When did you first "get" backup?

It was a dark and stormy night...

Actually it was a sunny day in Virginia. I was twelve years old and committed to writing a novel using Paperback Writer on a Commodore 64:



There was no auto-save, no quick Ctrl-S, just waiting to write the file to the lumbering 5¼ inch floppy drive. Inevitably five hours after the last save the computer crashed and everything was lost.

Tears before bedtime, lesson learned about backup and I don't think I ever ran Paperback Writer again.

I think everyone who really "gets" backup has a similar tale. Let me know your story - what was your first or worst case of data loss?

posted by Rob on Tuesday, June 30, 2009

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Backup and System Performance

The default settings in Cucku Backup are designed to balance protection and performance. You can tune these settings to get the right mix for your needs.

The first thing to look at is the Backup Schedule:



The default is to backup your computer every day when the computer is idle. After the local backup completes Cucku will send new and changed files to each of your backup partners. You can change the schedule to run a local backup weekly rather than daily which will reduce the load of both local and remote backup.

With Don't backup while I'm using my computer checked Cucku will wait until your computer has been idle for ten minutes before starting a local backup. If you start using your computer again while the local backup is running Cucku will automatically pause the backup until the computer is idle again (you can change the ten minute idle timeout in Advanced -> Performance).

By default Cucku will run remote backup while you're using your computer. It will also accept backup connection from your partners. You can change this in Partner Settings - check Don't send or receive files while I'm using my computer and remote backup will behave the same way as the local backup default.

If you need even more control then you can decide when to run Cucku, or even run a command line backup.

In Advanced -> Performance uncheck Run Cucku Backup at startup to prevent Cucku from running when you log in to Windows. We really don't recommend this as you need to remember to run Cucku manually and your partners can't connect when Cucku isn't running.

If you don't want Cucku running all the time then a better option is to schedule the command line version of Cucku to run daily, weekly or on whatever schedule works best for you. The command line is capable of running local, remote and partner backups.

Is there anything else we should be doing to help you get the right balance between protection and performance?

Labels: Tips

posted by Rob on Thursday, June 25, 2009

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Is my Hard Drive About to Fail?

Yes.

Longer answer - all drives fail eventually. I'm starting to get a little nervous because my main system hard drive is nearly five years old. It's had a good run, but the odds are starting to stack up against it.

Google published Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population a couple of years ago. The (possibly) surprising conclusion of the paper was that drive temperature and activity are less important factors in predicting a drive failure than the presence of any errors.

The chart below (from the Google paper) shows the average failure rate for drives with no scan errors and drives reporting one more more scan errors (hard drives scan their surface in the background and report any errors found):



The paper goes on to say:

The critical threshold analysis confirms what the charts visually imply: the critical threshold for scan errors is one. After the first scan error, drives are 39 times more likely to fail within 60 days than drives without scan errors.

It's interesting to note the much higher failure rate in the first six months. Google attributes this to an "infant mortality phenomenon" - some drives are lemons.

The same pattern repeats itself for several other factors including reallocation, where the contents of a bad sector are moved to a new, good sector and probation, when the drive suspects that a sector might be a troublemaker in the future.

All this suggests that you should take action at the very first sign of trouble with your hard drive. Counter-intuitively this advice is even more important if your drive is brand new. I'm going to buy a new drive for my system and use my five year old for less important data.

posted by Rob on Tuesday, June 23, 2009

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Why do I need a Local Backup?

With your files safely backed up offsite you might wonder if local backup is about to become extinct. A few Cucku Backup customers have event asked us to provide an option to have remote backup without local backup - in some cases because of low disk space and in others because they lack an external hard drive.

Most online backup companies work this way. You wait weeks or months while your backup trickles into the cloud and then hope that your provider doesn't go bust or lose your data.

We believe in a belt and braces approach. A full local backup protects you from everyday data loss and a remote backup is there in case of a true disaster. Right now you can pick up a 500GB external drive for less than $100. Add Cucku Backup, free for a single backup partner and you're fully covered.

Labels: Tips

posted by Rob on Thursday, June 18, 2009

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File Backup vs. Disk Image Backup

There are two main approaches to backing up your computer - selectively backing up files and folders or imaging your entire hard drive. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

File level backup lets you focus on saving irreplaceable data and reduces the space needed to store the backup. In the event of a disaster you'll need to reinstall your operating system before you can restore data. You also need to be careful to ensure that all of your data is included in the backup.

A disk image includes everything on your hard drive - the operating system, applications and your data. You know that you're fully covered but at the expense of space and time. You can also run into trouble if you need to restore to a new computer as a disk image will also restore drivers and settings for the original computer.

Like all online backup software Cucku takes the first approach - we backup the files that you can't replace. You can always reinstall Windows and your applications and if necessary you can buy a new computer. Your personal data is different and you need both local and remote backup - belt and braces - to ensure that it's protected.

Personally I relish the chance to reinstall my computer. Over time you build up Windows cruft, applications you no longer run, setting and registry errors and other problems that slow your computer down. When I buy a new computer I start by reinstalling the OS to get rid of the various bundled applications (and to make sure I know how to get it up and running in case I need to recover the system later).

Which backup philosophy do you prefer? Do you think there's a place for disk images in online backup?

(Updated June 17, 2009: Join the discussion on Facebook.)

posted by Rob on Monday, June 15, 2009

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Windows 7 Backup - How Microsoft Should Improve the Action Center

Windows Security Center has nagged you about anti-virus, firewalls and automatic updates since Windows XP SP2. I've always been puzzled that backup wasn't included on the list - you can have a happy green shield while remaining vulnerable to data loss.

Windows 7 takes a baby step forward with the new Action Center. This includes both security and maintenance tasks and I was happy to see a prompt to configure backup:



Disappointingly though the backup item isn't flagged as important and the only option is Microsoft's backup tool. This is much improved over the default Vista backup but it's still a simple local backup tool.

Backup is a critical security component and Microsoft should take the following steps to ensure that users find and use the right backup product for their needs:

1. Backup should be a first class citizen in the Action Center. If backup isn't configured or a backup hasn't occurred recently this should be treated as an important security warning.


2. As with other security components Action Center should include a Find a program online button to guide the user to a selection of backup products from reputable vendors.


3. Microsoft should extend the Security Center/Action Center API to allow third party backup products to report their status to Windows.

posted by Rob on Tuesday, June 09, 2009

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Removing Unwanted Files from your Local and Remote Backup

A common backup frustration is realizing that your backup drive is full and then discovering that to free up some space you need to start your backup again from scratch.

Cucku Backup 2.0 now includes the Remove Files Wizard. This makes it easy to save space by purging unwanted files from both your local and remote backups. Of course you could always buy a larger external drive and then move the backup location instead.

Run the wizard by clicking Settings and then Remove Old Files. You can choose between removing files that are no longer included in your backup set or deleted files that are in the backup but no longer on your computer.

If you need to remove some files from your backup to save space then edit the backup set first and then run the Remove Files Wizard.



After you click next you'll be presented with a list of each file that will be removed. Click on the Preview Items tab to see a summary view which shows the size and number of files that will be removed from each backup item (i.e. Documents, Photos, etc).



The final step is to decide if you also want to remove these files from you remote backup. Check each partner that you want to remove the files from.



Full instructions for the Remove Files Wizard can be found in the Cucku Backup User Guide.

--

Take a full tour of new features in Cucku Backup 2.0 on Facebook.

Labels: Tips

posted by Rob on Friday, June 05, 2009

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Join the Cucku Backup Group on LinkedIn

Do you use LinkedIn? If so you can now join the new Cucku Backup Group for news, discussions and a nice Cucku Backup profile badge:



If you're not into LinkedIn you can keep in touch by becoming a Cucku Backup Fan on Facebook, following Cucku Backup on Twitter or Subscribing to this blog.

posted by Rob on Tuesday, June 02, 2009

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Setting Drive Permissions for Restore

Imagine you are happily working on your XP machine and dutifully performing Cucku backups to an external hard drive. Then the worst happens and your main XP hard drive fails.

Safe in the knowledge that your precious data is stored on an external hard drive, you purchase a new Vista laptop and begin the restore process.

You begin by installing Cucku Backup on the new machine.

Then run the setup wizard and use the SAME Cucku account that you originally used to backup the files. This is important otherwise you won't be able to restore the data. [If you have been managing your own keys you will need to import your saved key].


After following the on screen instructions you find that the Backup Index on the external hard drive cannot be opened.
In Cucku Settings/Backup and clicking BackupLocations shows that the drive in not accessible.

The reason for this may be as follows:

When you created the backup under your Windows XP account e.g. YouOnXP, the file system will have set permissions for the backup folder to only allow YouOnXP access to the folder. This is a security feature to stop other users on the same machine accessing or deleting your backup.

However, when you create your new account on Windows Vista e.g. YouOnVista you will not immediately have permission to access the backup folder of the external hard drive.

To remedy this...

1. Log into the new machine with an administrator account.


2. In Explorer, right click the external hard drive and select "Properties".


3. Select the "Security" tab.


4. Click the "Edit" button under the "Group or User names" list.


5. When Windows asks "Windows needs your permission..." select "Continue".


6. Click the "Add" Button to add a new user.


7. Type "Everyone" (without the quotes) into the box provided and click "Check Names".


8. Click OK.


9. Now select "Everyone" in the list of "Group or User names".


10. Then click the "Full Control" check box under the "Allow" column and click OK.


11. This may take a while to complete.

You should now be able to restore from the backup.

Labels: Tips

posted by Mark on Monday, June 01, 2009

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