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Post by silverdragon on Apr 18, 2014 7:12:48 GMT
"Cloud" computing backups, the final argument.
If your Operating system goes west, and you cant get online, just how the (rude word) do you reclaim the backup?....
All backups should be 100% local. If you have a 100% local backup, then maybe put a copy "in the cloud", or maybe use the cloud as a transfer device.
Better still, get a home server. With a home server you can just plug in and transfer.
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Post by c64 on Apr 18, 2014 10:35:18 GMT
All backups should be 100% local. Actually not. If your house burns down, this will destroy your originals as well as all backups. I had worked for a research facility. Their strategy was a hot backup to a remote site over a secure fibre optic wire as well as a traditional tape backup with a fire proof tape vault. The tapes were organized like a RAID where each tape holds not more than two bits of a byte. The obsolete copies in the safe are then handed to chosen employees to keep them at their homes. You could nuke the entire city and they still would have all the data from about two months ago - and no ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪THE CLOUD¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ required at all.
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Post by c64 on Apr 18, 2014 10:53:10 GMT
By the way, to make real backups that really last, tapes are not a good option since slow and you need a lot of them nowadays which takes ages for a complete backup and incremental backups are still too time consuming.
HDDs are the worst option since when they die, you loose every bit of data at once and you must spend a fortune to hire a data recovery company to retrieve your data. When a Tape breaks, you simply glue the ends together and maybe loose a single file or so.
Common CD/DVD/Bluray are cheap, quick and easy to handle but they degrade over time, you can't trust them for more than 5 years and if they turn defective, you loose large parts (or everything) at once.
A better choice is "DVD-RAM" since this media is divided in sectors (you can see a diamond pattern on them), when a sector turns corrupt, you can still read the rest of the disc just fine.
But now there is the "M-Disc" (millennium disc). This one can be read like any other DVD or Bluray so you can play them everywhere. They use a mineral material as storage layer instead of a organic one. To write them, you need a special DVD or Bluray burner with a real strong laser. The M-Discs are like "data chiseled in stone" and in theory, they don't degrade.
Unfortunately, the M-Disc isn't organized like the DVD-RAM so if it fails, it still can fail big. And it's not likely that it will last the 1000 years the name would suggest. But government agencies and the military all over the world ran tests and the M-Disc was the most long living storage media they could find to be tortured in climatic exposure test cabinet to accelerate aging.
The good news is that an M-Disc burner for DVD costs not more than $30, the DVD kind M-discs cost about $3.50 each. But they are ideal for secure long term storage of your most valuable data, especially home videos and family pictures. But remember to burn two sets on different brands and maybe another set you use to play them in your DVD player.
The Bluray M-Disc burners still cost way above $150 and the media are real expensive but I think that will change in a year or two.
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Post by the light works on Apr 18, 2014 15:16:48 GMT
By the way, to make real backups that really last, tapes are not a good option since slow and you need a lot of them nowadays which takes ages for a complete backup and incremental backups are still too time consuming. HDDs are the worst option since when they die, you loose every bit of data at once and you must spend a fortune to hire a data recovery company to retrieve your data. When a Tape breaks, you simply glue the ends together and maybe loose a single file or so. Common CD/DVD/Bluray are cheap, quick and easy to handle but they degrade over time, you can't trust them for more than 5 years and if they turn defective, you loose large parts (or everything) at once. A better choice is "DVD-RAM" since this media is divided in sectors (you can see a diamond pattern on them), when a sector turns corrupt, you can still read the rest of the disc just fine. But now there is the "M-Disc" (millennium disc). This one can be read like any other DVD or Bluray so you can play them everywhere. They use a mineral material as storage layer instead of a organic one. To write them, you need a special DVD or Bluray burner with a real strong laser. The M-Discs are like "data chiseled in stone" and in theory, they don't degrade. Unfortunately, the M-Disc isn't organized like the DVD-RAM so if it fails, it still can fail big. And it's not likely that it will last the 1000 years the name would suggest. But government agencies and the military all over the world ran tests and the M-Disc was the most long living storage media they could find to be tortured in climatic exposure test cabinet to accelerate aging. The good news is that an M-Disc burner for DVD costs not more than $30, the DVD kind M-discs cost about $3.50 each. But they are ideal for secure long term storage of your most valuable data, especially home videos and family pictures. But remember to burn two sets on different brands and maybe another set you use to play them in your DVD player. The Bluray M-Disc burners still cost way above $150 and the media are real expensive but I think that will change in a year or two. however, for routine backups - 5 years is a very long time to go between backups, anyway. so archive on M-disc, and backup on DVD RAM.
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Post by ironhold on Apr 18, 2014 22:19:24 GMT
Two steps forward, and one step back.
Forward -
I got that external hard drive in the mail, and so I plan to take tonight to start backing things up. I also found out that the Target retail chain has a 24/7 tech support system going, and that I can call them for free; they might perhaps help me figure out what's wrong with my laptop.
Back -
My dad did something to the family desk top last night, such that we think the hard drive is dead. The family printer was hooked up to it, and so since it's a holiday weekend I can't get anything printed until Monday. The way things are looking, the money that we all were saving up so that I could get a new laptop is now going to be spent getting a new tower.
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Post by kharnynb on Apr 19, 2014 8:14:05 GMT
If it's only a dead hdd, why buy a whole new tower, hdd's cost 50-100 dollars/euros and are easy to install by anyone who has basic sensible "lego" skills
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Post by silverdragon on Apr 19, 2014 9:35:49 GMT
no it wont, my backups are kept in a safe place, as in a FIRE safe.
And new hard drives are two-a-penny for twice the space you expected to support Kharnynb's post
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Post by c64 on Apr 19, 2014 11:01:28 GMT
If it's only a dead hdd, why buy a whole new tower, hdd's cost 50-100 dollars/euros and are easy to install by anyone who has basic sensible "lego" skills Maybe there are other good reasons? Attachment Deleted
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Post by c64 on Apr 19, 2014 11:05:28 GMT
no it wont, my backups are kept in a safe place, as in a FIRE safe. You did read the manual of the safe, right? Those things prevent that paper will burn up for several minutes when exposed to direct fire. Storage media becomes destroyed much quicker and if the house is really on fire, you can't save the safe in time and everything will be lost.
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Post by ironhold on Apr 19, 2014 22:05:22 GMT
I got my laptop to fire up in "normal" mode again.
I'm running an update to Microsoft Security Essentials, and I need to run an update for Java as well.
In the process, I've identified two software programs that might be gumming up the works. I no longer need the one, and I can live without the other. If I can get them done (the system won't let me uninstall something at the same time I'm trying to install something), then hopefully that'll bring my system back up to snuff.
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Post by kharnynb on Apr 20, 2014 8:38:18 GMT
If it's only a dead hdd, why buy a whole new tower, hdd's cost 50-100 dollars/euros and are easy to install by anyone who has basic sensible "lego" skills Maybe there are other good reasons? View Attachment Hey, i still have a c64, an original ps1, a snes and most consoles after that, all in working order...
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Post by OziRiS on Apr 20, 2014 19:35:12 GMT
I got my laptop to fire up in "normal" mode again. I'm running an update to Microsoft Security Essentials, and I need to run an update for Java as well. In the process, I've identified two software programs that might be gumming up the works. I no longer need the one, and I can live without the other. If I can get them done (the system won't let me uninstall something at the same time I'm trying to install something), then hopefully that'll bring my system back up to snuff. Dude, I've gotta ask: At this point, are you even reading what the rest of us are posting at all or are you just using this thread to vent about your computer problems? I'm asking because it doesn't really seem like you're paying much attention to the advice people are giving you anymore. Silverdragon advised you to not bother with Microsoft Security Essentials, since it actually creates more security issues than it prevents (and I have to agree) and yet here you are telling us once more that you're running an update for it. You're talking about getting a brand new tower when you suspect a faulty HDD and people are telling you to just switch out the HDD. You're not even acknowledging what people are saying anymore. Instead you go back and talk about your laptop, as if none of us are even here. Should we just stop giving advice at this point? ADDENDUM: And in case you think I'm angry or lashing out or something, notice the distinct lack of exclamation points in my post. I favor using those when I'm angry or lashing out, so I'm not. I'm attempting to determine what your state of mind is about all this right now. As you can tell from the number of posts in this thread, we're genuinely trying to help you out, but it just doesn't seem like that's what you want from this thread anymore. It seems to me that it's become more about griping and less about actual problem solving for you, which is fair enough. We all need to let out some steam every now and then. I just hope that if you don't really want our advice anymore, you'll tell us so we don't end up feeling like we're wasting our time.
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Post by ironhold on Apr 21, 2014 0:02:33 GMT
It's my parents who are thinking about getting the tower; they're coming to this conclusion after talking with my two older brothers. [edit - I was at work when my mom spoke with my two brothers about the matter. They both said "Get a new tower", and so mom went ahead and made the decision to do so; by the time I had a chance to say anything, she already convinced dad.]
As far as my laptop goes, I'm weighing my options right now. I'm slowly running through everything short of taking it to the shop or running a system restore, as given the way Murphy's Law works for me I'm hesitant about doing anything drastic.
I apologize if I'm offending anybody.
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Post by the light works on Apr 21, 2014 5:46:37 GMT
It's my parents who are thinking about getting the tower; they're coming to this conclusion after talking with my two older brothers. [edit - I was at work when my mom spoke with my two brothers about the matter. They both said "Get a new tower", and so mom went ahead and made the decision to do so; by the time I had a chance to say anything, she already convinced dad.]As far as my laptop goes, I'm weighing my options right now. I'm slowly running through everything short of taking it to the shop or running a system restore, as given the way Murphy's Law works for me I'm hesitant about doing anything drastic. I apologize if I'm offending anybody. I think it is more confusing them than offending them.
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Post by silverdragon on Apr 21, 2014 12:35:41 GMT
Manual?.. what bloody manual?.... Ok, seriously, I worked for Hays IMS, as in information management services. During my time with them, I got to know about fire safes. The one I have became available when someone "Upgraded" to a bigger safe, I acquired it independent of my job, as it was a personal favour... However.... It is guaranteed 3-4hr safe. It is bloody heavy..... it has to stand on solid ground, a concrete base, and it takes four people to move it. The lining is Fire bricks. Those bricks are part porcelain and other such things that are highly temperature insulation qualities that have been borrowed from technology that keeps heat in forges. Not asbestos as well.. win win situation?... So after a good house fire, maybe the lock will have suffered, but if the blaze is extinguished within 4 hrs, the media inside will be safe. Or rather, safer that you would expect, and better than just putting the stuff in a damp paper bag?... It was designed to do just that, keep data safe. It is a commercial fire safe that should protect important media from say a small business fire. It is not explosion proof.... I doubt its even bullet proof... (resistant maybe?..) Its just fire proof. Size is just enough to store a couple of terabytes of hard drive, and family passports, birth certificates, bank details etc.... Its not a wardrobe, its just about the size of a domestic oven, that has enough heat insulation to make it fire proof for a few hours..... It was available, it was at a "Give-away" price, I bought it. It looks a bit like this one..... [source] www.klsecurity.com/fireking_safe/3-hour-best-fireproof-data-safe.htmIts not that exact make or model, I cant fine the one I have, probably because they dont make it any more..... they make better ones now....
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Post by the light works on Apr 21, 2014 14:26:23 GMT
Manual?.. what bloody manual?.... Ok, seriously, I worked for Hays IMS, as in information management services. During my time with them, I got to know about fire safes. The one I have became available when someone "Upgraded" to a bigger safe, I acquired it independent of my job, as it was a personal favour... However.... It is guaranteed 3-4hr safe. It is bloody heavy..... it has to stand on solid ground, a concrete base, and it takes four people to move it. The lining is Fire bricks. Those bricks are part porcelain and other such things that are highly temperature insulation qualities that have been borrowed from technology that keeps heat in forges. Not asbestos as well.. win win situation?... So after a good house fire, maybe the lock will have suffered, but if the blaze is extinguished within 4 hrs, the media inside will be safe. Or rather, safer that you would expect, and better than just putting the stuff in a damp paper bag?... It was designed to do just that, keep data safe. It is a commercial fire safe that should protect important media from say a small business fire. It is not explosion proof.... I doubt its even bullet proof... (resistant maybe?..) Its just fire proof. Size is just enough to store a couple of terabytes of hard drive, and family passports, birth certificates, bank details etc.... Its not a wardrobe, its just about the size of a domestic oven, that has enough heat insulation to make it fire proof for a few hours..... It was available, it was at a "Give-away" price, I bought it. It looks a bit like this one..... [source] www.klsecurity.com/fireking_safe/3-hour-best-fireproof-data-safe.htmIts not that exact make or model, I cant fine the one I have, probably because they dont make it any more..... they make better ones now.... which I would estimate takes you to a 99% certainty that it will not be taken beyond its tolerances. This is very good odds, but still more likely than winning the lottery. (not criticizing - just calculating the odds that a structure fire will expose it to damaging heat for longer than 3 hours - and I have been on structure fires that took over 3 hours to get stopped.
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Post by ironhold on Apr 21, 2014 14:46:47 GMT
It's my parents who are thinking about getting the tower; they're coming to this conclusion after talking with my two older brothers. [edit - I was at work when my mom spoke with my two brothers about the matter. They both said "Get a new tower", and so mom went ahead and made the decision to do so; by the time I had a chance to say anything, she already convinced dad.]As far as my laptop goes, I'm weighing my options right now. I'm slowly running through everything short of taking it to the shop or running a system restore, as given the way Murphy's Law works for me I'm hesitant about doing anything drastic. I apologize if I'm offending anybody. I think it is more confusing them than offending them. The next likely step, whenever I get the time (likely tomorrow, as I overslept this morning; the pets kept me up) is to try and somehow get CCleaner in place. From there, I weigh my options. The original agreement that I had in place with my parents was that I could borrow my dad's laptop to get my columns written while my laptop was in the shop. However, when the desktop died, my dad decided to hook his laptop up to the family printer. This printer is so resource-intensive that my dad's laptop is at its limits; the most we can do now is go online and print off e-mails as needed. As much as I would prefer to just drop it off in the shop, this turn of events makes it rather difficult for me to do so now; I could hypothetically do my columns at the office if they've got a computer free, but that relies on a computer being free.
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Post by the light works on Apr 21, 2014 14:55:16 GMT
I forget now whether my computer shop had mine overnight, or if I picked it up at the end of the day. I know it was at a point of the difference between having it and not being able to use it effectively, for an unknown amount of time, and not having it for a day or so.
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Post by OziRiS on Apr 21, 2014 18:19:16 GMT
It's my parents who are thinking about getting the tower; they're coming to this conclusion after talking with my two older brothers. [edit - I was at work when my mom spoke with my two brothers about the matter. They both said "Get a new tower", and so mom went ahead and made the decision to do so; by the time I had a chance to say anything, she already convinced dad.]As far as my laptop goes, I'm weighing my options right now. I'm slowly running through everything short of taking it to the shop or running a system restore, as given the way Murphy's Law works for me I'm hesitant about doing anything drastic. I apologize if I'm offending anybody. Not offended at all. Just curious about what your actual intentions are for this thread. Are you looking for advice and answers to some of your problems or are you just venting said problems? I have no issues either way. I just personally don't want to waste my time or yours giving you advice that you neither want nor need.
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Post by ironhold on Apr 22, 2014 21:04:59 GMT
OK. Thanks.
I've come to suspect that the issue might have something to do with memory consumption. I've pulled off an old game I'm not playing to see if that will help anything, and there are two other games that I can yank as well.
I also keep forgetting to install CCleaner. I need to get to that.
The big thing that I'm looking at right now is that a friend of a friend is supposed to be a big computer guy. If I can arrange a face-to-face with him then I can try to see if I can get a quick assessment of what's going on. I'm crossing my fingers that it's a case of "I've got too much going on the computer", in which case I can delete files and alter my user behavior accordingly.
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