Backing up your data is a pain, whether you’re on a Mac or a PC. Sure there are software packages that can automate the backup process, but the physical drive can be expensive and a hassle to work with. And cloud backup? Those can end up being quite expensive.
Big data centers and smart tech people know how to solve the problem with network appliances, hard drives that live directly on the network instead of requiring that you plug them into your computer to do a backup.
And iDrive is offering just that, with redundant cloud backup space too, for an incredibly low price just for AskDaveTaylor readers…
Most computer users I talk with don’t do backups. It’s too complicated, they don’t have spare disk drives, they’re complacent that their computer will never crash or fail, or they just have no idea that they could lose their data at any time with the crash of a program, failed restart or bad system update. But it happens, and it happens more often than you may realize.
Most people curse and recreate the lost data, or just write it off to bad computers, programs, or similar, but I don’t want to lose irreplaceable photos and videos from my children’s lives, work projects that take weeks to complete, or even archival files like digital copies of my books, ready for an update or new edition. In an ideal world, systems would never fail and all data would be permanent, but that’s just not how it works.
Smart computer users know this and have some sort of backup scheme. Not one where once a month they email themselves the latest documents and letters, not simply trusting that Flickr or Google Photos is the best place to archive everything forever, but a locally based solution that creates redundant copies of files on an hourly or daily basis. And then has a secondary strategy that offers yet another copy somewhere else.
Enter iDrive. The company offers an incredibly budget-minded 1TB hard drive that has built-in wifi support and a battery that can keep it running for up to 8 hours when the power’s out. It usually runs $100, but for readers of AskDaveTaylor, they’re offering a killer deal: For $59.50, you’ll get the 1TB drive and the quite slick iDrive software and — but wait! there’s more! — 1TB of space on the iDrive cloud server to have your redundant backup for a whole year. Between the two you can back up 2TB of data or redundantly backup 1TB in both places (what I recommend).
Learn more about this fantastic offer: http://idrive.com/askdavetaylor
Now, with that out of the way, let’s actually look at the iDrive software and hardware so you can see what a nice setup it is and how easy to use once you’ve got it configured.
To start, here’s the actual iDrive hardware:
Small, easy to carry around, and quite capable! It has the ability for you to plug it directly into the USB on your computer, which I actually recommend for the first backup because that’s usually quite a bear, tens or hundreds of gigabytes of data. And even plugged in, it can take overnight – or over a few nights – to complete. Once you’re done with the initial backup and have configured the wi-fi (which is easy), subsequent local backups can be done without the computer and drive being hooked up, or even in the same room!
The iDrive client program that manages backups both locally and to the cloud is available on all the major computing platforms:
In fact, it’s also available for Linux and Unix systems if you want to work with it from a home Web server, file server or similar. No stone unturned must be their developmental model.
Once installed, using the iDrive app is quite easy. Here’s the process of setting up a cloud backup from a Windows 10 system:
It’s a bit hard to see with everything so tiny, but in this instance the default backup is to the iDrive cloud. Choose what folders or subfolders you want backed up, click “Backup Now” and you’re done.
Want to do a local backup via the wifi-connected drive or even to the iDrive while it’s directly connected via USB? No problem, once it’s configured, all you need to do is pick the right drive:
Look closely at the buttons along the bottom too: “Schedule Backup”. Yes, the iDrive app includes a powerful scheduler that will let you schedule both local and cloud-based backups. Then again, if you try to backup too much via wifi, you might just see this message too:
This is why I suggest that the very first backup, the big one, you do with the iDrive plugged in. Then subsequent incremental backups work just fine via wi-fi.
One more pic: A glimpse at the scheduler, which, as I said earlier, lets you work with either cloud-based or local backups:
It’s really a slick solution and you can use it to back up multiple computers too, so if you have a Mac and your wife has a PC, that’ll work just fine too, even via wi-fi!
And a reminder, the deal we’re offering is a 1TB (1024GB) iDrive unit that includes wi-fi connectivity and an integrated battery to ensure that your backup finishes even if your power goes out. In addition, you get 1TB of storage space on the iDrive cloud system for an entire year. All for $59.50. Not bad at all!
Learn more and get your own iDrive: www.idrive.com/askdavetaylor
Disclaimer: This iDrive promotional campaign is a joint project between iDrive and AskDaveTaylor and we make a small commission on each transaction. But really, under $60 for a 1TB drive? How is that not a great deal?
I currently use iDrive and occasionally files are listed as not being successfully backed up. I am concerned there are other files that are not being backed up. How do I get a list of all files not backed up by iDrive?
I have found iDrive has good tech support; email them and ask for a solution. Then let us know too! Thanks.
Unfortunately, you can’t use the iDrive to boot locally using USB on Macs.
This looks like a good solution, but that’s a big drawback when the local drive crashes. ;-(
You suggest that we do our first local backup with the iDrive plugged into USB (excellent suggestion). This worked great for me. Then you said, “incremental backups work just fine via wi-fi.” Not so in my case. After finishing the USB local backup, I moved it to wi-fi and immediately ran backup again using the exact same backup set. The program started another full backup which I aborted. How can I get it to use the backup via USB as the starting point for future incremental wi-fi backups?
I have the same problem. Every local backup I’ve done has been a full backup. I can’t find any place to set what type of backup I want, full or incremental. It just does what it wants. The only difference is my first back up was wi-fi; when I try to do a USB backup, I can’t find the drive.
Hi Dave, I have a problem that’s related to this. Over the years I have bought external drives and backed up my home Macs. Now I find myself with lots of disks which have lots of duplicated photos, music files and documents across them. I’d like to find a way to merge these drives, which vary from 500Gb to 1.5Tb and there about six of them, into one new ongoing backup archive with some kind of deduplication so I’m not wasting space. I think I have about 5Tb in total but I expect that 40% is duplication. Is there a way to sequentially copy the disks to one location and have the data deduped on the way? Big ask I know. Love to hear your thoughts.
I have no idea how to proceed with your de-dupe project, SteveM. The only saving grace is if you have a completely unique filename system so that DSC1033.JPG is guaranteed to be the same pic regardless of what drive it’s on. Then get a REALLY big drive and copy similar folders into the same place and let the OS reject dupe content? Good luck.