More info: was 'Backing up files."

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Phil - 30 Jul 2008 22:23 GMT

Hi again:

The reason for my asking about backing up files is due to some
sad news. Two days ago I lost my dog to illness. She was my best
friend for 12 1/2 years, and all of the photos that I have of her are
stored on the computer. I can not lose these files.

Out of curiosity I went to the Apple website to see what what's new
in computers. If I bought a new 'puter it would solve the problem of
my current unit being so outdated. But the Mac Mini @ around $600
is just a single drive machine, and the next thing up (desktop) starts
at around $2500. !! They need something priced in-between.

I really don't know what to do just now. I am not able to think real
clearly, obviously. Money is super tight right now (unemployed) but
I am freaking a bit thinking I might lose these files. I will have to
step back for a bit and give my head some time to clear.

Just wanted to say THANKS to everyone for they advice given.

Phil

P.S. To the person who asked about my current HD, it is a 75 Gig and
I have about 60 Gig avail.

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Doug Anderson - 30 Jul 2008 21:52 GMT

> Hi again:
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> is just a single drive machine, and the next thing up (desktop) starts
> at around $2500. !! They need something priced in-between.

They have something. For $700 you can get a mini and an external
drive to use for backups.

It will be a _better_ backup solution than a machine with two
internal drives.

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TaliesinSoft - 30 Jul 2008 22:36 GMT

> Out of curiosity I went to the Apple website to see what what's new
> in computers. If I bought a new 'puter it would solve the problem of
> my current unit being so outdated. But the Mac Mini @ around $600
> is just a single drive machine, and the next thing up (desktop) starts
> at around $2500. !! They need something priced in-between.

You might consider the Mac Mini plus a Time Capsule, the two together costing
under $1,000. Including the Time Capsule would give you the second disk to
backup to and would also give you the ability to move the computer freely
around the house because of the wireless connection.

Signature

James Leo Ryan ..... Austin, Texas ..... taliesinsoft@mac.com

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Richard Maine - 30 Jul 2008 23:10 GMT

> > Out of curiosity I went to the Apple website to see what what's new
> > in computers. If I bought a new 'puter it would solve the problem of
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> backup to and would also give you the ability to move the computer freely
> around the house because of the wireless connection.

The Time capsule is a good idea (or any of several off-site backup
solutions). I have one.

But let me also note that Apple *DOES* have something between the mini
and the Mac Pro. (I assume that the Mac Pro is probably what he found
that was around $2500). The iMac series is pretty much the main desktop
aimed at home users. They start at $1200. I'm not quite sure how the OP
managed to overlook them. He didn't sound like he had rejected them for
some reason. It sounded to me much more like he just completely missed
them.

Signature

Richard Maine | Good judgement comes from experience;
email: last name at domain . net | experience comes from bad judgement.
domain: summertriangle | -- Mark Twain

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Doug Anderson - 30 Jul 2008 22:18 GMT

> > > Out of curiosity I went to the Apple website to see what what's new
> > > in computers. If I bought a new 'puter it would solve the problem of
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> some reason. It sounded to me much more like he just completely missed
> them.

I think he is fixed on the idea of having two internal disk drives.

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Richard Maine - 31 Jul 2008 00:41 GMT

> > The Time capsule is a good idea (or any of several off-site backup
> > solutions). I have one.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> I think he is fixed on the idea of having two internal disk drives.

Hmm. You might be right. As you note, that's not really the best
solution for backup anyway. I don't picture backup as being the main
reason for the Mac Pro having multiple drive bays. It is better than no
backup at all, but far from ideal. Pretty much any of the other
solutions (other than the one of no backup at all) would be better.

Signature

Richard Maine | Good judgement comes from experience;
email: last name at domain . net | experience comes from bad judgement.
domain: summertriangle | -- Mark Twain

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E Z Peaces - 31 Jul 2008 00:40 GMT

> Hi again:
>
> The reason for my asking about backing up files is due to some
> sad news. Two days ago I lost my dog to illness. She was my best
> friend for 12 1/2 years, and all of the photos that I have of her are
> stored on the computer. I can not lose these files.

[...]

> I really don't know what to do just now. I am not able to think real
> clearly, obviously. Money is super tight right now (unemployed) but
> I am freaking a bit thinking I might lose these files. I will have to
> step back for a bit and give my head some time to clear.

How about CDs with a universal format? They're cheap enough to make
multiple copies to keep in multiple locations. I don't know what kind
of CDs last the longest or what's the best way to store them.

Camera cards with a USB reader seem like another good way to archive. I
have an MP3 player with more than a gB to spare where I could archive
some files, and the format could be used by different computers. I
don't know if camera cards, flash cards, and MP3 players can go bad in a
desk drawer.

One trick I've used is to plug an old drive (too small and slow for
regular use) into a USB enclosure, load it with archives, and remove the
drive from the enclosure to store in a drawer. I don't know how
reliable that is because I don't know how likely it is "aging" could
kill a drive sitting in a drawer.

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Richard Maine - 31 Jul 2008 00:54 GMT

> One trick I've used is to plug an old drive (too small and slow for
> regular use) into a USB enclosure, load it with archives, and remove the
> drive from the enclosure to store in a drawer. I don't know how
> reliable that is because I don't know how likely it is "aging" could
> kill a drive sitting in a drawer.

It can. Some drives are worse than others, but it definitely happens.
You get things like bearing lubricant pooling.

Long ago, back when a 40MB (not GB) drive was a respectable size, I had
a Seagate one with a bad stiction problem. The model turned out to be
noted for that. If the drive was left turned off for more than a day or
so, it was hard to start. I discovered that I could "kick start" it by
briefly shorting out one of the transistors for the motor control,
apparently putting enough kick to get it unstuck. I actually used it
like that for several months. Hey, I was poorer than I am now, disk
drives were more expensive, and it was a hobby machine anyway.

I read some advice about the model that included deliberately dropping
the drive from an appropriate height to unstick it. I think it was about
6", but I don't recall exactly. I used my shorting trick instead.

I finally got annoyed enough at it to buy a new drive. Sold the sticky
one to a friend for $20. Yes, I told him about the problem. He was
poorer than I was and decided he'd put up with it in order to get a
drive for $20. New drives of that size were several hundred.

Ok. That was an extreme case, but it does illustrate that drives do
develop problems sitting on the shelf.

Signature

Richard Maine | Good judgement comes from experience;
email: last name at domain . net | experience comes from bad judgement.
domain: summertriangle | -- Mark Twain

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Mac Forum / General / General / July 2008

More info: was 'Backing up files."