Technology I need this!

[Seahunter]

Yes, backing up can't be stressed enough. Some people think it's too complicated and so never do it, but these days it's as simple as a few mouse clicks. I never worry about anything but the documents, pictures and that sort of thing, but some people like to do a periodic image of their entire drive.

BTW, Roy, before you just toss that old laptop aside, might I suggest formatting the hard drive and installing Linux Mint? Linux will run nicely on old hardware, even when Windows might not like it anymore. I just installed Mint on an old laptop for a friend last week. He was about to buy a new one, but I convinced him to allow me to revive his dead one for him, and he seems to be settling into Linux quite well.

That's a great idea Surge, I never thought of that. I'll research that and see if it's something I can handle! I've never worked with Linux, but it would be fun to learn something new.

 

[Seahunter]

Hard drives...blah, blah, techie talk, blah.......How about one of those flash drive thingies?

The flash drives are great to have for portability for music, pictures, etc., but I would never use one for my only source of a back-up.

 

[Naked Apple]

Ron, please explain where you back up to and do you use a special program and how do you recover to a new computer?

Zoilcan was your question answered? I have trouble wrapping my head around anything techie, but did what Roy and Surge say help you? Otherwise Bob is very well versed in computers. We could tap him if you want.

 

[Zoilcan]

I think you can use one of those flashy things, but it has have a large memory. I have a 500g external HD, hooked to a desktop. Can I back up all my computers to 500g from my network? If so how do I know which is which (option to label backup?). I was looking at Linux 20yrs ago but thought it was to hard learn. Never installed just read the box. You have to format HD to install Linux? Not buying a new computer. My son has made me several desktop clones and got 3 laptops. Not sure if my external HD drive has software on it, it is old. Flashy things really would not be practical for continuous backup like Ron said. Nevermind I thought Surge was ask me about dead computer.

 

[surge]

surge is the man to ask here for specifics...

Nope, you covered everything pretty well!

 

[surge]

That's a great idea Surge, I never thought of that. I'll research that and see if it's something I can handle! I've never worked with Linux, but it would be fun to learn something new.

Check YouTube, there are tons of tutorials there. I recommend Mint because it's got a pretty similar look and feel to Windows or Mac, but there are several user friendly flavors. I won't say the transition will be seamless because there are some big differences (notably, the way software is installed), but the learning curve isn't that steep. Some people recommend Zorin if you're switching from Windows 7, but I don't have any personal experience with that one.

If you decide to do it and have questions, fell free to ask!

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-linux-distro-first-time-switchers-windows-mac/

 

[surge]

I think you can use one of those flashy things, but it has have a large memory. I have a 500g external HD, hooked to a desktop. Can I back up all my computers to 500g from my network? If so how do I know which is which (option to label backup?). I was looking at Linux 20yrs ago but thought it was to hard learn. Never installed just read the box. You have to format HD to install Linux? Not buying a new computer. My son has made me several desktop clones and got 3 laptops. Not sure if my external HD drive has software on it, it is old. Flashy things really would not be practical for continuous backup like Ron said. Nevermind I thought Surge was ask me about dead computer.

A 500 GB external should be plenty of space for back up if all you're worried about is photos, documents, bookmarks and that sort of thing. If you want to back up the entire drive, then that probably will only work for one computer. And yes, you can create different back up directories for each computer, so you can tell which is which easily. Which software you use makes some difference, but all do basically the same thing. I use Synkron, but that's mostly because it's cross platform.

I'll answer any questions that I can, and I'm sure Bob and Roy probably have a different perspective than I do on all of it and would be glad to offer advice as well.