Any suggestions for reliable, easy, portable data backup?
 

I use a laptop for work and no longer have regular network access to back up my data.
I saw a guy had a very small drive about the size of a large iPod.
I need something that will hold a bunch of data and is pretty much idiot proof.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!

Oops... sorry. I meant to post this in the Lounge.

You can get a 1/2 gig jump drive, flash drive or whatever you want to call it for $25-40 depending on rebates, sales, etc. My wife uses one to transport data back & forth to work (she works out of the house) rather than lugging her laptop. Many have a key-chain attachment as well. We also use them when we travel on business as a backup.

They go by many names: jump drive, flash memory, flash drive etc. They are relativley inexpensive, have up to 16GB and are EASY to use.

Many brands, more memory = higher cost.

This place has decent prices, look for sales locally at Offic Max, Staples etc.


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati....asp?CatId=379

How much storage space do you need?

I need much more than a typical flashdrive.
I have 10,000+ songs in iTunes plus 40-50k emails and all my ppts and such.
Big.
A guy sitting next to me on a plane had one that was about the size of a big iPod and he said it was great, but I have no clue what it was...

How many gigabytes do you need? I have a "portable" hard drive (called FreeAgent made by Seagate, but all the mftrs make them). It measures about 4"x5"x3/4" and holds 160 GB. I got in on sale for $114.

OK, I have to ask, what are you keeping 50k e-mails for ? Our company makes us delete them + they control the amount of space we can have, or they get deleted for us.

I have this:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...nplm=TN205ZM/A

It's about the size of a thick paperback book, and very easy to use, at least with my PowerBook. There are similar external hard drives for PC's. There are also smaller ones, but one pays a premium for small size, so unless you need to carry this guy around every day, spend the $$ on gigs--you'll use 'em all eventually!
Good luck!

I agree with dmlove, get a portable hard drive (not to be confused with an external hard drive which is larger than a "portable;" a "portable" needs only a USB cable, no separate power cable.). You can get them even cheaper than $100 if you don't need 160GB. Look for deals on the site Boddit.com (which combines the deals of a lot of other deal sites). But you'll often find them on sale at Staples, Office Depot, even Costco.

Crazy, but I refer to emails from 2000!
Seriously, I recently looked up an email I sent regarding a product in development. The old email answered a bunch of questions and helped us understand where a 'threat' originated.
My company limits what is on the network, but not my harddrive.
I could probably delete about 1/2 of the emails, but it would take weeks to weed through them all.
I should add that I have worked in the same product development group for 8 years and many of my saved files are the only remaining documentation of the creative process that developed the products... which are still the market leaders.
Anyway, it is useful enough to back-up IMO.

Here's the one I have. The picture is a little deceptive, because it doesn't show the USB cords, which is about 12" long, then it splits into two (you need two USB ports, one for power and one for data, I believe) about another 15" or so.

Also, I think some brands come with a carrying case.

http://www.seagate.com/freeagent/

Andrew has given you good advice. You want something like this:
Iomega eGo 160gig
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1179876186066

or this:
Western Digital Passport 120gig
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1152837300414

IMO, if the difference in price is not that great, better to go for the larger drive and have room to grow!

P.S. I'm so with you on the email! :)

Like I said, I got mine on sale for $114, so it was a better price than both of the ones the previous poster linked to. I also got it at Best Buy.

Do you mean my post? The Western Digital 120gig is on sale on that link at Best Buy for $89.

J&R in NYC has a huge variety on external drives--I notice they have the Passport in both 80Gb aand 120Gb.

Just bought a 250Gb external drive from them and it was a smooth transaction.

J&R is great: check them out at www.jr.com. That 120gig Western Digital drive I (that mentioned is on sale at Best Buy for $89) is $84 at J&R's website:
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4133783

I know the Western Digital drive is on sale for $89, but the drive I got for $114 is 160 GB, not 120. 40 GB more for $25.00.

Have you checked with your company IT department?

I'm in a similar situation - lots of data on my hard drive and no direct connection to company network.

I use VPN to connect to the company and use Symantec backup s/w to backup at least once a week, usually real time.

Another reason to check with the IT department is info security. Your laptop is password protected, and if your company is serious about security then the hard drive is also encrypted and protected. Do you need to enter a hard drive password at system startup, or just windows login?

If they are serious, they won't want 50k emails and ppt files sitting on a piece of unsecure hardware in your drawer at home. Portability for you means portability for the data as well, which may not be good.