Data Recovery from FreeAgent External Drive

[ian turner]

1. Your average user is unaware it's necessary as no one told them
2. They don't realise hard drives die until it happens to them
3. They don't consider how they will transfer all their stuff if they have to replace their pc
4. Setting up automated backups is beyond them and it all smacks of house work so they will lose interest after a bit
Your average user won't do it until they start selling PCs with built in removable harddrives and software to backup any changes to personal folders automatically. Which is unlikely as pcs without these devices, selling for less, will be more popular and even such systems would require removing the drive rather than leaving it in to be taken out by the same mains spike that takes out the main drive.

 

[ttcycle]

You must have a small hard drive to back it up to DVD. Storage is so cheap these days that backing it up onto external hard drives is much easier. Plus don't forget the one people always forget. Store a back up copy at a location away from where your computer is. That way if there is a fire or other disaster you don't lose both the computer and backup. The easy way is to keep a backup of your home computer in your drawer at work.

No, it's not a small hard drive - I have several terabyte drives for work (photographer). It's good practice in my work to back up the back ups on DVD or CD and store these elsewhere if possible. I know colleagues that have backed up and got double copies of DVDs!

 

[Broadside]

Yes house fires might be relatively rare, but burglary is not and computer kit is easily nicked and traded on.

We have thousands of family photos on our computer, so we keep a backup on an external drive and then backup to Mozy online for $4.99 per month. Granted not the cheapest option but it buys peace of mind.

I ahve done the whole 'keeping a usb stick in the car/at work' thing, but since we started using Mozy backups now happen every evening automatically, it couldn't be easier. It all comes down to how much you really value the data.