Is the web a good place to back up data? I have a gig of web space to use. I could also store data on zip drives, but i have had issues with that (bad drive). Or I could use CD-Rs, but would prefer to use some type of reusable media. I don't have a lot of extra money right now to buy an external hard drive or other additional hardware. So I am wondering what is best among these options:

-Webspace.
-CDR or CDRW.
-250 MB zip disks (last option).

 

you could use all three. but of those, i'd use cd-rw's. the webspace server can go anytime, but they do also back up their servers. but if you update your webspace, and their server crashes, it'll revert to the latest backup, which could mean a loss of new data. how long goes between server backups, that's dependent upon the company.

 

I do not trust the 'Net to store stuff, sites can always go down.

I use an external 200 GB Seagate.
I would suggest saving up for one, or looking on EBay for a used one.
Or add another drive to your case.
Prices are so cheap now on drives.

I use to use CD/DVDs, that gets old, they simply do not store enough.
An external drive is the way to go, and the software will auto backup for you.

My whole PC gets backed up every Sunday at 4:15 PM on auto.

 

I guess it depends on how much data you have to back up. Since the options you listed don't include much space, I'm assuming you don't have much. Ever thought about getting a DVD writer? 4.7 gigs on one disk. Lots of space and pretty safe too. External hard drives are good, but not the most reliable, as it is a hard drive.

 

I don't have a huge amount of data that is absolutely essential. The biggest single thing I have is my photography collection. All of my data would easily fit on my website.

A DVD writer sounds like a cool idea. I will look into that.

A gig might not sound like much space, but to me it is. It is plenty to store all the data I have personally created. The very first computers I ever used were Apple IIs with maybe 48KB of memory. Computers have come a very long ways in the last 20+ years.

 

I would use the webspace for smaller things and nightly backups and then rotate a handfull of CD-RW's as backups as well.

 

Take a look at the BenQ DW1640, as it's a real decent DVD rewriter and for $50 you can't go wrong. DVD 16X disks can be found for 30 cents on sale when purchased in quantities of 50 or 100.


http://www.benq.us/Products/DVDRewri...fm?product=572

 

As you stated, hard drives will fail. I'm pretty anal as I don't want to lose data (pictures, music, scans of important docs, etc.) so I have one live backup and another backup that I keep in a fire and water proof safe.

I really like the Western Digital Passport series of hard drives. They're compact, powered by the USB, and since I don't use this hard drive for accessing data (only for storing), I'm hoping that it will last longer. Again, I have two backups and as soon as one dies, I'll have another. This is the safest way.

 

[cough]use gmail to store stuff[cough]