Dr. Nathan Parker Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 Currently all of my "complete" backups are on-site, although I do have all my critical work that I would need to access during a catastrophe stored in cloud storage. Since I live in a severe-weather-prone area, I'm considering setting up an offsite backup of at least one of my devices. I'm thinking of choosing my MacBook Air as the device I'd setup offsite backups on as my MacBook Air and iMac run the same apps/files, and in the event of a catastrophe, I'd need to re-purchase a notebook I could take around to different places and worry about a desktop later. I'd also choose a Mac over a Windows PC since a Mac can be easily restored using a Time Machine backup, whereas recovering a Windows PC would take longer and something I could always worry about later. I don't think I'd want to get into most online backup solutions since my Internet can be a little flakey at times, plus my Internet isn't unlimited (but does have a high data cap), so restoring a computer over the Internet wouldn't be a great experience. There is one online backup provider that has an office in my town, so if I did go with any form of online backup solution, I could check with them and see if there's a way to "seed" the backup via a hard drive, and have them recover the backup by giving me a hard drive I could pickup from their office in the event I needed one. Another option I'm considering is just getting a second backup drive and setting it up with Time Machine, then rotate the drives about once a month and storing the second one off-site (a local bank, etc). That way I avoid online backups entirely, and my offsite backups are never more than a month old. Restoration would be pretty quick (grab the drive, plug it in, and go). Has anyone else done anything with offsite backups, and if so, what are some strategies for me to consider? After this year's tornado events in Little Rock, I'd like to plan for a way to keep a copy of my data offsite yet easily accessible/recoverable so I could quickly get back working in the event of a major event. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erhard Posted October 24, 2023 Share Posted October 24, 2023 Personally, I do a few things. First, I use sync for all my user files. (other than program files) Second, I do a complete backup once a week to an external hard drive using Acronis. Third, I do another backup using Casper to another external hard drive. Fourth, I have a couple of other computers set up with the same programs which also sync my data. So this way, I could have one computer fail and I just use the other one. If there is an issue with cloud syncing, I have the data on an external disk on site. I do seem to be the oddball here because I prefer the Windows computers. My experience with a Mac Book Pro was not good and I find that my Windows computers seem to work quite well and are quite stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nathan Parker Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 How well does Acronis work for full backups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erhard Posted October 25, 2023 Share Posted October 25, 2023 It works pretty good for me. Usually around 1/2 hour for my computer ~ 350 GB on a 500 GB drive. If you have another computer with Acronis, you can read the files since they have a special format. Casper seems to have the odd issue with doing the backups. I have the 2019 perpetual license, but it seems they only have subscription versions now. Here is a review of some https://www.pcworld.com/article/407021/best-windows-backup-software.html another one is this one https://www.lifewire.com/best-commercial-backup-software-programs-2624711 Likely what you also have to decide is if you want to pretty much have a disc image or just your data. Personally, I like to have everything including the programs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nathan Parker Posted October 25, 2023 Author Share Posted October 25, 2023 Great feedback. Thanks! Have you ever used Macrium Reflect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Raynor Posted October 25, 2023 Share Posted October 25, 2023 I have tried Acronis on and off over the years and find it clunky and unreliable for me. With my desktop I added a hard disk to use for File History. Not to mention a NAS which I regularly sync with Dropbox using the good old Microsoft SyncToy. Windows (or course) encourages the use OneDrive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nathan Parker Posted October 25, 2023 Author Share Posted October 25, 2023 I'm using File History with an external drive as well at the moment. Now that I have Pro on the machine, should I encrypt that drive using BitLocker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Saunders Posted October 25, 2023 Share Posted October 25, 2023 I use both TimeMachine and Carbon Copy Cloner for backing up. I reckon CCC is the one to use for 'off-site' backups. I'd get a cheap external hard drive or SSD, and setup a 'job' in CCC to backup to it every time it's plugged in. Then store one of those drives 'off-site' (at someone's house, or a cupboard at your church building...where no one tends to 'clean up'!) and bring the drive home every month or so to update the backup. If your budget allows—get two drives, and alternate which one is in your office and which one is 'off-site'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nathan Parker Posted October 26, 2023 Author Share Posted October 26, 2023 Can CCC still backup recent versions of macOS or versions of macOS on Apple Silicon? I know Apple made some changes to how system clones work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Saunders Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 I believe CCC can't make a bootable backup on Apple Silicon (due to the new architecture)–so only backing up applications, data, settings etc. It does mean if you have a complete drive failure your computer is useless...but I don't think anyone can work around that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nathan Parker Posted October 26, 2023 Author Share Posted October 26, 2023 Thanks for the info! I thought Apple did change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nathan Parker Posted November 7, 2023 Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 Has anyone here used Carbonite? There's a local computer repair shop that can sell Carbonite to me as an online backup option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Jones Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Time Machine is unreliable. I use backblaze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nathan Parker Posted November 8, 2023 Author Share Posted November 8, 2023 Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickdxt Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 Can I use third-party tools to take Office 365 Backup? Because I want an efficient process that can manage the cruciality of the data. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nathan Parker Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 I haven't used that particular tool. Here's what I ended up doing: Buying two more hard drives Install Macrium Workstation on my Windows PC to image my Windows PC (using Time Machine to image my Mac) Setup a safety deposit box offsite in an area I frequent about once a month Rotate the drives monthly That way if there's a major catastrophe, I could buy two new machines and quickly recover my data 100% offline. Plus I have offline copies to protect against ransomware, EMP, anything else that could happen. For files I'm working on, I'll store them in a cloud drive like iCloud or Proton Drive so I also have an "offsite"/online copy of everything. The solution long-term will be cheaper than online backup services and more reliable for my needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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