The Songwriter Forum - songwriting reviews, tips and chat
Songwriter Forum => The Bar => Topic started by: shadowfax on January 13, 2017, 08:11:23 AM
-
I've just had a mind boggling computer crash, my computer specialist is still trying to figure out what happened, two, 2 TB disc's seem to have gone AWOL and C is just a mess of gobbledegook!!
lost a S&^t load of stuff... :( :(
I had not backed up for..wait for it, 6 months..how stupid is that!!! just busy!!!
from now on..it's a back up every night which I'm sure you fine peeps out there are already doing...
If your not...DO IT!!!
best, Kevin :(
-
thats what Hillary told the FBI :D
-
Joking aside, good luck getting it sorted :)
-
Nasty. Hope you get it sorted Kevin.
I've never backed up anything on a computer, maybe it would be sensible.
-
I've backed up recently but I've now got many gigabytes of files and I keep the backup device in the same place as the laptop (Maybe not a good idea) Just wondering if anybody uses cloud storage to keep their data ? Kev - Good luck on getting your data back. There are plenty of places that do data recovery but be really careful and get a few quotes as you can get stung
-
Nightmare!! That happened to me once and I completely lost my Cubase projects for a couple of songs that hadn't been backed up. Had the mixed-down mp3s, but one wasn't finished.....
Will add 'backup' to my ever-growing To Do list....somewhere near the top I think.
-
Thanks for the poke Kevin - I've been in denial for a while myself - gonna do some back-ups this weekend. Good luck retrieving your files - We feel for ya :)
Paul
-
Kev, that's a nightmare! Hope we didn't lose too many masterpieces :(
My mac warns me if I have not backed up for 10 days, which helps a lot.
-
I, too, lost everything from my hard drive, once upon a time. It was probably ten or fifteen years ago--possibly even more. The only thing I would have really missed at that time was my budget records. I keep a very detailed budget. And fortunately, that was the one and only thing I had backed up on a disk (it was long enough ago to be one of those smaller "floppy" disks we used to use). Even after that I didn't get into a regular habit of backing up.
Now, though, I use the free version of Macrium Reflect and have it set up to do a full backup the first of every month, plus a daily differential backup at 9:00 pm. The backups go on an external "My Passport Ultra" 1 Tb hard drive. It's set up to keep the last 12 full backups, plus the three most recent differential backups.
I do have to admit I don't stick to that schedule. I don't leave the external drive plugged in, because that's not a "best practice"--plus the fact that it interferes with the operation of my mouse. So I only do backups when I remember to plug it in. Which is not every night.
Still, I'm usually pretty close to up to date, which is much better than I used to be. I only started backing up regularly sometime last year. Before that I backed up my data files occasionally, not nearly often enough.
-
cheers guys, remember, it's not IF your drive chokes....it's WHEN your drive chokes..because it is gonna choke sometime..
Wont be paying anyone retrieve my data..if my computer guy cannot get it then it's gone..time to move on..
-
well this is very interesting ...bcos when it happened to me some years ago & i was told i shouldve backed everything up , i was shown how to do it but not told how often to do it
so ever since ive done it a few times a night if im working on songs
so this makes me feel a bit silly now... but i suppose you are the silly ones not me when you think about it :)
anyway i hope you get all of it back kevin ,bcos it realy is heartbreaking
-
You can never back up too much TINA so you are certainly not the silly one!!!!
I back up my OS drive with a clone/image on an external drive and then back up files
I like using SYNC TOY for differential back up of folders
I take a hard drive to my parents house for off-site security
I would use cloud services but there doesn't seem to be a clear winner for size v cost yet
-
Tina..your not silly!!
Paul, I'll give that sync toy thing a look..Ta for mentioning it..
-
Ahhhhh... Fingers crossed for you, Kevin. I hope you recover the majority, if not all, of your files.
I do back up, usually monthly - but haven't this month. So a timely reminder!
-
You can never back up too much TINA so you are certainly not the silly one!!!!
I back up my OS drive with a clone/image on an external drive and then back up files
I like using SYNC TOY for differential back up of folders
I take a hard drive to my parents house for off-site security
I would use cloud services but there doesn't seem to be a clear winner for size v cost yet
How do you create a clone/image? I back up to an external hard drive (not often enough, doing now, thanks Kev), but I don't understand the whole ghost image thing or whatever it is.
-
Woke at 6am due to lingering jet lag, so rather than laze about in bed as I would usually, I got my sorry carcass up and I'm just backing everything up. How smug do I feel.... :)
I can see it's been nearly a year since the last backup, so long overdue!!!!
I've used Sync Toy before and it seemed OK, though I think I had to make sure both folders where the same before starting it up, otherwise it didn't know which files were deleted and which should be copied (perhaps I just hadn't worked out how to use it properly).
Currently I'm using something called Beyond Compare which I use at work for comparing code files, but it does a difference between 2 selected folders and all the sub-folders and files in them. Then you can opt to display just the changed ones and copy them across. I use it because it give me that bit of extra control to decide which files I copy where and which I don't. Also, I find the interface really easy to use. Only $30 so doesn't break the bank....
-
I recognise that smug feeling and it's well deserved!
I was using carbonite, which started cheap but escalated to nearly £300 a year for 3 computers. I researched alternatives and was put off by the unnecessary complexity of it all (as if they want to hook you in). Settled on two 'my passport for mac' drives which I alternate a backup to every week or two, keeping one offsite. The mac creates its own initial backup then it's incremental after that. It's easy, cheap, safe, comprehensive and totally under my own control.
All my normal size files are on iCloud or Dropbox too. The two drives take care of the big and important stuff (GarageBand / logic files).
For backups, smug is good 🤓
-
How do you create a clone/image? I back up to an external hard drive (not often enough, doing now, thanks Kev), but I don't understand the whole ghost image thing or whatever it is.
A "clone/image" file is a snapshot of your whole hard disk in the exact state it is in at that time - including all of your precious files, the operating system, all of your installed programmes and plugins
So - if you take a clone image of your hard drive and put this image file on to your external hard drive you will always be able to get back to the exact state your computer was at when you did the clone image - often within a few minutes!!!!!
This is perfect if you want to change your internal "C drive" to a bigger one - you simply create a clone, put the new hard drive in, copy the clone to the new hard drive and voila - you are up and running
It is obviously also the dream backup solution - if your hard drive fails (eg gets corrupted, physical failure, virus infection etc.) you simply need to get a new one and reinstall your image and you are up and running - no faffing around re-installing operating systems, updates, programmes etc.
I would also highly recommend the FREE Macrium Reflect (which I have used successfully myself)
The only caveat is that the clone image files may not install on a different PC (so if a laptop got stolen it is not a complete safety net - so keep your installation discs or files for downloads) as some programmes link themselves to the computer ID and the drivers will be expecting the exact same setup as your old PC)
However, changing PCs is always a good time to have a fresh start and just install the prgrommes you need
I would therefore suggest a sensible backup solution would be:
Create an image of your C Drive
Create another backup (on the same hard drive if it is big enough) of your folders, files and any software installation files you have downloaded
When you have created this backup on one external hard drive - copy the entire contents on this hard drive to another external hard drive (it is said data is never deemed safe until it is in 3 different places)
Ideally, you would then want to keep one of these external hard drives "off site" (at work, a friend's house, a relative etc.)
I would also suggest a separate backup of really important files (especially family photos, music files etc.) to DVDs and put them somewhere safe off site
-
Good advice from Paul..I created an image of my C drive using the Windows 7 image back up that is included..it always worked fine, have used it several times, but, guess what, the image I had is on one of the 2 TB disc's that's gone pear shaped..so, as Paul says, back up yer back up!!!
word so far on my computer is not looking good!!! :( :( :( check disc started automatically and started deleting stuff while i was making a coffee...then it wouldn't damn well stop!
If yer not backing up NOW, yer a bigger idiot than I am!!!
-
Should one leave an external hard drive connected 24/7 or just bang it in once a week?
-
I just plug an external drive in every couple of weeks or when I've changed something dramatically...then I just drag the whole GarageBand folder over...
I do small productions, simple arrangements, and songs I'm generally glad to see the back of :)
Having said that...I uncovered that "Mr Sanders" cover I did a while back on a backup drive...thought I'd lost it (and wasn't too bothered) so I tweaked the drums and vocals and re-uploaded it. I think it's much better now. I very rarely look back at stuff.
I like blitzing my OS X every year or so and starting from scratch...it only takes a couple of hours and is as good as new. My MacBook Pro is nearly seven years old now...and whizzes along nicely
-
Should one leave an external hard drive connected 24/7 or just bang it in once a week?
Unless you are using the external hard drive DO NOT LEAVE IT ATTACHED
If you are unlucky enough to get a virus it can spread to all attached drives - even network drives, so it is best to only attach external back up drives when you are doing a back up
-
could i ask for some advice please :)
it seems the backups i was doing were only my songs & not everything else on the computer
so ive downloaded macrium free & am trying to understand it ...no one else at home seems intersted in protecting our computer!
anyway its saying i have 3 things in the computer & i realy dont know which one im supposed to backup
they are listed as:
MBR disk1
1. WinRE (none) NTFS Primary 2. WinVista (C) NTFS Active
MBR Disk2
1. New volume (D) NTFS Primary
does that make senseto you ? its a windows 7 computer but it was windows vista
thanks!
-
Tina, I just told mine to back up everything. I figure I need it all if my hard drive dies.
-
Hi TINA
You have 2 hard drives, a "C Drive" and a "D Drive"
Your "C Drive" is split into 2 "partitions" (the techy name for sections)
The first partition is a "recovery environment" in case windows goes screwy (another technical term ;)) and the second partition is your proper C Drive with operating system etc.
I would definitely select both partitions on this drive so that you clone the whole drive
This will then give you a clone image of the whole C Drive - I call the clone file something like "170120 Tina Music PC C Drive clone" - the first letters are the date of the backup in reverse, which will ensure you can sort in date order if you have multiple backups
I would then repeate the process and select your D Drive - and change the name of the saved file accordingly
Once you have completed this you should have 2 clone image files - I would then copy these somewhere else as a 2nd backup and you are done
You are then safe in the knowledge that you can always bring that PC back to the state it was in when you did the backup (without having to reinstall the operating system, software, updates, files etc.)
-
Great advice all. Just did a separate backup last night onto a external hard drive and stashed in my desk at work. Couldn't believe there was 50gb of music files !
-
I could well believe it John, both you and Kevin are proper song factories. :D
-
Looks like most of my song factory has disappeared >:( >:(!!-
-
Looks like most of my song factory has disappeared >:( >:(!!-
Aw man. I feel for ya. :(
-
Ah well,onwards and upwards, during the 2 weeks without a puter I've been making my studio a better place to be, re built my soundbooth, it was too small, kept running out of air ::) and painted the studio grey..I like grey 8) 8)
bought a massive screen to so's it's easier to see the Mixbus mixer...
looking forward to a new start...
aparentley most of my stuff was converted (or summat!) to orphan files..never heard of em ???
and some other stuff happened, not gonna go down the trying to get it all back road, it's not like I'm doing anything important...and it could be quite expensive,
rather spend money on the studio..
I wonder what key all those song drafts were in? ;D ;D
cheers, Kevin :)
-
The music in in you Kevin, so there is scope for a new beginning. I'd be busting to get stuff down roughly while it was still in my head and I'm nowhere near as prolific as you.
-
Yeah..once I get everything sorted out I'll be back!!!
I've got a few first time songs..I always do a first version with a simple drum machine beat then redo it into a proper version, might put one up but they're really not good enough quality, wouldn't like to inflict them on anyone.. ;D
cheers, Kevin
-
Looks like most of my song factory has disappeared >:( >:(!!-
kevin that is terrible news ,you must be devastated...I feel so sorry for you! :(
I do hope this disaster might prove to be the beginning of a whole new era for you ….& a fabulous new sound!
Your "C Drive" is split into 2 "partitions" (the techy name for sections)
The first partition is a "recovery environment" in case windows goes screwy (another technical term ;)) and the second partition is your proper C Drive with operating system etc.
I would definitely select both partitions on this drive so that you clone the whole drive
This will then give you a clone image of the whole C Drive - I call the clone file something like "170120 Tina Music PC C Drive clone" - the first letters are the date of the backup in reverse, which will ensure you can sort in date order if you have multiple backups
I would then repeate the process and select your D Drive - and change the name of the saved file accordingly
Paul thank you so much for explaining this for me
I knew I had a special drive for my music but didnt know the C one was in two halves ...like a brain I suppose?
but of course I cant do the backup now bcos ive been told my little backup drive is too small for all this & we are going to have to buy something bigger!
...so I think the 2nd backup will just have to wait
-
Cheers Tina, it is a bit hard to come to terms with but hey, life goes on dunnit!
very difficult for a peeps to change how they work or the style they like to work with so I'll probably sound just as boring as I used to.. ;D ;D
-
Glad to hear it :)
-
Glad to hear it :)
Ha Ha Haaa....I got that ;) ;) ;)
-
Backing up large projects as you go doesn't have to be difficult or techy. What I would say though is if you're working on a laptop it's a much harder thing to achieve because of the drive partitioning required to get two "drives". In other words, a laptop holds only one single physical disk drive because of lack of space. You can partition it, so you have a "backup" drive, with all your files duplicated, but if your drive fails, it's fails as a whole, not by partition.
Get yourself a desktop though, and suddenly space isn't an issue. My desktop has two separate physical drives (along with enough space for two more). One contains the operating system and all my files, and the other contains a copy of all my files. Apple's time machine/ backup thingy takes care of backing up every day/ week/ whenever you ask it to, and if one of my drives fails, it's no biggy because everything I've done exists on the other drive. If you're super paranoid you could also connect a USB drive every week/ month and backup to that too.
Additionally, for the money desktops tend to be more powerful and have more memory, making them faster at processing the large files associated with music production. They don't even have to be massive - you can buy quite modest units with enough space for two drives these days, and hide them behind your monitor.
-
One contains the operating system and all my files, and the other contains a copy of all my files. Apple's time machine/ backup thingy takes care of backing up every day/ week/ whenever you ask it to, and if one of my drives fails, it's no biggy because everything I've done exists on the other drive. If you're super paranoid you could also connect a USB drive every week/ month and backup to that too.
TONE - I would strongly recommend that you get an external drive to back up to that you only attach too back up to
You are covered if one Drive fails but you are not covered if your PC gets stolen or you get infected with a virus, which would "search and destroy" all attached drives
There is a particularly nasty virus doing the rounds that encrypts all of your drives and then "holds them hostage" for a period of time demanding a ransom be paid for the de-encryption code!!!! - if it isn't paid within the timescale given the drives are wiped
I just picked up a 4tb external USB 3 drive on Amazon for around £120 - it is a 2.5 inch drive so is completely bus powered - no faffing around with power cables
-
Thanks for the heads up Boydie - although being a trained IT technician I do have a couple of tricks up my sleeve for drive recovery. As well as running up to date antivirus software, I would also immediately disconnect any infected drives to avoid further corruption, boot from an uninfected drive on a non-networked machine and recover my files from there.
But since I have a spare drive sitting right next to me, I'm gonna back up onto it right now, just because you said so ;)