Online Storage

[nun69]

how many of you have it? what site do you use? is it very expensive? and can you use it just lik ean EHD...so i.e. if I want to scrap, I can just take my pictures or kit elements from the online storage and use them in PS instead of pulling them from my EHD? Just trying to get some info since I really think I need to invest in this! TIA

[Kara]

I am using iDrive. It is usually $5/month, but I got an educational discount so it's only $2.50/month. It is not quite like an EHD in that whatever you back up has to actually be on your hard drive. It's not extra storage space, but literally a backup of whatever you have. You can back up EHDs, but they have to be regularly turned on because if the program doesn't see a file for a certain period of time, it assumes you deleted it and it does the same.

[KateD]

I use Backblaze and it sounds very similar to iDrive. I pay $5 a month for it.

[kendallt]

Originally Posted by KateD

I use Backblaze and it sounds very similar to iDrive. I pay $5 a month for it.

Same here.

[BrattyMeg]

another backblaze user..it has to be on your hard drive or ehd to back up and will i think delete off backblaze after it's off your computer for 30 days so it's not like an EHD or anything just extra backup/peace of mind.

[MamaBee]

Are you asked for back up of data, or for a "cloud" storage on an off site server?

If back up - we use Crashplan, and mozy (waiting for the contract to end at the end of the year)...

For syncing/linking to multiple devices... my hubby uses dropbox - but that stays on one of the computers, I believe... he can access files from "online" at work - radio stations - even off his phone... from the home computer.

[Stacey42]

I use backblaze too.

And thanks so much for this thread because I totally forgot about it and my laptop is fried. The HD appears to be ok but I was just thinking about all the stuff I have to try & transfer & what I might have lost.

[nun69]

I am just basically talking about having somethign to backup everythign on my EHD...just an extra insurance policy...so for you blackblaze users, are you saying that if I upload my SSD kits or pictures and I don't use one of them in 30 days it goes away on blackblaze? This confuses me

[Nettio]

Originally Posted by nun69

I am just basically talking about having somethign to backup everythign on my EHD...just an extra insurance policy...so for you blackblaze users, are you saying that if I upload my SSD kits or pictures and I don't use one of them in 30 days it goes away on blackblaze? This confuses me

You don't have to use them, but since it's a backup only, those files you backup still have to be on the drive you backed them up from. If you delete them off your original hard drive or EHD, after 30 days they'll be deleted off the backup too.

[haydensmommy217]

I use to have mozy and blackblaze

[maryinaz]

I moved to Backblaze from Mozy when they increased their prices. Sounds like it's what you want - a backup of your HD. When I was on vacation last summer, I had my laptop with me and was able to download kits/photos from BB when I wanted to scrap.

[rach3975]

It sounds like online backup is what you want. Depending which service you choose, you tell it which of your files/folders/drives to back up or it will automatically search out certain file types (data files as opposed to software) and back them up.

As far as being able to scrap from the back up, you can download and unzip the files then just scrap with them as usual. It's very convenient when you're not at home or are on a different computer without access to your EHD, but finding and downloading the files you need is more steps than just plugging in the EHD when you're home.

I had Mozy before they upped their prices, then I switched to BackBlaze. I pay by the year, and I think it was $50 for a year of unlimited storage. Backing up an EHD can be different than backing up a computer's HD since you can disconnect it and the backup engine can read that as deleting the files. BackBlaze says that as long as the EHD is plugged into the computer at least once every 30 days you should be fine. Here's the link about EHDs.

[ColleenSwerb]

Originally Posted by nun69

I am just basically talking about having somethign to backup everythign on my EHD...just an extra insurance policy...so for you blackblaze users, are you saying that if I upload my SSD kits or pictures and I don't use one of them in 30 days it goes away on blackblaze? This confuses me

Not if you don't use them, if you delete them from your EHD.

[nun69]

so basically I can't store all of my photos and delete them from my EHD wthout them deleting from the online storage...I thought the idea of online storage was so if something does get deleted you have it there{without having to worry about it getting deleted even if it is more than 30 days}....I guess I am looking for storage that my stuff can STAY on there, not just on my EHD and HD. Does that make sense? I guess I just need to invest in some more DVD's and back eveyrthing up on those as well.

[scrapsandsass]

Thanks to nun69 for starting this thread and for all of the good info posted. I have been thinking about this for awhile, but I had no clue.

With as much as I have spent on digital kits, I think it is worth the investment. I've been burning things to DVDs as a backup to the EHD, but it is probably cheaper and easier in the long run to do the online thing.

[ColleenSwerb]

I'm not sure about online STORAGE. Everyone here was mostly talking about online BACKUP. I think online backup is more readily available for personal use than online storage is, but I could be wrong.

If you want more storage, personally, I'd wait for Black Friday and snag yourself a nice big EHD for a decent price. I have 3 right now and now that I'm starting a business I plan on getting a 4th over that weekend. 1 holds photos only and is backed up monthly and stored at my husband's office so that it's "offsite" and protected in case anything happens to our home.

[nun69]

Col, that is exactly what I am talking about And the other reason I want it is I am eventually going to do photography as well and want to be able to have that there....so Col do you basically have all of your stuff mirrored on 3 EHD's? How do you have them all plugged in? Please help me cause I think this is what I want to do, but am I going to have to plug in one EHD and then the other and just trasfer back and forth every month?

[Nettio]

Originally Posted by nun69

so basically I can't store all of my photos and delete them from my EHD wthout them deleting from the online storage...I thought the idea of online storage was so if something does get deleted you have it there{without having to worry about it getting deleted even if it is more than 30 days}....I guess I am looking for storage that my stuff can STAY on there, not just on my EHD and HD. Does that make sense? I guess I just need to invest in some more DVD's and back eveyrthing up on those as well.

Online storage is different from an online backup though. An online backup is just a duplicate copy of your files to be used in the event that you accidentally delete something or your house burns down, etc. I imagine the 30 day limit is partly how they keep costs down but yes, if you don't realize the file was deleted for several months, then you'll be out of luck. But that's why you should always always have an onsite backup as well because as long as you keep both updated, you should always be covered.

If you're looking to actually store files online after you remove them from your computer, then what you're really looking for is cloud storage.

Amazon S3 is one and they charge you based on the amount of data you have stored per month so you'd have to calculate how much it would be. It's more expensive than the $5 backup sites but your files would never be deleted and you can download anything you need whenever you need it. I'm sure there are other sites as well but that's the one I've personally had experience with.

[MamaBee]

And alternative to EHD is a personal server... http://www.buffalotech.com/... this is what we have been using for the last 3 years. Our is a 2TB... every computer is connected to it in the house. I think the new ones also have cloud capacity so you can share files with clients.

ETA -the cloud is also if you are away from home on vacation or at a coffee shop you can access your stuff... not just for clients.

[ColleenSwerb]

Originally Posted by nun69

Col, that is exactly what I am talking about And the other reason I want it is I am eventually going to do photography as well and want to be able to have that there....so Col do you basically have all of your stuff mirrored on 3 EHD's? How do you have them all plugged in? Please help me cause I think this is what I want to do, but am I going to have to plug in one EHD and then the other and just trasfer back and forth every month?

Well Lynnette's cloud storage is the online option.

I have 2 plugged in right now, and the 3rd stays offsite. When I import and convert my photos into LR I have it send a backup to a second location (different from where my catalog looks). Once a month I copy everything over and make sure everything is where it needs to be. But at the very least, my unedited raw files are automatically put in 2 places at the same time.

I'm pretty sure I do it the hard way though, and there are backup programs available that would basically do the same thing. Lol! I still haven't looked into that yet, cuz my system works for me so far.

[Libby Pritchett]

If you don't want to invest in EHDs, and you want true online storage, I'd go for a personal server (like what I have all my products on when I post links for the CT girls). I use HostGator, and they have a plan starting as low as $4 per month with unlimited disk space. Here are the details:

http://www.hostgator.com/shared.shtml

Basically, you'd just upload everything on there via ftp, and then download when you need something. The down side of this is that you can't just tell it to "back up" like you'd do with mozy or backblaze or something (which I also have). You'd actually need to upload the specific folders that you want to store.

[EvaK]

If you are using a desktop you can easily have 2+ EHDs hooked up with no problems. If your home computers are on a network you can have a few EHDs hooked up to one computer and be able to access them through any of them (altho this can be a bit slow for BIG digi files or big photos).

The prices on EHD have gone down quite a bit -- or I guess more accurately -- the amount of storage they have has gone up. I have a portable EHD on my lappy that has 1TB -- and it cost about the same as one with 300-500GB EHDs I had a few years ago.

I also have backblaze as "insurance" in case I crash my computer or EHD. I have never had to take any files off of it so I am not sure how easy or fast it is. I pay by the year so that the price is a bit lower. I used to have Mozy, but switched when they raised their prices. I imagine they lost quite a bit of business when they raised their prices.