Posted by Bob on 11/29/05 15:09

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 08:13:32 -0500, Jeff Rife <wevsr@nabs.net> wrote:

>> Backup your HD to another HD in a removable bay. It is a lot faster
>> and cheaper than an optical disc backup.

>...and has all the same problems that hard drives have

Not really. I have not had any problems when I use Acronis TrueImage
cloner.

>, and it's *not* cheaper.

I can get 80GB WDs for $50 so the incremental cost is $100 plus the
cost of two bays and an extra tray $65.

> I can buy 5 sets of -R discs (or 3 sets of -RW discs) to backup
>a 200GB drive for the same price as one hard drive. Optical discs have
>dropped in price faster than magnetic drives, and they will continue to do
>so.

But you can only do one archive with those -R disks. I can do
thousands with hard drives. Also my archives do not take long - about
30 seconds per GB. If you went to -RWs even at 8x, you are looking at
5 minutes per GB.

>> If you really want to do the backup properly, then maintain a set of 3
>> identical discs and rotate them periodically.

>And, don't drop those hard drives when you move them around, or get
>anything magnetic too close to them, or let them sit without being used
>for too long (many drives freeze up after a while).

I don't drop hard drives, I don't have anything magnet around my
computer, and I use them weekly.


--

"One must realize that the world is a network of real and virtual
combat zones where the stakes are high, struggle is the primary
mode of being and only total victory is acceptable.
-- Sun Tzu, "The Art Of War"

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