Hard Drive Backup question

[ShakeNBakes]

Running Windows7, using Windows inhouse backup software.

I just checked my external hard drive, and there is both a system image and a data file backup, both for roughly the size of my PC's hard drive. Do I really need both or can one of them be removed to free up space on my external hard drive? If so, which one should I cut?

[AndrewC]

It depends. I backup data to another hard drive and system to DVD because I don't often install new software to my machine.

[ahow]

I only use the image. Basically, once a month, I just make a complete image of my hard drive's contents. If my hdd crashes, I'll just load up the image. I don't care about pulling up individual files.

[ShakeNBakes]

so data file backup is for restoring individual files, but the image is a full system restore? but at the end of the day, if I really needed the backed up data, I could get it either way?

[ahow]

Correct.

If there are files you would really need in case of a crash, but you don't care about restoring Windows, I would go with Dropbox or Carbonite or something to backup the important stuff.

[AndrewC]

Hard Drive is relatively cheap today, have you considered RAID 1 mirror?

I also backup some critical documents to SkyDrive.

[ShakeNBakes]

Originally Posted by AndrewC

Hard Drive is relatively cheap today, have you considered RAID 1 mirror?

I also backup some critical documents to SkyDrive.

call me Rickson if you want, but I just don't trust any of the cloud storage

[AndrewC]

Originally Posted by ShakeNBakes

call me Rickson if you want, but I just don't trust any of the cloud storage

Neither do I and I don't use cloud storage as the only mean of file backup. But since it is free, I use it for another mean to backup.

But I really like my RAID 1 setup, I actually can take 1 drive off every month and store it offsite.

[ADoubleDot]

Originally Posted by ShakeNBakes

call me Rickson if you want, but I just don't trust any of the cloud storage

don't trust them to protect your data; or think they consider you important enough to open your files and read your $3000 personal savings spreadsheet?

just want to know how rickson to call you.

[ShakeNBakes]

Originally Posted by ADoubleDot

don't trust them to protect your data; or think they consider you important enough to open your files and read your $3000 personal savings spreadsheet?

just want to know how rickson to call you.

A little of both. Without taking this too political, I am legitimately worried that we are slowly headed towards Orwellian society where government steps all over our privacy rights a little at a time. I wouldn't be surprised if some branch of the government is already scanning cloud data looking for terrorists. I'm not doing anything illegal, but it still creeps me out that somebody could be monitoring everything I do. I don't want to make it easier for them.

And for the record, I have more than $10k in savings. Alpha.