Backup to external hard drive

[willyp]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the best best way to save & backup project files to an external hard drive? I have read in the Performer Lite User Guide ( I assume DP is the same) that you can use a "save As" option called "Duplicate audio data and copy shared samples to project." Is this save protocol necessary in order to restore a full project in the event of a computer crash? Other than that option, would you normally just "cut and paste" or "drag and drop" a project file into the external hard drive window? Thank you.

[bayswater]

I save projects on the startup drive while working on a project, then Save As as you describe with the relevant options to put the project on an external drive at the end of a session. It works fine. I also have the backup system (Time Machine in my case) backup both drives. And I use the Autosave preference. In the rare event of a crash, I might lose a couple of minutes of work at worst.

[mikehalloran]

Unlike the MacOS, Windows has no automatic default backup scheme. That's ok, there are many vendors out there that can help you with this.

I would be looking for something that backs up automatically, at least hourly and can restore individual files as well as a system restore if necessary. These guys claim to be able to do this.
http://www.zinstall.com/backup/?rf=ad-t ... bpEALw_wcB

I have no idea how valid their claims are nor who the competition is.

Windows does not do Snapshots like the MacOS so instant restore is not possible but FullBack appears to be the next best thing.

[pencilina]

This free tool works great on windows:

https://freefilesync.org/

You can use it to synchronize folders. It can write just the new files since the last sync for example on different drives which is a lot more efficient the copying the entire project each time you want to backup.

Hope that helps.

[pencilina]

and also, there's File History which is very similar to apple's time machine and built into windows:

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2974385 ... ature.html

[HCMarkus]

This free tool works great on windows:

https://freefilesync.org/

You can use it to synchronize folders. It can write just the new files since the last sync for example on different drives which is a lot more efficient the copying the entire project each time you want to backup.

Hope that helps.

That sounds like the approach I use on my Mac... Drag and Drop session folder to my backup drives at end of first session. On subsequent sessions, Drag and Drop the updated session folder to the backups and select "Merge" to update only the changed/added files within the folder.

Might be a good time to mention BackBlaze as an inexpensive cloud backup service. Important to have that, too.

[CharlzS]

and also, there's File History which is very similar to apple's time machine and built into windows:

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2974385 ... ature.html

File History has been deprecated and has been removed from new Windows 11 Settings. It's still available in the old Control Panels window, so still an option. Who knows how long that will last. It could end up like Windows Backup where you have to do some digging to use it any other way than creating a system image. Of course MS could always change their mind and throw File History back in the mix - they have until next week to decide.

+1 on FreeFileSync. I use it to copy/sync to NAS, external drives and USB drives, all without issue.

[willyp]

Thank you everyone for your replies. This really helps.
willyp