Backing up your work
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This is really good information, @Lee-White. Thanks for taking the time to explain your process for backing up, it is so important.
Do you by chance know of a software for PC that is similar to Time Machine for Mac. I think being able to automatically save every hours is awesome.
I have had my cold sweat moments and would love to avoid that again.
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Also when you save to Dropbox Pro does that also allow you to pick every hour as an option for saving automatically?
We save to an external server that my husband manages but I am pretty sure it is not set to save my stuff hourly automatically, just nightly.
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Dropbox doesn't save hourly, but it does save different versions. Here's what they say:
"Even if your computer has a meltdown, your stuff is safe in Dropbox and can be restored in a snap. In fact, if you're using the Dropbox desktop application, your files are backed up several times. The primary copy on your computer's hard drive is synced to your Dropbox account online, and that copy is backed up again for safety. If you're using Dropbox to sync files between multiple computers, your files are backed up on those computers as well.
By default, Dropbox saves a history of all deleted and earlier versions of files for 30 days for all Dropbox accounts. If you purchase the Extended Version History add-on feature, you can revert to a previous file version or recover a deleted file at any time within a year of an edit or deletion made after your purchase.
All files stored online by Dropbox are encrypted and are kept in secure storage servers across several data centers."
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My hard drive failed suddenly and completely before Christmas. I had to restore the whole lot from time machine, and at that point my most important files were on DropBox too (but not all of them). It took a long time to rebuild it from time machine, which meant I couldn't access the files I wanted for a while, so now ALL of my files are on DropBox too, no exceptions. I do have an external hard drive to use as a third backup if I want to, but I don't update that as often as I should.
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@Dulcie Are you using regular Dropbox or Dropbox Pro?
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dropbox pro
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@Charlie-Eve-Ryan My husband and I use DropBox Business which has pretty much the same features as DropBox Pro.
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I also make it a habit to save between layers as I work on Photoshop.
I have lost things from a power surge, which I fixed with a proper surge protector. And I now mostly store things on an SSD drive, as spinning components off old drives are sometimes the cause of their failure, well more so than an SSD.
The new hybrid drives are much better made. And of course you should always buy what you can afford but for the best you can afford in quality. Thankfully I have a parts guru I turn to, who accepts art in lieu of services, as he builds custom systems for a living. But not all hard drives are made equal... Here is some bad acting to explain that.
Anyway just something to think about. I also have an external drive I use for important folders, and a pocket 1 TB drive, that saves my whole computer, when I remember to back it up. Both are USB attached, and so easy to use... but then I have a lot of desk space to remind me to use them...
Good luck everyone!
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Thanks @Lee White for the tip, I just subscribed to Dropbox pro!
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Thank you @LeeWhite for the great information. I've an external drive I save too but now think Dropbox could be well worth the cost to have piece of mind.
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Yep! a view years ago our back up system crashed, It costed 1200 us dollars to restore it. We work on Dropbox now, I use an extra hard drive to work on and we also have a time machine. Dropbox works really well, the only problem that can occur is that your computer stores the files so the files that you store also use space on your computer. If the files that you make are really large (photoshop files are always
large!!!) it can happen that there's not enough space on your computer. I haven't found oud how to archive work on Dropbox. It really worth wile to find a good system that works for you. -
I 100% thought this was going to be a cautionary tale about how Lee just lost a bunch of work--glad that wasn't the case!
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Great post Lee! I learned this the had way when my system crashed a few years ago... thankfully I had an amazing tech who was able to recover some of my files (ie work, photos etc) - now I use time machine and an external drive as well. It is easy, automatic and peace of mind!
I use Dropbox as well, but not for storage as much as transferring files to clients. -
I seriously need to consider this...
Is your external hardrive constantly connected to your pc and plugged in?
Is the Windows Backup enough, comparing to Time Machine ( no idea how this works...)? -
Thanks Lee for the great advice I just bought myself an external HD for that XD. Feel much safer now. My laptop is over 5 years old and ya know the system when you see the rainbow spinning wheel.
