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Corpy2
Guest
Ok. Will they last a few years at least, stored one on top of the other in the original spindle?
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Backup to Blue ray that has spanning and encryption? Recommendation?
Chris Noble
Veteran Member
Why take the risk? Terabyte HDDs are dirt-cheap, you can check them, and they are easy to copy to new media. I use 1 TB USB drives and refresh them periodically. And they last as long as Blue-Rays without refreshing.
Funny you should think that, most people I talk to think I'm a complete *****. Those that get to meet me KNOW I'm a complete *****.
I have my key data on three physical drives. It's also backed up IN REAL TIME to four independent cloud providers all of which keep a history of all file changes. Four is too many, yeah I know that.
Each copy of the data (Of which there are seven) also contains zipped 'snapshots' of projects as they change ( I choose when to zip). So even if my working project directory was corrupted and trashed across all backup targets I could either:
A) Restore to an earlier point in time using many different means.
B) Grab a zip, unzip it and carry on working.
This is all automatic. This all happens without my intervention. This has all been tested. This all gets tested on a regular basis.
It doesn't rely on me continually buying new drives or discs. It doesn't rely on me 'running a backup'.
Systems like this are easy to setup. They weren't in 2001 or 2005... but this is 2014 and HDD backups and cloud backups are easy peasy and cheap as chips.
If I didn't have access to a fast net connection I'd just use more local drives and run a proper rotation system on them including some offsite. Using 'the cloud' allowed me to decide to skip that step.
Backing up to blu-ray is slower, more expensive, more hassle and less regular than any part of my backup system.
Blu-ray is not a BAD backup system. It's just the very worst from all the methods you could choose.
Some of them will. Some of them will have corruption. It's impossible to predict how much corruption you will get and on which disc.
For reliability with archiving optical media you need to:
1. Make at least three copies of every disc.
2. On a regular basis (monthly? 3 months?) run a bit-for-bit comparison across all three discs and weed out any bad discs.
3. Make new copies of the discs and again bit-for-bit compare them to the 'good' discs.
4. Keep the old discs and the new.
You need to keep doing this. Time after time after time. If you want long term storage you need to keep copying and refreshing.
Optical discs are pretty poor archival storage mechanisms and terrible backup destinations.
Mechanical HDDs beat them on every metric. Longevity. Reliability. Cost and especially ease of use.
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I do much the same, except I use SATA drives. The local Fry's periodically has 1 TB mainstream WD drives on sale for $49 US.
Buy multiple drives, back up frequently, verify the backups, keep at least one copy offsite.
lemon_juice
Leading Member
As you have already found out it's safer not to use spanning because if one disc fails then it doesn't affect the others. Without spanning a reasonable option is simply to use software that will compress and encrypt your files. The simplest one may be 7-zip but for convenience I use Cobian Backup where I simply define which files and folder are to be compressed to a few separate archives and I run the program once every week. I end up with several zip or 7z archives, copy them to HD and periodically also to DVDs.
I then burn files with Ashampoo Burning Studio Free - it's been reliable for me and has verify option.
I wouldn't listen to those here criticising blu-rays so much - it appears people are on some crusade against optical discs and ignore the fact that optical discs still have a few advantages over hard drives and their longevity isn't worse. They are different and also will not suit everybody - better be aware what advantages they have and use them when appropriate rather than blindly trash the whole technology just because you don't find it suitable to your needs.
For best longevity you can use m-discs (blu-rays now available) - they are a bit more expensive but with a projected life of 1000 years they can't be beaten as a write-once-then-store-and-forget archive solution.
I then burn files with Ashampoo Burning Studio Free - it's been reliable for me and has verify option.
I wouldn't listen to those here criticising blu-rays so much - it appears people are on some crusade against optical discs and ignore the fact that optical discs still have a few advantages over hard drives and their longevity isn't worse. They are different and also will not suit everybody - better be aware what advantages they have and use them when appropriate rather than blindly trash the whole technology just because you don't find it suitable to your needs.
For best longevity you can use m-discs (blu-rays now available) - they are a bit more expensive but with a projected life of 1000 years they can't be beaten as a write-once-then-store-and-forget archive solution.
tkbslc
Forum Pro
Thanks for this disclaimer, it saved me the time I would have spent reading the rest of your post.
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Corpy2
Guest
Actually, I'm beginning to like the guy. He has a sense of humor.
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Mark B.
Guest
For about a hundred bucks you can get a 3 TB drive. How many Blu-Ray discs is that and what would it cost? Not to mention the time required to create each full backup set, and the logistics of maintaining backup sets of discs. If there ever is a failure, I'd much rather restore from a single external drive than many discs.
lemon_juice
Leading Member
It seems like blu-ray has not been tested so thoroughly for quality like DVDs and the information is harder to find. I can't recommend any particular source but after some time of reading through various user opinions and forums I've gathered the following 'facts':
1. The quality of blu-rays is generally better than DVD and less dependent on brand because there are very few manufacturers (2 or 3?) who produce blu-ray blanks and then they are rebranded for sale.
2. People seem to recommend Sony, TDK and Panasonic - especially the Panasonic series with 50-year expected archival span.
3. The surprising thing is that Verbatim is not recommended so much as for DVDs.
4. Generally blu-rays are supposed to last longer than DVDs because they are made of inorganic materials that are less prone to rot. However, you should avoid LTH discs!
I do hope you're talking about the OP and not me. I hate to think someone has misunderstood me and actually LIKES what I have to say! That's not what I was aiming for at all!
Plus, this "He" is a "She".
but "She *****" will do just as well
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Mark B.
Guest
Corpy2 IS the OP.
tkbslc
Forum Pro
Your cats probably think you are wonderful
The mystery has finally been solved! :-D
Kind of redundant, isn't it?but "She *****" will do just as well
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That depends on whether they're getting the level of service from their staff (aka "owner") they think they deserve. ;-)
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Corpy2
Guest
Oh, you're a she?I do hope you're talking about the OP and not me. I hate to think someone has misunderstood me and actually LIKES what I have to say! That's not what I was aiming for at all!
Plus, this "He" is a "She".
but "She *****" will do just as well
And here I thought you were Swedish or something like that.
Does our brief conversation constitute sufficient foreplay?
When can we meet?
mauibreeze
Forum Enthusiast
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Hard drives can fail too, long term after many years they are just as unreliable.
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Mark B.
Guest
That's why you have more than 1 backup HD. It's still cheaper, and faster to do backups than with a stack of discs.
Chris Noble
Veteran Member
That's why HDDs should be checked and copied every few years. Very easy and quick to do, even for multi-TB drives. Extremely difficult and time-consuming to do with DVDs.
After reading this fairly long thread, it's amazing that some folks still think backing up to Bluray discs is better than backing up to external hard drives.
If you think backing up hard drives to Bluray discs is better and safer, please by all means do so. The main thing is that you're happy with your choice. After doing that for a while, don't be surprised if you end up backing up to external hard drives.
Good luck,
Sky
If you think backing up hard drives to Bluray discs is better and safer, please by all means do so. The main thing is that you're happy with your choice. After doing that for a while, don't be surprised if you end up backing up to external hard drives.
Good luck,
Sky
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Corpy2
Guest
How about both?
