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#1
05-31-2012, 12:37 PM
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Backblaze - full restore...
Those who saw me post on FB last night probably expected this thread.
 Has anyone here done a full restore with Backblaze? I have been attempting it this week and it's been a nightmare. I have always been so happy with BB, but only to download a file here and there. This full restore is ridiculous though. Any file over 1GB is considered very large. Once I get a file to the point of restore, I have trouble downloading it. I'm getting download fails using Firefox, Chrome, and the BB downloader (which they recommend). So before I go into more detail or complain anymore, I wanted to see if anyone had done a full restore from BB. 
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#2
05-31-2012, 12:48 PM
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Mary, I attempted a full restore when I changed computers, and I ran into the same stuff you did. I ended up saving everything to an EHD and doing it that way. I still like the idea of BB in case my computer crashes. If that happens though, I'll likely end up paying for a DVD instead of trying to download everything from them.
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#3
05-31-2012, 01:07 PM
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Libby, that is the conclusion I'm coming to - BB should not be used for full restores and not for your main back-up.
They don't seem to have the option of restoring from a DVD. It's a flash drive with a laughable 28GB available for $99 or an EHD the size of your restore for $189. Unfortunately my old computer would not turn back on when I unplugged it, so I can't get anything off that hard drive yet. We are going to see if we can put it into another computer. Oh, and for the record, their customer service stinks. I put in a ticket 2 days ago and never heard anything. In fact, they deleted my ticket. I finally resorted to posting on their FB page and heard from them this morning. Very, very disappointed and I don't know how they stay in business. Would love to know of some success stories.
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#4
05-31-2012, 01:10 PM
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Oh that really stinks, Mary! I was really hoping that their service would be better after the huge Mozy fiasco. I didn't realize they didn't have a DVD option. And yeah, 28GB... I'd need several of those.
I guess perhaps I should start shopping around for options before I get in an emergency situation where I have no choice but to pay it.
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#5
05-31-2012, 01:16 PM
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If you guys have room in your computers...consider putting in a secondary hard drive that can act as your primary backup, leaving the online stuff as secondary. If my main hard drive fails, we still have all of our backups on the secondary hard drive. They're more stable than EHD's.
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#6
05-31-2012, 01:17 PM
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I know and I did a fullestore with Mozy and had no problems.
 I'll be shopping around too. Thankfully I had put all of my kits as of April on my EHD. And I think I'll be able to get back my pictures (although I have to create multiple restores files PER YEAR). But my PSD layouts are 53GB and I'm doubting I'll get those back unless we can get my old hard drive to work in another computer.
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#7
05-31-2012, 01:23 PM
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i lost my EHD (the power supply completely broke...don't know how that even happened) & so i had to do a full restore with backblaze. DH didn't want to purchase the EHD because of how expensive it was AND then still have to buy another NEW EHD. i ended up doing it a few files at a time-like 14 GB or something like that. it was ridiculous & i spent almost an entire month doing it night & day but that's the only way i could afford to do it. i'm now backing up to 2 different EHDs (one's a wireless one so it won't auto backup to BB) and BB, just in case it ever happens again.
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#8
05-31-2012, 01:38 PM
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Awwww, crap. Now I'm worried about having BB as my primary backup. Sounds like if everything did go kaput, I'd be up a creek with a million very small files to try and upload instead of a paddle.
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#9
05-31-2012, 01:39 PM
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Mary, I just have to say again how upset I am for you.
I hope you get your files!
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#10
05-31-2012, 02:28 PM
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Thanks Julie. It's is upsetting how you think you are covered and all will be OK and then you run into a mess like this. Live and learn, that's for sure.
And Kate, yeah, I would hesitate to have BB as the main backup now. I'll definitely be rethinking my backup strategy.
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#11
05-31-2012, 02:34 PM
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When I needed my files after a harddrive crash, I just ordered an EHD from BB. I had so many files it just make more sense to do it that way.
__________________
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#12
05-31-2012, 04:43 PM
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Quote:
if you plan on ordering an EHD, just know that it's $189. if you know that BEFORE you have to backup, then you'll be ok. i didn't know that & i was pretty upset 
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#13
05-31-2012, 05:08 PM
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And I just got another email from them recommending ordering the EHD. So...yeah, I would say definitely for digi-scrappers, plan on that cost if you crash.
 I had just assumed that BB would work like Mozy and the online downloads would work just fine. I was wrong.
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#14
05-31-2012, 05:10 PM
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So sorry, Mary - that absolutely stinks.
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#15
05-31-2012, 05:24 PM
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Wow, what a terrible experience!!! I'm so so sorry you are dealing with this
Have you thought about buying a "kit" to make your hard drive into an EHD!?!?! My desktop failed and I had a 2nd hard drive in it and we got a kit at Best Buy for like $30 bucks and it's now an EHD that I still use for storage.
__________________
Elizabeth  Blogging for Kristin Cronin-Barrow
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#17
05-31-2012, 07:36 PM
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I'm so sorry you're having that experience, Mary! I knew about the $189, but I still think that's a crazy amount to charge. I assume that's where they make a lot of their profit.
Did you also have jpg or printed copies of your layouts, or are those PSDs the only copy?
__________________
 Last edited by rach3975; 05-31-2012 at 07:40 PM.
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#18
05-31-2012, 09:02 PM
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Oh, that stinks! What's the point in the backup if you have to pay to get it all back?!
I think Elizabeth's idea is great if it's not your harddrive that's in trouble. That's what I used to always do for my EHD... buy an internal harddrive and an external enclosure! Definitely worth a atry!
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#19
05-31-2012, 09:55 PM
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Quote:
I have jpegs of all my layouts. I was just one of those anal people who kept the PSDs in case I ever wanted to reuse a layout for one of my other boys and just switch out the photos. However, I still haven't downloaded even the jpegs. Sarah - I totally want to do that with my old HD. It was not the problem, it was the rest of the computer that was old and retched. I just have to find the kit and to be honest, my online searches aren't returning anything because I don't know what to look for. LOL If you or Elizabeth has a link to what I might need, I would appreciate it! 
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#20
05-31-2012, 10:02 PM
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Mary - we've done this with one of our old hard drives to make it into an EHD for our laptop.
You're looking for this type of product: http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0382810 You'll need to know if you have SATA (will have thin ribbon cable running from hard drive to PC) or IDE (ATA) (will have big thick ribbon cable) to choose the correct kind to get, but from here you should be able to find something locally.
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#22
06-01-2012, 08:05 AM
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I haven't had to do a restore through Backblaze at all, thankfully. I did do a full restore through Mozy though and and had no problems. It took a little while but I got done eventually. The drive that I had issues with then is still sitting in my office. I think it might be worth a try to connect it through a SATA cable and try it on our computer to see if I can pull any files from it. Its on my list of projects but hasn't made it to the top yet. I was all backed up except for a month's worth of pictures (and most of them were on facebook) so it wasn't the end of the world for me. At one point, before online backup, I lost 2 years worth of pictures of my daughter. I still get upset about that. Thankfully I had made some prints and had a few CDs hanging around that I had used to take to walmart for prints so I was able to get some of those pictures back. I also have some printed for other projects and had scrapped some already so that helped too.
Anyway, has anyone done a full restore with crashplan? Is that a better option? I've been doing my initial backblaze backup for well over 6 months now and it is is driving me crazy because I'm still only half way backed up. Nope, just looked, 2/3 backed up now. Yay. I guess. LOL Mozy was much faster, that's for sure. I should have sucked it up and paid the price for Mozy. Right now I have two EHDs attached to my computer. The plan is to use one as backup for the other but right now they both have different things on them because I am moving files around and getting rid of non-essential stuff. I have 3 or 4 versions of all my zip files for the stuff I've designed sitting on my hard drive, different uploads that were previously for different stores. I don't need ANY of those zips. Its not like I can't zip the files up again at a later date if I need them, you know? I just never deleted them. I also have a million pictures of the ground, the wall, my kids' toes (blurry so not even cute for scrapping), etc. that need to be deleted. LOL I've been working on that for weeks now, still have a long way to go. Eventually though I will get it done. I store everything on EHD except for program files that are installed. Those are on my internal drive. I have plenty of internal memory as I have a 1TB drive but I just never think to save anything on it. I used to have an internal slave drive that I kept everything on and I really liked that. I don't think I have room in my case for one on this machine though. I'll have to ask the hubby since he's my computer tech.
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#23
06-01-2012, 08:24 AM
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Thankfully, I haven't had to do a complete restore yet from an online service. I am in the process of switching from Backblaze to Crashplan because of the way the backups are done. With Backblaze, if an EHD is disconnected for more than 30 days the backup is deleted, and I didn't want to have to remember to plug in my drives at least once every 30 days. Also, I like that I can use the Crashplan software to back up to my EHD's, another computer on my network, and/or to their server. I think it's a lot simpler that way. Plus, I also like that I can set different backup sets and prioritize what gets backed up. I've found Crashplan to have very fast backup speeds.
Oh, and another reason I looked at switching from Backblaze is that I found that it wasn't backing up my new files right away even though I had it set to do that. Crashplan seems to be doing a better job of keeping my files backed up.
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#24
06-02-2012, 06:09 PM
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Just wanted to post one last time that I followed the advice here and converted my old 1TB HD into an EHD (Darcy - we did find what I needed at Fry's Electronics
) and I now have access to ALL my files! Even the PSD layouts.  So no more restoring from Backblaze. I think I am still going to do an online backup though, since it's so cheap, so that I can grab files on my laptop from my desktop. And if worse comes to worse and both of my hard drives fail, there is always that $189 EHD I can get from them. Thank goodness I posted here and you all are just brilliant and so helpful!! I so appreciate the assistance and I love you all!!!  
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#25
06-02-2012, 06:14 PM
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WOOHOO! Glad it worked for you !!!!
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#26
06-29-2012, 12:31 PM
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I just wanted to warn any of you who are using Backblaze and would plan to try a restore from online files, that I have been finding blank files within the restore downloads. I can go back and get a specific file/folder and recreate a new restore. But those original restores I was doing...they were not complete and I'm just now finding that out file by file. The name of the file is there, but with 0 KB indicated. There is no pattern to what is empty so I'm having to check every single file.
I have not yet decided what to do about a new online backup (I may try Crashplan), but I'll be dumping Backblaze as soon as I make sure I have everything I need. And then also be backing up to the EHD I created from my old hard drive. I know this is important to all of us, so I just wanted to give another update in case it helps anyone.
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#27
06-29-2012, 01:36 PM
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oh Mary, that is just heartbreaking.
Just earlier this week I was wandering through old Digi Files articles and saw someone else that had your same experience (it's in the comments section). That article got me to thinking about you and I was just about to ask you how your restore worked out. I'm so bummed for you that it is being horrible. If you start with Crashplan, please give us a review. ((hugs))
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#28
06-29-2012, 01:53 PM
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Well that's disappointing! Let us know where you end up going. Sounds like I should consider a new plan sooner rather than later. Backblaze is my only back-up, so if I crash, and they have blank files, I'm pretty well up a creek.
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#29
06-29-2012, 02:45 PM
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Thanks Julie. I'm still working on verifying everything, but I have other projects going on right now and that's why it is taking so long.
Libby - just to clarify - the files ARE on Backblaze. It's just that when BB created my restores, for some reason, some files were empty, some weren't. So even though I did a lot of restoring from there and kept track of what I restored, as I look through them, some of the files are empty. When I find a file/folder that is empty, I can go back to BB and do another restore - the files are there. But what a BIG PAIN it has been to not be able to trust that those first restore files were good! I don't know why that happened - were some of my restore files too big? Could have been. So once again, my conclusion is that you should not count on an online restore, but be prepared to get that EHD they offer for $189. As soon as I get this high school calendar project off my back (next week!), I'm going to download the free trial of Crashplan and see how that goes. I'll keep you posted.
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#30
06-29-2012, 02:54 PM
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ooooh! OK, well that still bites. What a massive pain!
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#31
06-29-2012, 02:57 PM
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I really want to switch to Crash Plan but when I downloaded it they figured I will take over 6 months for my initial backup. That was discouraging considering I've been doing my initial backup with Backblaze for nearly as long already and I'm only 1/3 the way through with being backed up. It doesn't help that I have so many files but, sheesh... If I do crash plan I'll bite the bullet and go for the seed drive so that it is easier. It's pricey but oh the time it saves!
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#32
06-30-2012, 09:53 AM
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Thought I would add that I had a similar experience recently with Backblaze trying to do a full restore for my mom's computer that crashed. About 1/2 of her picture files (and boy were there a lot of them!) were empty. It took me days just to get the 18GB restore downloaded and then found empty files. The files were present with their correct file names, but 0 bytes just as you have said.
Their response to me danced around the 'empty file' issue and focused on downloading issues. I have since contacted them again re: the blank files and we'll see if I get a response. Luckily, I was able to get the files off of her crashed computer and took out her hard drive, but if I had not it would have been devastating. Not only to loose the pics, but her Quickbooks company file was missing as well! I am considering other online options myself in addition to my TimeMachine and EHD backups. I was not pleased with the Backblaze experience for a full restore. Quote:
__________________
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#33
06-30-2012, 10:02 AM
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I'm so sorry you're dealing with this!
I use BB and am pleased with them but I've never needed a restore. However, I still back up to my EHD manually once a month. BB is really for my most recent files, so in the event of a crash I wouldn't have to download everything. What a nightmare this has been for you though!
__________________
    
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#34
06-30-2012, 03:28 PM
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Quote:
I do like the idea of Crash Plan's vow they will never delete your files (even if you delete it from your hard drive), just for those accidents where I kill off a file but don't realize it for 2 months. Has anyone used them and had to restore? Since that is where the problems for Backblaze seem to occur, that is my biggest concern for Crash Plan.
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#35
06-30-2012, 08:04 PM
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I went searching for reviews of different plans a while back and PC Mag has reviewed all of them. Here's the one for Crashplan and then you can click around to see others: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2375988,00.asp
They do rate them according to ALL features and I just don't need all the features. However, the real test does come from a full restore and it doesn't look like they did any of those. Hey, the one file at a time worked great on BB, and it had me fooled. In fact, I was going to keep BB just for that kind of retrieval, but when I started discovering empty files, well, that's just too darn scary.
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#36
07-01-2012, 02:19 PM
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Quote:
PS - with BB, when you restore to portable EHD for $189, you get to keep the EHD. With CrashPlan, my understanding is that you pay a similar amount and you have to return to the EHD. Last edited by luckyme; 07-01-2012 at 09:45 PM.
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#37
07-01-2012, 04:05 PM
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Quote:
You do send CrashPlan's drive back to them, but its nice that you can be fully protected right away by just transferring your files to it and mailing it back. However, it still takes a while even to transfer between drives you have and, if there is a crash and you need a full restore there is always the question of how well their restores are. I think I'm going to stick with BB AND buy an extra EHD at home (for less than the price of the seed drive) to back up to. I already have two but you can't be too safe with such precious things as family photos!
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#38
07-01-2012, 05:49 PM
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I'm sorry you've had such a hard time with this Mary. I just took Kayla Lamoreaux's class, Finding Your Photo Flow. She recommends Backblaze so I'd been considering going with them but haven't done anything because my internet's service plan limits you on the amount of data you can upload during the month. I think I may look into Crash Plan since you've had such a bad time with BB. She does recommend that you make your backups automated so that it's one less thing to remember. I purchased a program called SyncBackPro that runs every night and backs up my digi kits, and pictures every night automatically to my EHD. I have to remember to connect it, but it is nice that it does it automatically. Just thought I'd mention it, because it definitely eases my mind knowing that everything gets backed up every day.
__________________
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#39
07-01-2012, 05:59 PM
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Quote:
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#40
07-01-2012, 09:43 PM
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As long as you know you'll have to buy that $189 EHD and feel confident that the files won't be empty, then BB might work for you. It's the idea that BB indicates you can easily do an online restore (but you really can't if you have too much data) that bugs me. I still will be dropping them - their customer service was horrible on top of everything else.
I also wonder when people recommend one service over another if they have personally done a full restore. Like PC Mag, it didn't sound like they did. I'll have to check out SyncBackPro. I'm not really looking for a service from which to do a full restore anymore as I have my EHD now as a backup. I just want something that can give me a few files when I need them.
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#42
07-02-2012, 07:01 AM
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I'm glad you were able to get all your files back, Mary! The empty files problem makes me nervous. Right now I'm being good about backing up to an EHD every couple of weeks, but there have been times in the past when I've gone many months without running a backup. Online backup is my insurance policy against my own potential laziness or something happening to our home that would take out my computer, EHD, and printed albums. At that point I'd probably pay the $189 and consider it a bargain. But whether I'm downloading or ordering, I have to be able to trust that my thousands of photos will be there without checking every file individually. I'll be watching to see how the new plans work for everyone who's switching.
__________________
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#43
07-02-2012, 10:03 AM
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Mozy got great reviews back before the pricing structure changed but I had big issues trying to do a full restore too. I got a lot of empty files when downloading. I had to go back and download the files individually. Then I found I still didn't get them all. It was better than nothing though. I don't know that there is any backup service that can give us the kind of full backups we want without a hefty price tag involved. It makes me want my own backup server at home... which I have considered.
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