External HD, back up options

This is more of a hardware/software question, but I'm gonna be buying something so i thought I'd post it here.

My current system for backing up my music, pictures, and documents is somewhat complicated, and I'm not sure that it's entirely foolproof:

• Photos are backed up using Picasa Web albumns spread across my google account and my wife's, and I've been playing with flickr lately as well.
• My music is currently backed up on a couple of DvD's (frustratingly inefficient to say the least), but I've recently discovered Yamipod, so I can use mine and my wife's Ipods as a sorta pseudo backup.
• I use Foldershare to sync my documents between my Desktop and my Laptop.

I'd like to set up a universal system for backing up everything in one place. While it's not entirely out of the question, I'd like to avoid internal hard drives for now. I will not use online storage, so that leaves me with two options that I can figure: external hard drive or syncing my laptop and desktop.

So, which would you suggest? Which brands are reliable and durable? I don't really have a ton of information, but I'm going for the peace of mind feeling that my backups are a bit more calculated and deliberate.

Second question is about software. How do I set up everything so backups are done automatically? I don't need to backup the entire harddrive. I'd really only like to back up documents/music/photos/etc.

Any and all advice on the subject is greatly appreciated!

I use an Acomdata 120gb external drive for backup purposes on 2 laptops and it works very well. It comes bundled with software (Retrospect) that can be easily set up to backup anything you want by just pressing one button on the external drive enclosure itself. The best part is that this little bugger is very rugged and it fits inside a dress shirt pocket easily. It also runs off of USB or Firewire and doesn't need a separate power supply. It's the perfect solution for me, with the traveling that I do on a regular basis. You can get larger capacities as well if you want to do some massive storage in addition to backing up vital information.

Western Digital and Seagate are two other brands I can recommend for external storage with WD being my first choice. Good luck and be sure to shop around for the best deals. www.newegg.com & www.tigerdirect.com are both good sites.

http://lifehacker.com/398229/five-be...s-backup-tools

this article just came up this morning.

The top 5's that lifehacker gets are usually pretty decent tools

Snipe, you can build your own external HDD. Pick a HDD, pick an external enclosure, put HDD inside, screw enclosure shut, plugin. Poof, you have a cheap, customized external HDD.

^^^ I looked at doing that Rahja, but it'd only be worth it with a cheap enclosure and a cheap hard drive. I'm worried about the durability of the cheaper parts....

But you might just chalk that up to paranoia, any enclosures/HDD's you'd suggest?

I am not running this, yet. I will be in a few months or so. Google: Windows Home Server and we got served. These are low cpu usage and all the backup power + goodies you will ever need. You can litterally build 1 out of older parts laying around. If you do not have older parts you can set this up with in a micro atx case/build. The most expensive part will be the harddrives.

WHS offers:
real time snapshots of your os(back up/sys restore)
Data/file storing/sharing to other computers in the home.
Redundant backups.
A few web sites to post up pics and stuff for your freinds/family to visit.
Access to any computer tied to whs from any internet connection.
Centralized picture/movie/music libraries.
A few paid for services, that are optional, like online backups.
You can run it headless (no keyboard, mouse or monitor once it is set up)
Print server
I even think it works with a media center and a x-box
Can be set up wireless (except the power cord)


HP offers 1 for 700.00 ready to go that is 9 inches high. You can build 1 yourself for a third of that but it is an option as well. In the we got served forums there are people running 5-10 TB systems. This is also featured in the new walt disney lands, "tommarrow world", home of the future exibit.

This is a well kept secret, as few people even know of this. The downside of this os is it can not be joined to a domain.(this keeps businesses from using it)

^Zam, I'm saving the whole WHS thing for later on down the line! :P I've got a few things on my short list to buy before I get a dedicated server (ie...Golf Shoes).

Lol, new golf shoes will not improve your short game, but I do understand. It sounds like you are about ready for whs soon tho. Untill then grab a sata2 1TB western digital drive and an enclosure. As far as enclosures go, never used them, never will so Someone else should be able to help you on a good 1.