using OneDrive or Dropbox as backup

HelenAA · July 2018

Anyone using Dropbox or OneDrive as backup for the .fcw files? I'm needing to have something as a backup but don't want to currupt the map files.

Helen

Loopysue · July 2018

I've only just started using OneDrive to store all the graphic files I've been making for a couple of new city symbol sets.

Its ok, even though its pretty sluggish to respond, and its well presented once you get used to the layout. The major problem I can see with OneDrive is that the free storage is limited to 5GB. This is completely inadequate if like me you wish to store all the new symbols and fills you are making as well as your maps, but if its only the FCW files and nothing else it would definitely last a lot longer. They are only a couple of MB at most.

I have never used Dropbox. But now that you mention it I have a request to make of people who provide links to Dropbox instead of uploading images here. Please can anyone who does that on a regular basis add a note under each link to say just how many MB the map is so that I can decide if I have enough broadband left to look at it? Thank you

HelenAA · July 2018

Dropbox is ok if you've not got much on your PC/laptop but if, like me on my desktop, your hard drive is 40% + full Dropbox is temperamental about the space it allows before it says its full.

Monsen · July 2018

I use OneDrive and is pretty happy with that one. Because of other people, I actually use DropBox and Google Drive too, but personally, I prefer OneDrive.
Never encountered any kind of corruption with OneDrive, and it does revision history for your files for the last 30 days, as well as a recycle bin to restore deleted files (I think that is 30 days too).
I am a Microsoft Office subscriber though, and one of the perks is that I get 1TB of space on OneDrive, I am currently using 375GB of that.

Loopysue · July 2018

LOL! that makes 5GB seem piddly small :P

JimP · July 2018

I have a 1tb usb external hard drive, and two others in the 500 to 700 gig range. If the cloud goes down due to outages or company failure, I still have my files.

kathorus · July 2018

I use OneDrive as well. What's nice about it is that there is a local copy on my computer HDD (I save to the OneDrive folder on my PC) and a backup to the cloud, which is how Dropbox can work as well (pretty sure with both you can define what gets stored locally for offline use.). I also have a subscription like Remy, so I have a TB of cloud storage. So if I lose connection, still have my files, and when the connection comes back, OneDrive automatically starts to update the backup on the cloud if needed. If my HDD fails, I buy a new one and my files are restored from a backup. I've never had any corruption issues.

LordEntrails · July 2018

I like One Drive, Google Drive and Drop Box, for sharing. IMO, it's not a cost effective means of backup unless you are worried about offsite backup (i.e. a fire).

You can get a portable external hard drive that plugs into your USB port. 1TB of storage is about $55. 5TB is about $120 USD. Most of them come with backup software you can install and run on schedule or manually. Speeds are better than most people's internet speeds. The are easy to use, cost effective, and they reliable. I've had one I used to travel with every week and has lasted more than 5 years. I suspect at some point of time it will fail (more likely due to damage), but they have been great for me.

taustinoc · July 2018

Cloud storage isn't really a backup service, as LordEntrails says, but it can serve some of the same purposes. Most cloud services have some flavor of versioning. "Oops, I messed up my map that I've been working on for months, and saved it without realizing it." Google Drive (which I use) keeps old versions for 30 days, automatically. It's saved my bacon more than once.

Cloud storage is about sharing, even with yourself. I use it to access the same files from multiple locations. With Drive, if you install the desktop app, it's a local folder that works like any other - from wherever you are. I'm sure every other cloud storage system has similar capabilities. The only issue I've had is that when it's syncing, it locks the file, and if I save while it's locked (which isn't common with CC3, because the files are pretty small), I get an error message and Drive won't release the lock until I exit the service. A minor technical issue, and other cloud storage may not have similar issues.

But for real backups, yeah, a portable drive and proper imaging software (which has also saved my bacon more than once), or, if you're really intent on an online service, look at Carbonite or a similar service. Or do both.

[Deleted User] · July 2018

I totally agree with taustinoc and LordEntrails - I use a number of 2 and 4 TB external hard drives - which are often faster than the hard disk in the computer! And I use dropbox just for sharing items (or groups of items) bigger than 2 MB with others. So lack of space on my PC hard drive is never a problem for me. In Australia, a 4 TB external hard drive is only $180, which is about the same in USA dollars. (I can never bring myself to referring to USA as America - insulting to Canada, Mexico and all South and Central America).

Monsen · July 2018

Portable drives are nice and all, but I find them annoying for daily use. I prefer more permanent solutions, like setting up your own storage server, or if you don't want to be quite so heavy handed, invest in a simple NAS connected to your network for easy access from all your computers. Many wireless routers can actually work as a simple NAS today (guess this is a good use for a portable USB drive)

The important thing no matter the solution chosen thpugh (cloud, server, nas, removable drive, etc) is having a proper backup regime though. Always consider how to retrieve earlier version of files (i.e. don't just copy the new backup over the old one, overwriting the files), how to retrieve deleted files (i.e. don't delete files from your backup even if removed from primary storage) and ideally, how to retrieve the a complete backup from any given date without having to sort through a complete mess because new and old and deleted files are mixed together in the same folder. Good backup software is very helpfull here though, and even comes with many drives.
I know plenty of people who owns exactly one removable drive, and then copies the files from their computer to it every week, overwriting everything on it, thereby loosing access to older versions. If the latest version of a file is corrupt, then so it is on their backup. And of course, in case of theft and fire, they keep the removable drive right next to their computer.
Also, for the online services, it is great that they retain file versions for 30 days, but you might need more than that, but remember, you can manually store multiple versions too, just like on a removable drive. (Or even use backup software)

Posted By: Quentenwhich are often faster than the hard disk in the computer!

Sounds like you are in a serious need of a computer upgrade

LordEntrails · July 2018

If anyone chooses to use one of these solutions (cloud or USB) but doesn't have or want to use the automated processes or software, there is a pretty comprehensive set of batch files https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?35578-How-to-back-up-AppData-folder-to-OneDrive-automatically&p=308736&viewfull=1#post308736 that can be used, or modified to help you with your backups. It compresses and dates them and then uploads them to one of the cloud providers. You can use the same thing for a USB drive, you just have to mofidiy a few lines here and there.

If interested and you need help, let me know and I can help.

[Deleted User] · July 2018

Monsen, perhaps, but what I meant was it gets and saves files faster - the speed of operations, like using cc3, is faster on the PC though. The motherboard is only 7 years old!, but I have 2 1TB SSD internal hard drives, which made a huge difference. Also recently upgraded to 32 RAM

thehawk · July 2018

I am also a believer in the batch file and scheduled task method of file backup. The scheduled task runs a PowerShell script (robocopy mirroring) at three in the morning that copies a Sync directory to my NAS and to my travel laptop. It then zips up just the files I can't replace - the CC files, but not the PNGs for example, unless I've done a lot of post processing work on them (which I have add to the archive file manually) - over to my OneDrive and my GoogleDrive directories, and they do their thing as normal. By doing this two-tier approach, I am, in theory, minimizing the potential for corruption, by not transferring directly out of my working directory that I may be doing something with or in the middle of saving. or whatever.

When I do work on the travel laptop I leave it turned off until I manually copy those updated files back to the main workstation.

In the past, I've also scripted FTP transfers to upload my photography files to my web hosting provider; you can do this with PowerShell as well, I just never have.

HelenAA · August 2018

thanks everyone, I've gone down the route of zipping folders and then using OneDrive augmented by pcloud.

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using OneDrive or Dropbox as backup

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