External vs Internal backup drives

[Artydp623]

HI,

I am looking to create a backup solution for my pc, however I am slightly unsure and would like to know other people's opinions. I am aiming for 3TB+ with redundancy if possible, and of course at the lowest price possible!

As far as I am concerned there are 3 options for backing up my system at home:

1. Use external USB HDDs for backups and use a specific program to keep an exact mirror of the drives/folders I specify. (~£80)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Expansion-Desktop-External-PlayStation/dp/B00UNA1ICQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522501015&sr=8-2&keywords=external+hard+drive+usb+3   

2. Use an internal HDD inside the pc I want to backup. (~£170)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-RED-NAS-Hard-Drive/dp/B008JJLW4M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522507091&sr=8-1&keywords=wd+red+3tb

3. Use windows homegroup to transfer files to my second machine with 2 HDDs in mirror through raid. (~£170)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-RED-NAS-Hard-Drive/dp/B008JJLW4M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522507091&sr=8-1&keywords=wd+red+3tb

My understanding is that option 3 is superior, due to higher transfer, the possibility for redundancy and the fact that any pc in my network can access the files. However, the drives that I would need for my second pc are much more expensive.

Just after other peoples opinions as to what I should do!

Thanks

P.S. Sorry for the links and prices to Amazon UK.

[r2724r16]

As far as I know, keeping drives off a network is the safest option and is the best way to stay away from hackers seeing your personal data. 

[ScratchCat]

Try obtain a couple of drives such that you can keep at least one copy in cold storage (not connected to a computer) as if you are infected by Ransomware it will attempt to encrypt all online drives regardless of if they are on the network or not.

 

Additionally external/removed internal drives can be hidden easier, reducing the chances of a theif taking all backup copies.

[Jay Deah]

Option 1 a simple external HDD is the simplest/best option imho.

 

just remember the limitation that it does not protect you against some sort of disaster in your house (ie fire/flood) so if you want to protect against this instead of simple hardware failures you need an off-site backup solution. There are dozens of good cloud backup companies out there nowadays that are inexpensive, shop around and see what you might want from each.

 

personally I use OneDrive for all my files I care about not losing safe in the knowledge I have a copy in the cloud. The other data on my PC I don’t care about and accept loss if things break (but it is in a raid1 array) I no longer do any external backup to devices in my home.

[Artydp623]

23 hours ago, Jay Deah said:

Option 1 a simple external HDD is the simplest/best option imho.

 

just remember the limitation that it does not protect you against some sort of disaster in your house (ie fire/flood) so if you want to protect against this instead of simple hardware failures you need an off-site backup solution. There are dozens of good cloud backup companies out there nowadays that are inexpensive, shop around and see what you might want from each.

 

personally I use OneDrive for all my files I care about not losing safe in the knowledge I have a copy in the cloud. The other data on my PC I don’t care about and accept loss if things break (but it is in a raid1 array) I no longer do any external backup to devices in my home.

Yeah, I agree that the off-site/online backup is the best way, however with a download of ~5Mbs and an upload that rarely exceeds 1Mbs it isn't feasible for me. Have decided to go with the external drive for now and will upgrade to a cloud based solution when/if internet speeds around here improve.

Thanks for all responses!!

[dionkoffie]

I have my important data on a different drive in my PC. Every once in a while I plug in an extra HDD and copy everything over to that drive.

I don't fully trust online storage companies. I've had issues where some of my data disappeared and if there is a dataleak then rip u. I'd rather keep my data within my reach. Plus speed is an issue. I have 1TB of data. I have a fast internet connection, but I cba to download/upload everything.

 

 

My friend bought a decently cheap fire/floodproof safe where he keeps his data secured.