Offline backup solutions

Reznik

Hi folks, looking for a cost effective backup system for myself.

I have a desktop and a laptop, 3TB and 1TB respectively. They are both Win 10 machines.

I would like a device to put on my home network that I can regularly back up both machines to.

The cloud can go fuck itself, I don't want to send all my data to someone else.

I don't need super duper encryption or anything fancy like that.

I'd like a "set it and forget it" type of system. I'm tired of fumbling around with external hard drives.

Appreciate any suggestions, thanks.

Aridhol

You need a NAS.

Synology is my vendor preference and they have software built in or you can use Windows backup capabilities I believe.


Re: the cloud. I know no one trusts the cloud anymore but no one gives a shit who saw your family pictures when your house gets robbed, catches fire, or floods..

Losing something like my kids baby photos to avoid getting haxxed is a silly idea.

Get some kind of off-site backup like a friend or family member at least.

Reznik

Thanks, I'll check Synology out.

My use for the NAS is less a matter of security and more convenience. I'm dealing with a HDD failure right now and while I haven't lost anything of importance, it's just a hassle to get everything back.

So I guess my follow up question is would I be able to use it to back up a full disk image, as opposed to just files? That's kind of where my concern is right now, because after a few years I've lost track of license keys and whatnot.

Myiagros

Built-in Windows backup will be file level. You will want some software for backups that can take images. There are free versions like Aoemi but the one time I went to restore an image from that it didn't boot properly. I switched up to Acronis and haven't had a problem with it since.

For an offsite type backup you could always get a USB external drive and keep it in the car or in a locked drawer at work or at a family members house and connect it once a month for a more regular backup. Best option if you are 100% against Cloud backups. One of the cloud options you could go for as well would be one where you can backup an image file that is encrypted with a 256 character key so if someone does manage to hack a system and get your info they will spend the lifetime of the galaxy attempting to crack the code - just have it stored somewhere that you can retrieve it if needed.

SeñorAmor

Also consider QNAP for your NAS needs.

At work, I've had my hands in a lot of different NASs (QNAP, Synology, Thecus, DLink, and more) and I've settled on QNAP. They're pretty inexpensive and super easy to use.

Shadowfire

Myiagros wrote: »

Built-in Windows backup will be file level. You will want some software for backups that can take images. There are free versions like Aoemi but the one time I went to restore an image from that it didn't boot properly. I switched up to Acronis and haven't had a problem with it since.

Acronis is civilization. Mac has Time Machine built in which Windows still doesn't have (File History sucks), Acronis is pretty much the answer to it on Windows.

Aridhol

Acronis is good and QNAP is great too.
You're already light years ahead of most people who have no backups at all

Reznik

Thanks for the suggestions all. Acronis seems much more affortable than what I was expecting and definitely within my budget.

Comparing QNAP and Synology on Amazon, it looks like the lower-end options for Synology are a bit more affordable than QNAP. Is there a noticeable difference in quality between the two? Or is there somewhere else I should be looking for better prices? Keeping in mind I'm in Canada, so the prices are probably skewed anyway.

Aridhol

I think QNAP and Synology are fairly comparable hardware wise but I vastly prefer the DSM (diskstation manager) software on the synology.

That said, if you're going into one for the first time then both are solid and get the best priced one

I'm also in Canada and I got my latest synology from Newegg when it was on sale.