Drives either fail right away, or start to degrade after the second year markĪ single external drive is a good start for your first backup system, but not all external drives are created equal. From there we’ll move on to more redundant forms of storage that do come at a higher initial outlay, but will last far longer and keep your data safe over a period of many years. We’re going to start with a basic external drive - be it USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt - because of their affordability and easy availability.
You can backup your data to just about anything - a spare internal drive, an external drive, and even the aging DVD.
#BEST UPS FOR MAC SOFTWARE#
With a daunting number of backup hardware and software combinations to consider, I decided to take on the hardware side first. Some backup software is customizable to the n’th degree, while others focus solely on ease-of-use.
#BEST UPS FOR MAC FOR MAC#
There are a litany of backup options for Mac and PC users, some more complex than others, and each addresses a slightly different type of user. With a backup plan securely stationed at the top of my list of weekend activities, I knew that I needed to set up a system with three qualities: set-and-forget automation, some element of security, and a pleasant and straightforward user interface. And that's not to mention all the people who never got their data back. However, if you ask someone who’s paid for expensive data recovery - nearly $1,700 in Mat Honan’s case - and they’ll likely tell you that setting up backup is well worth the time. If you’ve never experienced catastrophic data loss, you might not be all that worried about it. There’s always work to do or a new app to try, and I think to myself: “my computer’s acting fine, I can clean my desktop and backup my files tomorrow.” It’s hard to remember to do the routine maintenance that, deep down, I know I shouldīut that promise of “tomorrow” always gets pushed to the next day, then the next, leaving countless college papers, years of pictures, and personal information stranded on a single spinning platter. It’s not that PC maintenance isn’t on my to-do list, it’s just that there’s always something more pressing that needs my attention. When my computer is working correctly, it’s hard to remember to do the routine maintenance that, deep down, I know I should. They make an excellent baseline, but you can add more storage and better reliability with more advanced systems like RAID enclosures and NAS drives, which we’ll get to later. External hard drives offer the best price per gigabyte ratio and can be purchased at nearly any electronics retailer. There are a multitude of mediums at your disposal, from USB hard drives to the anachronistic DVD. So, where to begin? The first thing you’ll need is some kind of storage device to house your digital belongings.
This doesn’t mean you should live in fear of a digital catastrophe instead, take this opportunity to create the backup that your future self so rightly deserves. Like death and taxes, there are no exceptions to this rule - it’s only a matter of time. A backup may seem like just another mundane task in your long list of to-dos, but a day will inevitably come when your hard drive dies, when your laptop is stolen, or when your accounts get brutally hacked.
So why haven’t you done it yet? Maybe it’s because you’ve got a million other things to do, or maybe the technical aspects are a little daunting. Setting up a backup is probably on your to-do list.
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