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    Backup advice please

    I'm familiar with Time Machine and use that for my regular backups of my iMac, but recently my remote hard drive is misbehaving and I needed to make some other backups. I used a rewritable DVD and a flash drive or pen drive (or whatever you call those in your house) and have two or three questions.

    To do this I copied my Reunion database, or rather my file - to the icon for the dvd or the flash drive, using Finder. ie I found my Reunion file icon, and dragged that to the dvd icon to the left of my iMac's screen. Is that the best and simplest way?

    When I come to do that next time using the same dvd or flash drive, does the next copy overwrite the first or does each new backup need a dated file name.

    I'm also aware that I'm backing up my own file. Should I also backup the program itself?

    Sorry if these are very basic questions but it a while since I've done these things as I have rather assumed Time Machine was happily doing its thing in the background. It was but it is obviously only as good as the hard drive to which I'm backing up.

    Thanks in advance.
    Rupert

    Researching Large; Cuddon; Ford, Gadsdon and Fletcher

    #2
    Re: Backup advice please

    Originally posted by rclrocco View Post
    I copied my Reunion database, or rather my file - to the icon for the dvd or the flash drive, using Finder. ie I found my Reunion file icon, and dragged that to the dvd icon to the left of my iMac's screen. Is that the best and simplest way?
    that works, but it doesn't back up your multimedia files. You also need to copy them to your flash drive if you want a full back-up. If you store them all in one folder, it's easy to drag that folder over.

    Originally posted by rclrocco View Post
    When I come to do that next time using the same dvd or flash drive, does the next copy overwrite the first or does each new backup need a dated file name.
    The OS should ask you if it's ok to overwrite the older file.
    Dennis J. Cunniff
    Click here to email me

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      #3
      Re: Backup advice please

      The advice I would offer is: Consider continuous online backups as an alternative or supplement to your DVD/flash/external hard drive backup method.

      There are many continuous backup solutions on the market. CrashPlan is the standout. (Aside: I'm not a CrashPlan shill, merely a very satisfied customer, enthusiast and experienced IT professional.)

      CrashPlan can be configured to backup your data to the vendor's cloud servers for a fee, backup to a friend's computer for free, or backup to a desktop backup drive. You can backup to all of these if you choose.

      The key to using a continuous network backup solution inexpensively is finding a friend or relative willing to offer you disk space in exchange for disk space offered to them. If possible, find two willing backup partners. If your system is taken out be a lighting strike, tornado or some other horrible event, your data can be retrieved from your friend's backup (assuming that your friend isn't next door and affected by the same computer damaging event).

      As the alpha geek/nerd in my circle of family and friends, I've taken this up a notch or two... I backup twenty-nine computers belonging to family and friends. Three of the twenty-nine users and I have stories to tell about CrashPlan saving us from data loss. In my case, it includes the full recovery of Reunion and research data.
      Brian Walker

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        #4
        Re: Backup advice please

        Hello Reunion Users,

        Does anyone know if the CrashPlan App for the iPad can backup the Reunion database on the same device? It would be great to travel with only an iPad, make updates to Reunion, take photos and the like, and not have to worry about having a computer to sync the iPad to in order to have a proper backup.

        Any tips are much appreciated.

        J

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Backup advice please

          Originally posted by jo576 View Post
          Does anyone know if the CrashPlan App for the iPad can backup the Reunion database on the same device?
          J
          jo576,

          CrashPlan is not the solution you seek. The CrashPlan app on the iPad allows you to download files from the backup store (not from your Mac file system). The iPad app does not work in reverse -- uploading files to the CrashPlan backup store, your Mac, or any other destination off of your iPad.

          Stick with Reunion Sync.

          - Brian
          Brian Walker

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Backup advice please

            Originally posted by bwalker View Post
            jo576,

            CrashPlan is not the solution you seek. The CrashPlan app on the iPad allows you to download files from the backup store (not from your Mac file system). The iPad app does not work in reverse -- uploading files to the CrashPlan backup store, your Mac, or any other destination off of your iPad.

            Stick with Reunion Sync.

            - Brian
            Thank you for your reply Brian.

            I understand that I would need to use Reunion Sync to send any updates on the iPad back to my Mac. What I'm really looking for is a way to backup the data on an iPad itself so that if it gets lost/stolen/broken *before* I can sync with my Mac, that I don't loose the updates forever. This would be really important to me if I were to take a big genealogy trip and only take an iPad. Since the iPad doesn't have a USB port, I could not use a flashdrive to backup the data and thus some sort of cloud solution would seem to be the only option. If no such solution exists, then I'd really need to have a Macbook Air in order to have all my data and backup options available.

            Of course, I could also go old-school and scribble my updates into a notebook like I've done so many times before.

            -J

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Backup advice please

              Originally posted by jo576 View Post
              Thank you for your reply Brian.

              I understand that I would need to use Reunion Sync to send any updates on the iPad back to my Mac. What I'm really looking for is a way to backup the data on an iPad itself so that if it gets lost/stolen/broken *before* I can sync with my Mac, that I don't loose the updates forever. This would be really important to me if I were to take a big genealogy trip and only take an iPad. Since the iPad doesn't have a USB port, I could not use a flashdrive to backup the data and thus some sort of cloud solution would seem to be the only option. If no such solution exists, then I'd really need to have a Macbook Air in order to have all my data and backup options available.

              Of course, I could also go old-school and scribble my updates into a notebook like I've done so many times before.

              -J
              I'm confused? If you lose your iPad containing your data file, I don't see how a backup to your iPad is going to be of any help. Both your data file and your backup would be gone.

              To be safe, your backup needs to be to something other than your iPad. Perhaps the Cloud is the answer or one of the various online backup options. These would require access to the internet, of course.
              John McGee Leggett, Jr.
              Late 2014 MacMini, MacOS Mojave 10.14.3, Reunion 12, Safari 12.0.3
              Leggett Booth McGee King Coulter Morton Ashley Douglas Ranard Maners

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Backup advice please

                Originally posted by jo576 View Post
                Hello Reunion Users,

                Does anyone know if the CrashPlan App for the iPad can backup the Reunion database on the same device? It would be great to travel with only an iPad, make updates to Reunion, take photos and the like, and not have to worry about having a computer to sync the iPad to in order to have a proper backup.

                Any tips are much appreciated.

                J
                For safety I always back up my files to Dropbox on the road. If I'm going to do genealogy on a trip, I take my MacBook 11" and my iPad. The iPad is most useful in the stacks or taking pictures of data I find, but I don't find it to be the easiest way to input data. I like to see everything on the screen for an individual or family, especially the sources. If I use only the iPad I can easily duplicate source material I've already reviewed.

                I know this is not recommended by Leister, but before a trip I put my Reunion file in Dropbox and then I'm updating my master file, which is then backed up. There is only a problem if you do not take care to close your file and move it back to your main computer when you get home. Having the file open on two systems will cause conflicted data

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Backup advice please

                  I'm late to this thread but regarding backup of the iPad, no one has mentioned the 900 pound gorilla in the room. If rclrocco is allowing his iPad to back up in iCloud, his Reunion iPad data is already being backed up. So, it can be recovered easily into a brand new iPad if his current iPad is stolen, destroyed, etc.

                  However, for two reasons, I don't input data on the iPad or iPhone but only use the Reunion data for reference. Reason 1: The data is not precisely the same on the iDevice vs. the Mac. Reason 2: I can type 3-4 times as fast on a normal keyboard as compared to either an on screen keyboard or a scrunched up Bluetooth keyboard.

                  For recording documents, I take photos with the iPhone because its camera is much better than the iPad. Likewise with recording audio conversations, the iPhone is more convenient and less scary to that elderly aunt.
                  Bob White, Mac Nut Since 1985, Reunion Nut Since 1991
                  Jenanyan, Barnes, White, Duncan, Dunning, Luce, Hedge and more
                  iMac/MacBookAir M1 - iPhonePro/iPadPro - Reunion13 & RT

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Backup advice please

                    Thanks Bob, Linda, & John for replying and sharing your experiences. Sounds like I'll need a laptop to have the flexibility that I need. Ipad + dock + wireless keyboard + iCloud could also get me most of what I want, but a laptop may be more manageable.

                    Thanks again

                    -J

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Backup advice please

                      Originally posted by bwalker View Post
                      CrashPlan can be configured to backup your data to the vendor's cloud servers for a fee, backup to a friend's computer for free, or backup to a desktop backup drive.
                      Can CrashPlan do incremental backup for free to web space that you already have elsewhere?
                      My Home Page: http://tpettit.best.vwh.net/

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Backup advice please

                        Originally posted by John M. Leggett View Post
                        I'm confused? If you lose your iPad containing your data file, I don't see how a backup to your iPad is going to be of any help. Both your data file and your backup would be gone.
                        I suspect that your confusion arises from parsing jo576's statement that what he is "really looking for is a way to backup the data on an iPad itself so that if it gets lost/stolen/broken *before* I can sync with my Mac, that I don't lose the updates forever"

                        as if he meant "backup the data onto an iPad itself", when he what he really meant was "backup the data [that is] on an iPad itself [to somewhere off the iPad, but more widely accessible than is my Mac]".

                        He phrased it the way he did because most of the prior suggestions involved a Mac somehow, either as the backup repository or as the system that the backup software ran from or the backup storage plugged into, and he wanted a solution that did not involve the Mac as an intermediary.
                        My Home Page: http://tpettit.best.vwh.net/

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Backup advice please

                          Originally posted by TeriPettit View Post
                          Can CrashPlan do incremental backup for free to web space that you already have elsewhere?
                          Teri,

                          It's unlikely, that you will be able to backup to your web space.

                          CrashPlan is designed to backup your computer to other computers (servers or personal computers) running the CrashPlan application. Or to local disks (physically attached to your computer).

                          In this age of shared web services, it's unlikely that your service provider would allow you or other clients to install applications such as CrashPlan.

                          Mentioned earlier in this thread: To manage costs, I recommend teaming up with someone willing to share disk space with you -- in exchange for the space you provide them.

                          The folks at Code42 describe how this works here:


                          I hope this helps!
                          Brian Walker

                          Comment

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