. But that's mostly because you've reached the wrong conclusion after breaking virtually all of the basic, common-sense rules about keeping your data.

There are a couple of good lessons here, so let's hope others benefit from the thread. Rule 1: figure out the other rules before it's too late.
 
Waiting for OP to come back because he kicked his soda or coffee into his tower PC sitting on the floor. Another accident waiting to happen. SSD is not the answer. A hard drive does not belong on the floor; you were bound to drop something on it or kick it.
 
That's a lot of crap to have underfoot. I don't understand why someone wouldn't at least move the computer case to the right of the desk and outside the desk opening.
 
I use File History on a local hard drive, then periodically make backups to an external drive that stays unplugged, and also use OneDrive to keep my really important stuff in.

A good backup strategy isn't as much about the medium you use but making sure you keep multiple copies of the data.
 
<3

This is why I'm all about OneDrive. It's technically not a "backup" but I can view the history and restore shit if it gets jacked up.
 
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