Cloud backup solutions?

Timber · 11-27-10, 08:38 AM

Seeing as how I've fried a computer recently and also had a few hard drives die on me recently the idea of backing up my data off site has been in my head. I have about 4-5TB of data split between 2 computers, a little more if I wanted to include my laptops but that not really that big of a deal. I've looked at Carbonite, they're $55 a year but any company that advertises that much especially on satellite radio I'm sort of nervous of.

Any recommendations? I can handle $55 price even though it's per computer and I'm a major cheap ass but cheaper is always welcome. It needs to be unlimited storage as well.

Mookysdad · 11-27-10, 09:11 AM

I've used Carbonite and I'm currently using Mozy. Both offer unlimited storage, but you have to force their software to back up certain types of files, like .exe, or videos. Restoring your files from either is pretty painless, but the initial backup can takes weeks depending on how much data you need to upload to their servers.

I switched to Mozy because when I contacted Carbonite tech support with a question about a problem I was having their response, two weeks later, was to tell me to look on their website, which I had already done and could not find my answer.

There are a few sites that offer reviews of the various online backup options. You can find a couple of those sites
here and here.

Sean

Timber · 11-27-10, 09:42 AM

Thanks for those links. According to the first my only options for unlimited are Elephant Drive, Mozy and Carbonite. Elephant isn't really unlimited and there are limits on file sizes so that take them out.

Todd B. · 11-27-10, 10:12 AM

There's also Backblaze. I think Mozy, Carbonite, and Backblaze are the market leaders.

Timber · 11-27-10, 05:59 PM

I think I'm going to try Mozy. Was about to go with Backblaze but just saw there is a 9GB file size limit. Not a huge deal as I only have about 2 files bigger then that.

Chew · 11-27-10, 06:22 PM

Crashplan is another unlimited option.

danwiz · 11-27-10, 06:27 PM

I'm using Mozy Home for about 250 GB of data & photos. I signed up for 2 years and the price for that is pretty good - $103.95 for 2 years. I read their forums and a lot of people complain about the difficulty of doing the restores, so for a while I used the free 2 GB plan and played with the various types of restore. I had no problems and couldn't even really understand how people could have a problem with it. I'm satisfied with everything except upload speeds - I have a FTTH connection but the maximum upload speed their software will allow is 1Mbps - They asked me to take a survey a while back and I complained about that aspect of their service.

So, I guess the moral of the story is that you might want to use the free option for a while and see if you like it.

xmiyux · 02-01-11, 05:18 PM

For those using Mozy, they announced today that they are basically going to screw us on prices if you are using the unlimited backup.

Previously I was paying 5$ a month (I paid monthly instead of a year contract) for unlimited space.

Now they are charging:

10$ for 125 gigs of storage.
An additional 2$ for every 20 gigs over that first 125.

So now I am hunting another solution.

Timber · 02-01-11, 06:15 PM

Just coming to resurrect this thread. WTF, it's taken me 2 months to get almost everything backed up on there and now I have to find another solution.

Off to research this topic yet again.

xmiyux · 02-01-11, 06:19 PM

Both Backblaze and CrashPlan are offering 10% or 15% discounts to previous Mozy customers.

I may just end up buying a second external HDD, back up to it once a month, and store it either at my parents' house or in a fire-proof safe.

edit: With my super slow upload speed I don't know if I have the heart to upload for like 2 months solid again.

Timber · 02-01-11, 06:26 PM

I think I'm just going to go with Backblaze. Problem is when one takes away Unlimited the others will eventually follow. I really don't want to mess around with manual backups, Mozy was slow to convenient.

xmiyux · 02-01-11, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timber

I think I'm just going to go with Backblaze. Problem is when one takes away Unlimited the others will eventually follow. I really don't want to mess around with manual backups, Mozy was slow to convenient.

That is why I think I may shift to manual off-site backups.

CharlieK · 02-01-11, 07:15 PM

Forgive my ignorance, but why does it take months to upload?

Mister Peepers · 02-01-11, 07:24 PM

He had 4-5TB of data to upload. That would take awhile to upload over the internet. If your ISP has any caps on usage, that'll just add to it.

Timber · 02-01-11, 07:25 PM

See danwiz's post above from a couple of month's ago. Mozy caps their upload speed so regardless of the connection I have it'll never go faster then 1Mbps.

xmiyux · 02-01-11, 07:26 PM

I think I read somewhere that Carbonite limits you to 100gig upload a month maybe? So even outside of all other limitations it would take me almost 3 months to upload my original image to them.

palebluedot · 02-01-11, 07:45 PM

This is why I just keep a USB disk at my office and backup over VPN. So data from my computer to local NAS box...NAS box to local USB backup and backup to the USB disks in my office. Overkill but it took me forever to rip all my DVDs and CDs and I don't want to lose 10TB for nothing.

danwiz · 02-01-11, 08:16 PM

DAMN!!! I have 280.8 GB backed up on Mozy. As I stated above, the 2 year option cost me $103.95. I just got an e-mail from them asking me to select a new renewal plan to go into effect when my current 2 years ends (Sept. 27, 2012) and the new price will be ---- ready for this?? ---- $545.79!!! (for 2 years again). That's quite an increase, eh!!!

xmiyux · 02-01-11, 08:23 PM

I've been paying month to month so I have 7 days till they delete my backups.

Timber · 02-01-11, 09:11 PM

Going with Crashplan. Now just to get this Mozy software off my machines. Was just billed on the 27th, wonder if I'll get a partial month refund because I want them gone now.

xmiyux · 02-01-11, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timber

Going with Crashplan. Now just to get this Mozy software off my machines. Was just billed on the 27th, wonder if I'll get a partial month refund because I want them gone now.

Heh, I'm giving CrashPlan a trial now. Been reading reviews on tech blogs all evening and it looks like they are getting rave reviews.

I was looking over the Mozy options on the site and it doesn't seem like there is an obvious way to delete your account. Mostly I don't want them billing me for 280 gigs worth of data in a week.

Timber · 02-01-11, 10:02 PM

Here you go.

https://c.na3.visual.force.com/apex/...et?DocId=77385

danwiz · 02-02-11, 12:45 AM

Hey xmiyux, when I click on the "Next Charge" on my Mozy Account page there is a "Cancel Account" option. Can you find that? Seeing as I have already paid through September of 2012 I'm going to stick with them until then and when it comes time to think about another charge I'll think about changing my company.

4KRG · 02-02-11, 11:04 AM

I have been thinking about using a cheap hosting service like this

http://www.fatcow.com/

unlimited transfer and unlimited storage (I have not read the fine print yet)

but it would be a more manual backup process, and I am not sure how secure the data is.

It just appears to be a good deal for someone that has a ton of stuff to backup, but I haven't thought it through completely yet (or gone over fine print)

DaveNinja · 02-02-11, 11:28 AM

I've had Crashplan for over a year. so far no problems with it.
I had to restore 3-400gigs and it worked without a problem.
i have it set to backup between 1am and 6am so i never even notice it. i think its supposed to go to low bandwidth usage if the computer is actually being used at that time anyways.

11-27-10, 08:38 AM	#1
Timber DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 8,213	Cloud backup solutions? Seeing as how I've fried a computer recently and also had a few hard drives die on me recently the idea of backing up my data off site has been in my head. I have about 4-5TB of data split between 2 computers, a little more if I wanted to include my laptops but that not really that big of a deal. I've looked at Carbonite, they're $55 a year but any company that advertises that much especially on satellite radio I'm sort of nervous of. Any recommendations? I can handle $55 price even though it's per computer and I'm a major cheap ass but cheaper is always welcome. It needs to be unlimited storage as well. __________________ "That's why the Black Guys like me"- Alison BB4

11-27-10, 09:11 AM	#2
Mookysdad Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: South of the Windy City Posts: 63	re: Cloud backup solutions? I've used Carbonite and I'm currently using Mozy. Both offer unlimited storage, but you have to force their software to back up certain types of files, like .exe, or videos. Restoring your files from either is pretty painless, but the initial backup can takes weeks depending on how much data you need to upload to their servers. I switched to Mozy because when I contacted Carbonite tech support with a question about a problem I was having their response, two weeks later, was to tell me to look on their website, which I had already done and could not find my answer. There are a few sites that offer reviews of the various online backup options. You can find a couple of those sites here and here. Sean

11-27-10, 09:42 AM	#3
Timber DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 8,213	re: Cloud backup solutions? Thanks for those links. According to the first my only options for unlimited are Elephant Drive, Mozy and Carbonite. Elephant isn't really unlimited and there are limits on file sizes so that take them out. __________________ "That's why the Black Guys like me"- Alison BB4

11-27-10, 10:12 AM	#4
Todd B. DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 5,205	re: Cloud backup solutions? There's also Backblaze. I think Mozy, Carbonite, and Backblaze are the market leaders.

11-27-10, 05:59 PM	#5
Timber DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 8,213	re: Cloud backup solutions? I think I'm going to try Mozy. Was about to go with Backblaze but just saw there is a 9GB file size limit. Not a huge deal as I only have about 2 files bigger then that. __________________ "That's why the Black Guys like me"- Alison BB4

11-27-10, 06:22 PM	#6
Chew DVD Talk Legend Join Date: May 1999 Location: South of Titletown Posts: 18,628	re: Cloud backup solutions? Crashplan is another unlimited option. __________________ XBL/PSN: chew1138 Weekly Tuesday Warhawk Night (PS3)

11-27-10, 06:27 PM	#7
danwiz DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan Posts: 1,433	re: Cloud backup solutions? I'm using Mozy Home for about 250 GB of data & photos. I signed up for 2 years and the price for that is pretty good - $103.95 for 2 years. I read their forums and a lot of people complain about the difficulty of doing the restores, so for a while I used the free 2 GB plan and played with the various types of restore. I had no problems and couldn't even really understand how people could have a problem with it. I'm satisfied with everything except upload speeds - I have a FTTH connection but the maximum upload speed their software will allow is 1Mbps - They asked me to take a survey a while back and I complained about that aspect of their service. So, I guess the moral of the story is that you might want to use the free option for a while and see if you like it. __________________ My DVD Collection (DVD Profiler) [removed link to site]

02-01-11, 05:18 PM	#8
xmiyux DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: May 2000 Location: WV Posts: 9,260	re: Cloud backup solutions? For those using Mozy, they announced today that they are basically going to screw us on prices if you are using the unlimited backup. Previously I was paying 5$ a month (I paid monthly instead of a year contract) for unlimited space. Now they are charging: 10$ for 125 gigs of storage. An additional 2$ for every 20 gigs over that first 125. So now I am hunting another solution. __________________ I'm nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday. I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur. I'm reminiscing this right now. I can't go to the bar because I've already looked back on it in my memory... and I didn't have a good time. Live gamertag: xmiyux

02-01-11, 06:15 PM	#9
Timber DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 8,213	re: Cloud backup solutions? Just coming to resurrect this thread. WTF, it's taken me 2 months to get almost everything backed up on there and now I have to find another solution. Off to research this topic yet again. __________________ "That's why the Black Guys like me"- Alison BB4

02-01-11, 06:19 PM	#10
xmiyux DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: May 2000 Location: WV Posts: 9,260	re: Cloud backup solutions? Both Backblaze and CrashPlan are offering 10% or 15% discounts to previous Mozy customers. I may just end up buying a second external HDD, back up to it once a month, and store it either at my parents' house or in a fire-proof safe. edit: With my super slow upload speed I don't know if I have the heart to upload for like 2 months solid again. __________________ I'm nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday. I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur. I'm reminiscing this right now. I can't go to the bar because I've already looked back on it in my memory... and I didn't have a good time. Live gamertag: xmiyux

02-01-11, 06:26 PM	#11
Timber DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 8,213	re: Cloud backup solutions? I think I'm just going to go with Backblaze. Problem is when one takes away Unlimited the others will eventually follow. I really don't want to mess around with manual backups, Mozy was slow to convenient. __________________ "That's why the Black Guys like me"- Alison BB4

02-01-11, 07:15 PM	#13
CharlieK DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,773	re: Cloud backup solutions? Forgive my ignorance, but why does it take months to upload?

02-01-11, 07:24 PM	#14
Mister Peepers DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: North Calaska, USA Posts: 6,544	re: Cloud backup solutions? He had 4-5TB of data to upload. That would take awhile to upload over the internet. If your ISP has any caps on usage, that'll just add to it. __________________ Horror Challenge: 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Comedy Challenge: 2011 *TV on DVD Challenge** 2012

02-01-11, 07:25 PM	#15
Timber DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 8,213	re: Cloud backup solutions? See danwiz's post above from a couple of month's ago. Mozy caps their upload speed so regardless of the connection I have it'll never go faster then 1Mbps. __________________ "That's why the Black Guys like me"- Alison BB4

02-01-11, 07:26 PM	#16
xmiyux DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: May 2000 Location: WV Posts: 9,260	re: Cloud backup solutions? I think I read somewhere that Carbonite limits you to 100gig upload a month maybe? So even outside of all other limitations it would take me almost 3 months to upload my original image to them. __________________ I'm nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday. I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur. I'm reminiscing this right now. I can't go to the bar because I've already looked back on it in my memory... and I didn't have a good time. Live gamertag: xmiyux

02-01-11, 07:45 PM	#17
palebluedot DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Francisco Posts: 4,447	re: Cloud backup solutions? This is why I just keep a USB disk at my office and backup over VPN. So data from my computer to local NAS box...NAS box to local USB backup and backup to the USB disks in my office. Overkill but it took me forever to rip all my DVDs and CDs and I don't want to lose 10TB for nothing. Last edited by palebluedot; 03-02-11 at 04:20 PM.

02-01-11, 08:16 PM	#18
danwiz DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan Posts: 1,433	re: Cloud backup solutions? DAMN!!! I have 280.8 GB backed up on Mozy. As I stated above, the 2 year option cost me $103.95. I just got an e-mail from them asking me to select a new renewal plan to go into effect when my current 2 years ends (Sept. 27, 2012) and the new price will be ---- ready for this?? ---- $545.79!!! (for 2 years again). That's quite an increase, eh!!! __________________ My DVD Collection (DVD Profiler) [removed link to site]

02-01-11, 08:23 PM	#19
xmiyux DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: May 2000 Location: WV Posts: 9,260	re: Cloud backup solutions? I've been paying month to month so I have 7 days till they delete my backups. __________________ I'm nostalgic for conversations I had yesterday. I've begun reminiscing events before they even occur. I'm reminiscing this right now. I can't go to the bar because I've already looked back on it in my memory... and I didn't have a good time. Live gamertag: xmiyux

02-01-11, 09:11 PM	#20
Timber DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 8,213	re: Cloud backup solutions? Going with Crashplan. Now just to get this Mozy software off my machines. Was just billed on the 27th, wonder if I'll get a partial month refund because I want them gone now. __________________ "That's why the Black Guys like me"- Alison BB4

02-01-11, 10:02 PM	#22
Timber DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Feb 2000 Posts: 8,213	re: Cloud backup solutions? Here you go. https://c.na3.visual.force.com/apex/...et?DocId=77385 __________________ "That's why the Black Guys like me"- Alison BB4

02-02-11, 12:45 AM	#23
danwiz DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan Posts: 1,433	re: Cloud backup solutions? Hey xmiyux, when I click on the "Next Charge" on my Mozy Account page there is a "Cancel Account" option. Can you find that? Seeing as I have already paid through September of 2012 I'm going to stick with them until then and when it comes time to think about another charge I'll think about changing my company. __________________ My DVD Collection (DVD Profiler) [removed link to site]

02-02-11, 11:04 AM	#24
4KRG DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 15,444	re: Cloud backup solutions? I have been thinking about using a cheap hosting service like this http://www.fatcow.com/ unlimited transfer and unlimited storage (I have not read the fine print yet) but it would be a more manual backup process, and I am not sure how secure the data is. It just appears to be a good deal for someone that has a ton of stuff to backup, but I haven't thought it through completely yet (or gone over fine print)

02-02-11, 11:28 AM	#25
DaveNinja DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Sacramento (The City of a Beer) Posts: 4,517	re: Cloud backup solutions? I've had Crashplan for over a year. so far no problems with it. I had to restore 3-400gigs and it worked without a problem. i have it set to backup between 1am and 6am so i never even notice it. i think its supposed to go to low bandwidth usage if the computer is actually being used at that time anyways. __________________ www.thefoureyes.com- For Geeky songs about Nerdy stuff MP3s \| Blog \| Buy a CD