Hello Alan & PIC.ers, ...mmm... I'd been doing just this for several years, thinking my procedures were infallible, *then* a couple of months ago I was struck by some-or-other virus, perhaps a finger trouble or seizure of who-knows what sort (never did get to the real cause). My most recently accessed files, over a period of some days, suddenly evaporated from my drive. Thinks.. this is what my networked backup *.zip file is for.. go get. ..You guessed, the *.zip also was sans the vanished files. Upshot, I'd completely lost all backup of those particular files. I've since reconstructed things & got back 99% of data. It probably cost me 20 hours of wasted effort. Procedure *now* is regular backup of data directory onto write-once CD (no recycling possible). Let the disks pile up & become tomorrow's disposal problem, they're cheap. Cheaper'n my time anyway, hope this guides someone else out there. best regards, John >Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 09:23:40 -0000 >From: "Alan B. Pearce" >Subject: Re: [OT]: Hard Drive Crash Recovery > >>Networked backups a good idea, off-site backups even better! I've never >>heard of this happening before, but I'm paranoid now. > .A reasonable scheme is to have several hard drives in those removable >carriers. If it is possible to mirror the drive in the machine, or even do a >..file copy of the important directories, and then remove the drive in the >carrier to take home overnight. Next day bring in a different carrier and do >the same again, so you rotate the carrier drives through the machine. > >In my days doing computer servicing it was recommended that the tape backup >system had a rotation of minimum three tapes in what was known as >"grandfather-father-son" rotation, and the backup software had flags to >enforce this, although it could be overwritten if you had to. Any sort of . e-mail from the desk of John Sanderson, JS Controls. Snailmail: PO Box 1887, Boksburg 1460, Rep. of South Africa. Tel/fax: Johannesburg 893 4154 Cellphone no: 082 741 6275 email: jsand@pixie.co.za Manufacturer & purveyor of laboratory force testing apparatus, and related products and services. -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The PICList is archived three different ways. See http://www.piclist.com/#archives for details.