Backing up to a external hard drive

smalltown · 18 May 2017

After reading about ransomware etc. it got me wondering about backing up my information to an external hard drive. It would serve double duty in the event of a drive failure or the unlikely event of ransom ware.

I've never used an external drive for backup so I have a few questions.
I imagine I would need to connect the external drive, and start the backup process manually then disconnect the external drive. Sounds like a pain: connecting and disconnecting each day, but if I leave it connected won't the external drive get corrupted along with my regular drive?

Is there an easy way especially to leave the external drive connected ?

NavyLCDR · 18 May 2017

I've got one of these installed:
Kingwin KF-255-BK 2.5"/3.5" Internal Tray-Less Hot Swap Rack

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...=Y&sku=1083175

You can just leave a hard drive plugged into it and turn off the power with the button when not in use.

Jeddie · 19 May 2017

smalltown said:

Is there an easy way especially to leave the external drive connected ?

I have the same question as OP?

For me connecting external drive means I can use scheduling in tools like File History / Macrium to make back up / system image without me having to remember to connect / turn on my external drive.

Look forward to some replies on this.

Steve C · 19 May 2017

Schedule a Reflect backup for your desired period and ensure you tick the box "If missed then run at next startup" (see screenshot). You can then leave your external drive disconnected and the backup should run when you connect the drive and a scheduled backup has been missed when you start your PC. Else you can just right click the backup definition file and select Run Now.

Attachment 135595

cereberus · 19 May 2017

Your question is a good one. Whilst it is unlikely the external drive will be affected, risk is not zero. Disconnecting is safest way.

A pragmatic solution is to have two external drives, and keep one online, and connect other weekly, and copy backup files to second drive. Thus only in unlikely event online drive gets 'ransomed', you only lose at most one weeks data.

swarfega · 19 May 2017

There are lots of options available when it comes to external drives. I my self have an 6Tb WD My Cloud MIrror and have installed Uranium-backup which automatically makes a backup at a time and frequency I choose.

Since you have a 250Gb drive, you won't need that much of storage. So here are some ideas:

• WD 2TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBWLG0020HBK-EESN: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

• WD 1TB Blue-Black My Passport Ultra Metal Edition Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBTYH0010BBA-EESN: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

• Toshiba Canvio Connect II 1TB Portable External Hard Drive 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 - Blue - HDTC810EL3AA: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

• WD My Passport 1 TB Portable Hard Drive and Auto Backup Software for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 - Red: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

cereberus · 19 May 2017

swarfega said:

There are lots of options available when it comes to external drives. I my self have an 6Tb WD My Cloud MIrror and have installed Uranium-backup which automatically makes a backup at a time and frequency I choose.

Since you have a 250Gb drive, you won't need that much of storage. So here are some ideas:

• WD 2TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBWLG0020HBK-EESN: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

• WD 1TB Blue-Black My Passport Ultra Metal Edition Portable External Hard Drive - USB 3.0 - WDBTYH0010BBA-EESN: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

• Toshiba Canvio Connect II 1TB Portable External Hard Drive 2.5 Inch USB 3.0 - Blue - HDTC810EL3AA: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

• WD My Passport 1 TB Portable Hard Drive and Auto Backup Software for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 - Red: Amazon.co.uk: Computers Accessories

Op was not asking what to buy but whether it is a good idea to leave it online all the time.

Superfly · 19 May 2017

I would think mounting the volume, running the back-up task, then dismounting the drive would be the way to go ... some scripting ideas here: windows - Mount and dismount hard drive through a script/software - Super User

cereberus · 19 May 2017

Superfly said:

I would think mounting the volume, running the back-up task, then dismounting the drive would be the way to go ... some scripting ideas here: windows - Mount and dismount hard drive through a script/software - Super User

Is that 100% guaranteed e.g. could a nasty virus re-mount volumes - it seems to me if a person can do it, so can a virus ?

Of course no virus can infect a totally disconnected device.

pparks1 · 19 May 2017

Do you change data so much that you would need daily backups? I do mine about once per week. Plug it in, run a robocopy job which only copies the changes, and disconnect.

Also, suggest keeping 2 external hard drives. This way if you do accidentally copy to one of them, and later discover a problem you still have the other one.

And if possible, keep 1 of those external drives offsite. This way if your house burns down, you don't lose your original and your backup at the same time.