World Backup Day is just one day a year. But those less pleasant reminders that we should back up our data can come at any time. And as so many of us know all to well, they tend to come at the worst times.
But while this year’s official World Backup Day isn’t until next week – Monday, March 31 – it’s never too soon to secure your data before disaster strikes.
Fortunately, OWC is your one-stop shop for everything you need to make sure your computer’s data is backed up and safe. And with our recent Thunderbolt-equipped additions to our lineup – including the ThunderBay 4 (pictured right) – we have more high-performance options to offer than ever.
As we’ve said before, computers are modern substitutes for our photo albums, bookshelves and file cabinets. And we simply can’t risk losing our pictures, videos, music or other important documents. That’s why on the OWC Blog we’ve showed you plenty of ways you can secure your data from this precious data against malfunctions, viruses, corruption, and even theft.
Check out below for some OWC Staff Recommendations for the right hardware to fit your plan for backing up your data:
OWC Graphics Department
“We use the OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro as our go-to Time Machine Drive. They look great, have the perfect amount of capacity for workstation backup, and take up minimal desktop space. Plus, our designers like to look at them. The other way we back is with the ThunderBay 4. We have have one 3TB drive assigned as a time machine backup while two OWC SSDs do the heavy workload. We don’t just design for our products, we use them day-in and day-out.”
OWC Video Department
“Since we have somewhat complex setups that really can’t afford to be down for very long, we have a dual-pronged approach: daily clones of our boot and working drives using Carbon Copy Cloner, and we fill in the time between clones using Time Machine to an external drive; currently either a Guardian MAXimus or a miniStack (right), but soon to be a shared OWC Jupiter system (it’s all ours after NAB). This way, if a machine goes down, we can boot from the clone and restore newer files with Time Machine. It hasn’t happened yet (knock on wood) but we’re prepared if it does.”
OWC Marketing Department
“We’ve used the backup rule of threes for a long time. Always have three copies, in two different formats with one located offsite. We keep a full clone of our hard drive on one external drive, and a Time Machine backup on another, and then a second Time Machine backup uploaded to our corporate servers.”
OWC Larry’s Picks
When backing up your data, OWC’s founder and CEO recommends the tried-and-true solutions depending on individual needs. The On-The-Go Pro is perfect for those who need there backed up data when they’re, well, on the go. The On-The-Go Pro is portable, durable and quiet, so it’s perfect anywhere (and it’s now available in a Thunderbolt-equipped model).
For those in need of higher capacity backup, the Guardian Maximus or Elite Pro Qx2 (right) will fit just about any need with capacities up to 16TB. And with the ThunderBay 4, you can great amounts of high-performance storage capacity with Thunderbolt power.
You Can Also Build Your Own
You can buy a complete solution from OWC, or you can select among our many great “add your own drive” kits. You may have a “not-so-old” drive hanging around that you can put to good use, and OWC has great enclosures that will help you make a convenient new external.
So how will you be backing up your data in honor of World Backup Day? Let us know in the comments section below!
I perform a Time Machine backup monthly and then SuperDuper! ones daily on SDXC card.