Major computer death - what do you figure are best recovery backup survival tools

Bill · 2009-10-25, 01:23 AM

So my main work computer, which was getting old, suddenly died on me.

The disks are okay, but the computer itself has all the characteristics of a rock. Power goes on, disks spool up, but black screen, no beeps, no reaction to keyboard or even pushing the shut off button (plug has to be pulled to shut it off).

So, while I wait for the new machine to come, I am working on an old slow machine I've always kept as a backup, but neglected.

I have the main disk of the work machine running as a slave in this old backup machine - all teh data is fine.

So, dealing with this has made me wonder about other peoples backup survival and recovery tools and solutions. What do you folks do to deal with a hassle like this?

JackDaniel's · 2009-10-25, 02:30 AM

Sorry to hear about your computer.

I usually upgrade my computer every 2-3 years after the warranty expires. This is something I've done since I god my first PC.

I'm always keeping my work data on 2 HDD's and I regularly burn DVDs, which is pretty safe but annoying as hell.

I'm planning to buy a 64 GB usb stick sometime in the near future, and keep all my data on it instead of burning all those DVDs

Sure, it's unpleasant when these kind of things happen, but I'm always prepared.

Bluey · 2009-10-25, 05:16 AM

I do the same as JackDaniel's, many ex' HDD's and DVD back ups. And long over due am starting to look into nortons ghost product, advanced backup and recovery.

Burn an ISO disk image of the hole HDD and copy to a DVD(s) or ex HDD. In the case of loss of data or system failure, use the iso copy to replace lost date or get your system going again. But is is only as good as the last time you made a backup copy. And it is pucken nortons, but can not find anything else as good at this time.

Cleo · 2009-10-25, 05:47 AM

Time Machine and I always have a few older computers laying around that I can use plus I keep off site archives of Time Machine images.

tickler · 2009-10-25, 12:36 PM

Your computer problem sounds like memory. Try changing out the memory sticks one at a time.

I keep data on external hard drives, and have a ghost image of the main drive(programs) on them also.

DVDs are almost twice the cost of using external drives.

Give Away of the Day has good licensed backup options for free all the time.

Bill · 2009-10-25, 06:07 PM

Well, I've been wanting to get a more powerful computer for a while, so I'm not sorry the machine died, just inconvienienced.

I figure once I have a new machine I'm going to play with this dead one, use it as an exercise in computer repair and building.

Isn't there some sort of tool that keeps critical data on a flash drive as a backup of your most important stuff? I thought I read about that once. Keeps all your mail and settinsg and stuff - but my memory could be faulty.

Simon · 2009-10-26, 05:31 AM

The same as Cleo does, I use Time Machine too, but there must be something similar for PC/Windows users.

The advantage of using this kind of system is that you don't have to worry about backing up manually (or putting it off). Time Machine makes incremental backups every hour, every day, copying just the files that have changed since your last backup. It saves the hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for everything older than a month, and it does this all in the background, so you don't have to do anything. Well, aside from arranging to store copies of the backups off-site for real safety of course.

Bluey · 2009-10-26, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon

Time Machine too, but there must be something similar for PC/Windows users.

Thanks for the tip, Cleo/Simon, Would anyone know of something similar that will work with XP SP3. This sounds like a very handy program.

tickler · 2009-10-26, 11:13 AM

Time Machine for Windows aka the Backup utility

bluebrit · 2009-10-26, 12:05 PM

We used a backup pc to save data originally and then I moved over to shadow protect which is good but we are now going to move to Carbonite.
$54 a year for complete peace of mind and no hassle recovery regardless of disaster.

That price is the same irrespective of the amount of data saved as well.

Carbonite only works when you are not. You can retrieve one file or a whole backup to your existing or new pc and all data stored is double encrypted so you are the only person who can ever access it.

Check out their 'How it works' tab for full details.

bDok · 2009-10-26, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cleo

Time Machine and I always have a few older computers laying around that I can use plus I keep off site archives of Time Machine images.

another vote for time machine.

I also have a complete disk image of a fresh install with most applications installed. So if anything happened to my time machine I could at least be back up and running at a certain point.

I need to actually go get some new hard drives. Currently time machine is on a 500gb.

One of these days I'm going to take the time to perform a complete reinstall of everything. Just at the moment don't feel like taking the time to do it.

JohnnyR · 2009-10-26, 02:08 PM

one vote for raid 5 here.....

really not that hard to set up, you can use 3 or more disks, (you loose the capacity of 1 disk: ie 4 x 120GB disks, you get 360 GB usable space). If one of your disks dies, you just replace it, and the data is rebuilt from the other disks.

housekeeper · 2009-10-26, 02:52 PM

Another good option is Clone Box

plateman · 2009-10-26, 07:50 PM

what I've done if the HD is still good and the OS is trashed is to hook it up slave in another box and see if you can explore it

when my motherboard went bad and while trying to diagnose it, I ruined the OS, so I got another MB used my old HD and pulled what I needed like my bookmarks, music and my webs for frontpage

and just reinstalled my programs on a new HD with a fresh install of xp, infact I still have the drive hooked up and pull as i go, you can even get your old emails, you just gotta know where to look

LeRoy · 2009-10-26, 09:57 PM

Sorry to hear about your puter Bill.

A year ago I lost a months worth of freesites. I was building and building for the future kind of thing. Suddenly my puter froze up and died. It still kinda hurts talking about it.

Now I have and external harddrive for storage and backup. I'm close to backing that up as well.

2009-10-25, 01:23 AM	#1
Bill Selling porn allows me to stay in a constant state of Bliss - ain't that a trip! Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,914	Major computer death - what do you figure are best recovery backup survival tools So my main work computer, which was getting old, suddenly died on me. The disks are okay, but the computer itself has all the characteristics of a rock. Power goes on, disks spool up, but black screen, no beeps, no reaction to keyboard or even pushing the shut off button (plug has to be pulled to shut it off). So, while I wait for the new machine to come, I am working on an old slow machine I've always kept as a backup, but neglected. I have the main disk of the work machine running as a slave in this old backup machine - all teh data is fine. So, dealing with this has made me wonder about other peoples backup survival and recovery tools and solutions. What do you folks do to deal with a hassle like this?

2009-10-25, 02:30 AM	#2
JackDaniel's I like work, it fascinates me, I can sit and look at it for hours... Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 3,217	Sorry to hear about your computer. I usually upgrade my computer every 2-3 years after the warranty expires. This is something I've done since I god my first PC. I'm always keeping my work data on 2 HDD's and I regularly burn DVDs, which is pretty safe but annoying as hell. I'm planning to buy a 64 GB usb stick sometime in the near future, and keep all my data on it instead of burning all those DVDs Sure, it's unpleasant when these kind of things happen, but I'm always prepared. __________________ Submit Your Sites : Get Porn Links

2009-10-25, 05:16 AM	#3
Bluey A woman is like beer. They look good, they smell good, and you'd step over your own mother just to get one! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Australia. Posts: 53	I do the same as JackDaniel's, many ex' HDD's and DVD back ups. And long over due am starting to look into nortons ghost product, advanced backup and recovery. Burn an ISO disk image of the hole HDD and copy to a DVD(s) or ex HDD. In the case of loss of data or system failure, use the iso copy to replace lost date or get your system going again. But is is only as good as the last time you made a backup copy. And it is pucken nortons, but can not find anything else as good at this time. __________________ Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down.

2009-10-25, 05:47 AM	#4
Cleo Subversive filth of the hedonistic decadent West Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeast Florida Posts: 27,936	Time Machine and I always have a few older computers laying around that I can use plus I keep off site archives of Time Machine images. __________________ Free Rides on Uber and Lyft Uber Car: uberTzTerri Lyft Car: TZ896289

2009-10-25, 12:36 PM	#5
tickler If there is nobody out there, that's a lot of real estate going to waste! Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,177	Your computer problem sounds like memory. Try changing out the memory sticks one at a time. I keep data on external hard drives, and have a ghost image of the main drive(programs) on them also. DVDs are almost twice the cost of using external drives. Give Away of the Day has good licensed backup options for free all the time. __________________ Latina Twins, Solo, NN, Hardcore Latin Teen Cash

2009-10-25, 06:07 PM	#6
Bill Selling porn allows me to stay in a constant state of Bliss - ain't that a trip! Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,914	Well, I've been wanting to get a more powerful computer for a while, so I'm not sorry the machine died, just inconvienienced. I figure once I have a new machine I'm going to play with this dead one, use it as an exercise in computer repair and building. Isn't there some sort of tool that keeps critical data on a flash drive as a backup of your most important stuff? I thought I read about that once. Keeps all your mail and settinsg and stuff - but my memory could be faulty.

2009-10-26, 05:31 AM	#7
Simon That which does not kill us, will try, try again. Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Conch Republic Posts: 5,150	The same as Cleo does, I use Time Machine too, but there must be something similar for PC/Windows users. The advantage of using this kind of system is that you don't have to worry about backing up manually (or putting it off). Time Machine makes incremental backups every hour, every day, copying just the files that have changed since your last backup. It saves the hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for everything older than a month, and it does this all in the background, so you don't have to do anything. Well, aside from arranging to store copies of the backups off-site for real safety of course. __________________ "If you're happy and you know it, think again." -- Guru Pitka

2009-10-26, 11:13 AM	#9
tickler If there is nobody out there, that's a lot of real estate going to waste! Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 2,177	Time Machine for Windows aka the Backup utility __________________ Latina Twins, Solo, NN, Hardcore Latin Teen Cash

2009-10-26, 12:05 PM	#10
bluebrit Along for the ride and loving it. Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,873	We used a backup pc to save data originally and then I moved over to shadow protect which is good but we are now going to move to Carbonite. $54 a year for complete peace of mind and no hassle recovery regardless of disaster. That price is the same irrespective of the amount of data saved as well. Carbonite only works when you are not. You can retrieve one file or a whole backup to your existing or new pc and all data stored is double encrypted so you are the only person who can ever access it. Check out their 'How it works' tab for full details.

2009-10-26, 02:08 PM	#12
JohnnyR I can now put whatever I want in this space :P Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Boobville... I like it way better here Posts: 557	one vote for raid 5 here..... really not that hard to set up, you can use 3 or more disks, (you loose the capacity of 1 disk: ie 4 x 120GB disks, you get 360 GB usable space). If one of your disks dies, you just replace it, and the data is rebuilt from the other disks. __________________ With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine!

2009-10-26, 02:52 PM	#13
housekeeper Oh! I haven't changed since high school and suddenly I am uncool Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: New York City Posts: 250	Another good option is Clone Box __________________ Trans-Glam Productions photography - design - video production twitter

2009-10-26, 07:50 PM	#14
plateman What can I do - I was born this way LOL Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: ohio Posts: 3,086	what I've done if the HD is still good and the OS is trashed is to hook it up slave in another box and see if you can explore it when my motherboard went bad and while trying to diagnose it, I ruined the OS, so I got another MB used my old HD and pulled what I needed like my bookmarks, music and my webs for frontpage and just reinstalled my programs on a new HD with a fresh install of xp, infact I still have the drive hooked up and pull as i go, you can even get your old emails, you just gotta know where to look __________________ Submit to: Porn O Plenty XXX Links Reality Here

2009-10-26, 09:57 PM	#15
LeRoy "Young dumb and full of cum" Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Porn Valley Posts: 2,370	Sorry to hear about your puter Bill. A year ago I lost a months worth of freesites. I was building and building for the future kind of thing. Suddenly my puter froze up and died. It still kinda hurts talking about it. Now I have and external harddrive for storage and backup. I'm close to backing that up as well. __________________ JAPANESE ADULT AFFILIATE PROGRAM