File Storage?

[steve-in-kville]

Just took delivery of a new laptop. I really need to get more digitally organized so I don't run into issues like I did before. So whats the best way to store documents and photos? I always thought flash drives were the most convenient and still do, but what about the "cloud?"

[MaxPC]

Just took delivery of a new laptop. I really need to get more digitally organized so I don't run into issues like I did before. So whats the best way to store documents and photos? I always thought flash drives were the most convenient and still do, but what about the "cloud?"

I still prefer the flash drives and separate hard drives for larger items. The cloud presents problems, in my opinion, in that you are ceding control of your private data to another entity.

[Bootstrap]

I use a LaCie external SSD drive. It is quiet and small and power-efficient. I run automatic backups so I am always safe.

[Wayne in Maine]

I use a Synology NAS (DS420,4-bay) which I also backup to a high capacity external drive. It might seem like overkill but I have lost important data in the past. For general home use AIC recommend a 2-bay NAS (DS228) with mirrored drives.

I researched and tested NAS devices extensively for my company 7 years ago and Synology stood out. Right now we have deployed and we manage about 30 Synologies of various sizes for our clients.

[mike]

The lazy way is Dropbox or a similar service. I have used Carbonite and Google Drive, but Dropbox is probably the easiest for home users. NAS is good for local backup.

[Neto]

I use a Synology NAS (DS420,4-bay) which I also backup to a high capacity external drive. It might seem like overkill but I have lost important data in the past. For general home use AIC recommend a 2-bay NAS (DS228) with mirrored drives.

I researched and tested NAS devices extensively for my company 7 years ago and Synology stood out. Right now we have deployed and we manage about 30 Synologies of various sizes for our clients.

Only thing I would add is that if you only have a single NAS of the same make & model, I would suggest turning the encryption off. Otherwise, if the device itself fails, and the internal drive is still good, you'll need a similar/same device to retrieve the files. If it's all backed up on a different device as well, then not to worry.

EDIT: I personally do not have an NAS, although I have set some up for clients. I personally use external HDDs, and also have a dock that accepts bare SATA drives. I prefer HDDs over SSDs for file back up, as the additional speed of an SSD over the HDD doesn't seem cost effective to me for large amounts of data, and also because HDDs are still said to survive more write-rewrite cycles than SSDs. [Western Digital, for instance, suggests right on the SSD package that the best configuration for a dual drive system is to put the OS (and programs) on the SSD for the speed factor, and your data/files on an HDD for the drive logivity.]
Of course the advantage of an SSD in an external drive case that you plan to carry with you is that the SSD is much more resistant to damage from accidental drops (shock).

[Ken]

My parents had their house broken into last year. They lost their laptop, iPad, and the backup hard drive that was sitting on the desk with them.

Backup hard drives are getting super cheap. I just noticed a 5 TB portable hard drive at Costco yesterday for about $100. But it isn't really truly "backed up" if it is sitting in the same room as your main computer.

These days I keep EVERYTHING backed up to the cloud but also have archived stuff like family photos additionally backed up on a portable hard drive.

I keep all my personal files and photos backed up to DropBox. And every new document I ever open or save is automatically saved to the synced dropbox folder on my laptop.

My employer uses Google Drive so every work file I ever create or save is saved to Google Drive.

My house can burn down and I can lose everything, but every file of mine will survive untouched and I will be able to restore it all easily.

I have also found this very convenient at times when I have been away from my computer and want to pull up some document on my phone or iPad to send to some one. You can get Dropbox and Google drive apps for Apple and Android phones and tablets that will let you access all of your files to print, forward, or edit. You can't do that with a backup hard drive. So, for example, I can use my phone or iPad to pull up all the old family photos or movies off dropbox and cast them up to any big screen TV for a slide show if it has Chromecast or Apple TV or similar. I can't do that if the pics are all on a backup hard drive.