Best Hardware for System Backups

Ok, before I start, let me list a few things.

1) I'm looking for something PnP not DIY
2) I realize you should have more than 1 backup drive (3-2-1 Strategy)
3) I'm Ok with 3.0 USB connection or higher
4) I'm Ok with a HDD External drive instead of SSD
5) I realize you need to update drives every several years & re-backup everything
6) I realize you shouldn't buy more than 1 drive at a time from the same place as you may get a bad batch
7) I realize drives do fail or you may get a lemon
8) I'm aware of the class-action suits against WD/SanDisk
9) Trying not to break the bank but ~$200/drive or so is fine

Now, with all those things said and knowing I'm probably opening a battle of the drives here goes. I'm looking for hardware recommendations for USB 3.0 or higher External HDD to backup my system on a regular basis.

I've poured through subreddits and various forums and just end up getting more confused. I realize there are many options but I would appreciate input on what users have had the best experiences with & drives that have a good track record for longevity so as to help make an educated purchase.

Any positive input would be greatly appreciated!

How much storage space do you think you'll need? Knowing that will help make it easier for people to make suggestions.

A few details would help:

Are you backing up data ONLY? Or data and "system"?

Total size of whatever you intend to back up? 300 GB? 10 TB?

Do you plan on running this backup hourly? Daily? Weekly? Or ?

It sounds like you might be rather indifferent to the speed of the backup. Not true?

Marcus Vinicus said:

How much storage space do you think you'll need? Knowing that will help make it easier for people to make suggestions.

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Sorry, I guess I didn't include quite as much detail as I thought I should. I'm really talking about data more than system. I'm a big video collector so it could be anywhere from 2-20Tb. Probably a daily updated backup but, minimum weekly. I'm not real worried about speed as long as drive doesn't overheat with extended read/write time. Hope that helped clarify your questions. Thanks!

You say you want "PnP not DIY".

If that is chiseled in stone and taken literally, I guess that means you are willing to tolerate whatever quality/speed drive is encased in some sort of "PnP" device.

That quality/speed might disappoint you sooner rather than later. Many here would ask you to choose your own drive, but that means "DIY" to some extent. Understandable if you say categorically NO to that.

Fishmill said:

You say you want "PnP not DIY".

If that is chiseled in stone and taken literally, I guess that means you are willing to tolerate whatever quality/speed drive is encased in some sort of "PnP" device.

That quality/speed might disappoint you sooner rather than later. Many here would ask you to choose your own drive, but that means "DIY" to some extent. Understandable if you say categorically NO to that.

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Well, not really. I'd like a decent speed if possible from a PnP Device.

What I'm really looking for is a Brand people have better luck with (WD, Seagate, SanDisk, Samsung, Toshiba, etc.) From there, I can decide on the amount of storage I want based on the cost.

Right now, both my data drives are 2Tb so, at the moment 4Tb would be Max but in future I could want more based on what I download.

Xoanon said:

WD, Seagate, SanDisk, Samsung, Toshiba, etc.

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WD yes, The rest for mine, no.

Xoanon said:

Right now, both my data drives are 2Tb so, at the moment 4Tb would be Max but in future I could want more based on what I download.

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One thing to consider is the larger the (backup) storage, the more there is to lose in the case of failure (Mind you, that would mean both the source and backup would have to fail to lose everything ... possibility in a power surge or other (flood, fire, famine, pestilence, etc) if backup is attached to device

Xoanon said:

I'm a big video collector

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.. from what source? How reliable is the source to be able to re-retrieve a copy, i.e. the source of the videos could be considered your "backup".

"Brand people have better luck with" lands you smack dab in the middle of anecdote-land.

I'd guess you can find dozens of anecdotes telling you'd be foolish to buy brand X or model Y.

Backing up terabytes through USB for the first time will take a long time regardless. Later backups will take less because the later backups would only involve new or modified files. But, lower your speed expectations. Don't know what "decent' means to you.

Check out the reviews on the internet.
Someone will recommend a 20TB drive to you, and the drive will break at some point. Whose fault will it be?

idgat said:

WD yes, The rest for mine, no.


One thing to consider is the larger the (backup) storage, the more there is to lose in the case of failure (Mind you, that would mean both the source and backup would have to fail to lose everything ... possibility in a power surge or other (flood, fire, famine, pestilence, etc) if backup is attached to device


.. from what source? How reliable is the source to be able to re-retrieve a copy, i.e. the source of the videos could be considered your "backup".

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Very reliable let's just say.

In the end, spread your videos across several drives. The odds of all failing at same time is low.

Ask yourself a hard question. How is your life going to be impacted if you lost some videos?

Personally, I would only backup personal videos e.g videos of weddings, births etc.

So what if you lost episodes of Indiana Jones? Such videos come from two main sources in most cases i.e. you digitised hard copy or downloaded them. Unless you have got rid of all hard copies, these can be reproduced, and so can redownloading them.

In the end, backup is not really about backing up every bit of digital data in your life but about making sure CRITICAL data that CANNOT be lost - particularly if such loss could cause heartache e.g. pictures of dear old gran, vital documents e.g. birth certificate s, tax records etc.

CRITICAL data for sure should be backed up to 2 separate places, preferably one copy being offsite e.g cloud storage or drive stored at a family member's place.

It is surprising but TRULY critical PERSONAL data is probably not as high as you think (I only have 100GB or less of critical data on onedrive}.

I do not even bother backing up videos as they (to me) are NOT CRITICAL.

Of course, everybody! differs and you may have some videos you do watch frequently but I bet you have never even watched vast majority more than once.

My point is a pragmatic reality check on needs can significantly reduce your backup demand (minimising multiple copies).

One thing is for sure, there are so many online services nowadays like Netflix, Prime etc. you will never run out of films or TV series to keep you entertained.

Xoanon said:

Very reliable let's just say.

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Then if I'm guessing the same as myself, I stopped making backups because I knew that the original source, and a growing number of alternatives, was always going to be there if I needed another copy

Xoanon said:

Very reliable let's just say.

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Well maybe we should start with what's available in that size range...




Personally, I like WD Black internal HDDs.
Although I've never used one of these... a few of these might be your best option.


The reviews for this drive on Amazon and Newegg, look really good.




You could also get an External HDD enclosure, and just use regular HDDs in that.

I use a QNAP TS-451+ and OneDrive alongside a couple of USB drives, for backups. This works really well for me.

I have a NAS with 8TB mirrored drives and I also have two USB drives that I alternate ever other week to have totally off-line complete backup. The backups to a separate drive in the computer and the NAS are all automated so I don't have to remember to run those I just get an email saying the backup is done. If there is an error I get an email for that too.

If you really have up to 20TB rotating drives are the only practical alternative nowadays.

Here's a Seagate model for $229: 20GB Seagate External Drive

gunrunnerjohn said:

I have a NAS with 8TB mirrored drives and I also have two USB drives that I alternate ever other week to have totally off-line complete backup. The backups to a separate drive in the computer and the NAS are all automated so I don't have to remember to run those I just get an email saying the backup is done. If there is an error I get an email for that too.

If you really have up to 20TB rotating drives are the only practical alternative nowadays.

Here's a Seagate model for $229: 20GB Seagate External Drive

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That drive is 20TB, not 20GB

The link does not work for me, but this does

kelper said:

That drive is 20TB, not 20GB

The link does not work for me, but this does

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B0B2PZWD81

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My link works fine for me. Yes, the GB was just a typo, but obviously the 20TB was what I intended.

Nothing wrong with the link despite the minor typo.

Q: What's the best hardware for system backups?

A: 40 monks copying everything on your computer, manually, in big books.

I am not sure why people recommend WD when it comes to backup.
They are not even backup drives. They seem to intentionally call them ... I forget now. But after 2x 1TB and 1x 2TB WD failed, I will ALWAYS go with drives that a minimum 3-5 year warranty, minimum 16-32MB cache and preferrably 5400rpm+ (as many are 1yr, 8mb, 4300 rpm etc)

But you get what you pay for. Just avoid WD. They are cheap for a reason.
Just like old Maxtor, and everyone buying their drives and their data disappearing. Or the good old 4.3GB Quantum Fireball... Let's just say they went up in fire!

Please look for LONG term reliability, and not a "cheap" drive.
And please put reminder in your calendar to replace your backup drives every 3-5 years!