Backing up one particular folder on C:

[DariusCool]

Hi

I consider myself pretty IT literate or having just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

I only need to backup/update when changes made one particular folder on the C: drive but I am having trouble finding a suitable solution.

I wanted to avoid using elaborate software as it is purely for one folder to back up and sync with a cloud service.

I am trying to use Onedrive but the difficulty is that if I put the folder where onedrive back and syncs automatically (desktop) the other computers on the network can no longer access it.

It is only on the desktop so I thought it would be quite easy but no matter what I do I get asked for credentials. I have been through all the troubleshooters without any success.

The other computers can access the folder when within the C: with needing any credentials

 

[Ian Sutherland]

Hi,
It depends on how you use your file, OneDrive or to be honest most cloud storage services aren't ideal for backups as they simply synchronise what you have. When potentially you may want to go back to yesterday's or last weeks version. You may think this unlikely but if your current (sync'd) versions has just been encrypted by Ransomware then trust me you will want to restore yesterdays.

On my home PC I have just installed a free backup software called EaseUs To Do. I'm just a few days in so can't comment much but so far its straightforward. Although this is just backing up to a local external hardd drive. You could in theory put the OneDrive sync folder as the location for the backup then you will have the ability to restore previous versions. However, it doesn't get round the issue of your OneDrive sync folder getting encrypted by Ransomware.
Better to backup to removable media that you remove after backup so less risk of encryption.

Google Drive's backup and sync could easily be configured to backup this one folder. Same issue as OneDrive for Ransomware though.

There are proper cloud backup services that do allow you to retain previous versions, these are going to be paid for options, but would give you the best security.

My final point though is how do you back up all your other data? With the prevalence of Ransomware I would be backing up everything within an inch of its life as it really is the only get out of jail card.
Cheers

 

[Optegris]

Couple of questions...

Does the folder need to be on the C:\ drive or could it live elsewhere assuming other computers on the network can access it?
How are the other computers connected? Is it just a basic share or are you running through a server?
What is stored in this folder? Just text files, documents?
What OS are you using?

 

[arnydnxluk]

Google Drive supports backing up specific folders (outside of the main Google Drive folder).

I prefer Backblaze for backups though.

 

[ffox]

I wanted to avoid using elaborate software as it is purely for one folder to back up and sync with a cloud service.

You don't need to. you already have sufficient software to achieve what you want in a variety of ways.

First. If you successfully replicate to One Drive (free or O365) you have versions. That is old versions of the files are retained when changes are made. So, if you have a Word file and you store it in One Drive, you will have a single copy. If you, or anyone who has access, updates the file at a later date, you will have two copies of the file and each will be dated for when it was changed. If the file is changed again, you will have three version and so on.

Versions are not replicated back to the PC, but are stored online. So, you will not see multiple copies in your local file structure, you will need to log onto One Drive via a web browser. Select any file from the web browser screen and click on 'versions' in the top menu bar.

In the event of a Ransomware attack , only the latest version will be encrypted and as this replicates up to the cloud storage a version will be created of your last good version. So you are safe.

If a file is deleted, all version will go to the recycle bin

Having said that Microsoft accept no responsibility for the operation of the system, it is a service offered in good faith and the MS stance is that you are responsible for your own data security.

Second. If a file or folder is stored in One Drive it is in the cloud and may be shared with any other One Drive user. Why use a local area network when the file is available in the cloud?

The best way to access anything stored in One Drive is via a browser. That way any changes are made to the cloud version of the file and will then replicate down to any user device who are authenticated to share. Make changes to the local copy of a file and first it has to replicate to the cloud and then it has to replicate back down to other user devices where share is authorised.

Step back from the old fashioned file, folder and network thinking and start thinking cloud first. You will benefit and probably save on infrastructure costs.

 

[Clinton]

...start thinking cloud first.

I shudder at the very thought. You're not still banging on about Cloud, are you?

Businesses moving away from public cloud
85% plan to move from cloud
Enterprises shifting from cloud to onsite
Elvis has left the building
Cloud Repatriation, the move away from all things cloud
More >>

The Next Big Thing is already here, it's a move away from Public Cloud to On-Premises (or at least Private Cloud). I predicted it here on UKBF ages ago, right from the start of all the drum banging for Cloud solutions!

But I can understand why the big tech companies want you to trust them with your most valuable data and files and computing power and everything.

I have just installed a free backup software called EaseUs To Do. I'm just a few days in so can't comment much but so far its straightforward.

It seemed like a great suggestion so I installed it on one of my Windows PCs, but I see a message saying that it's on a 30 day trial i.e. not free after 30 days.

 

[ffox]

The Next Big Thing is already here, it's a move away from Public Cloud to On-Premises (or at least Private Cloud). I predicted it here on UKBF ages ago, right from the start of all the drum banging for Cloud solutions!

Dream on luddite

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Bite the bullet and buy a copy of Acronis where you can automatically back up single files as often as you need every time something changes etc and it does not effect others using the same file
www.acronis.com

 

[Clinton]

Dream on luddite

Please yourself.

I appreciate you've nailed your flag firmly to the mast so will continue worshipping at the altar of cloud for a while.

But, anticipating your reaction, I provided some links to articles by people in the know.

One day you'll learn how links work

 

[KM-Tiger]

Dream on luddite

Wrong argument.

It's not local vs cloud, but public cloud vs private cloud.

If you want to own and have full control of your own data, there is no contest, private cloud it must be.

 

[Scalloway]

I do this with a simple DOS batch file. F is the drive letter of the USB drive where the documents are copied to.

@echo off

set /p date= Enter date in format mm-dd-yyyy

cd\Users\John\"Documents"

xcopy C:\Users\John\"Documents"\Clients F:\backupfolder /D /E /C /R /H /I /K /Y

 

[ffox]

But, anticipating your reaction, I provided some links to articles by people in the know.

I see nothing in the links provided that are really evidence based. Your 'people in the know' are generally IT gurus who see their own future threatened by platforms and applications which do not require high levels of IT knowledge or experience.

The race for users is now to gain a cognisance of what data is and how to use it. This doesn't need great IT skills, just good levels of process and workflow management. The tools are there, you just need to use them.

It's not local vs cloud, but public cloud vs private cloud.

Not really. This is Infrastructure as a service vs in house infrastructure. The bigger the organisation, the bigger the cost saving.

 

[Clinton]

IT gurus who see their own future threatened...

Pot. Kettle.

 

[ffox]

Pot. Kettle.

Sorry Clinton. I'm not touting for business, I'm selling nothing. Just giving good advice to people about the lowest cost services currently available to help them handle data more efficiently.

True there is a learning curve, but the rewards are huge. Learn the potential of data and how easy it is to manage the data in a single organisation and costs tumble.

This has nothing to do with IT know how.

 

[Clinton]

Just to remind everybody - cloud is not as safe and secure as you think.

Yesterday, Google's services went down including Youtube and Gmail. Google docs have been offline before (one example). A few months ago Microsoft's services went down in their global outage. Yeah, everybody lost access to their Office 365 account. And that'snot the only time for them either.

I've never lost access to the Libre Office package on my PC (and if my PC goes down or my internet goes down, I can access all my docs, spreadsheets etc on another machine). I feel for the plonkers who rely on O365 to access important documents or finish a mission critical business project. Yesterday's Google outage meant students couldn't access some of the material they needed to prepare for the GCSE exams currently going on.

You just can't rely on O365 / Google / whatever always being there and you always having a good internet connection to access them. And that's a good reason to get out of your head that cloud is a reliable solution to anything important.

Sure, store your cat pics in the cloud. And photos of your mother-in-law that you don't really want to ever see again. But ...that's it.

 

[The Byre]

Those two are at it again!

@ the OP - just make a copy of your damn folder on a USB drive. Drag - drop. Job done. Move on to something else!

 

[ffox]

A few months ago Microsoft's services went down in their global outage. Yeah, everybody lost access to their Office 365 account.

Sorry @Clinton , but that is just not true. Tony Redmond's analysis is here -
Interestingly neither I, nor any of my customers even noticed the issue at the time.
True, it was a serious outage
True, it was unacceptable
True, Microsoft have been made aware in no uncertain terms
But,
It was not GLOBAL and it was not total, nor did it affect more than a handful of users for any real length of time. The issue was the use of Azure to authenticate , as Tony Redmond's analysis confirms cloud software apps like OWA and browser access to data were largely unaffected. The largest impact being with users who use local client software and authenticate via Azure.

 

[Clinton]

True, it was a serious outage

And not for the first time. It won't be for the last time either.

In over a quarter of a century of using computers in my businesses, and owning IT businesses (!), I have never had a serious outage and never lost even one second of access to docs / spreadsheets / accounts / data / cat pics.

Just saying

 

[ffox]

In over a quarter of a century of using computers in my businesses, and owning IT businesses (!), I have never had a serious outage and never lost even one second of access to docs / spreadsheets / accounts / data / cat pics.

Kudos @Clinton . In a similar period of time I've found myself in the midst of many serious outages. Some of these where due to carelessness, some were due to mechanical failure (servers and switches), some were due malicious attack and some were down to simple things ranging from workmen outside of the building severing cables, to lightening strike and flood.

In truth no-one is safe from IT disaster and any person serious about delivering IT uptime (which will never be 100% for anyone) will factor in the risks and plan for disaster recovery.

The biggest problem with any LAN setup is that it all resides in one place and thus represents a single point of, possibly disastrous, failure.

Secure cloud data delivers the fastest possible recovery. If local machinery (PCs and Servers) are expendable recovery is faster and business continuity more simple to execute.