We’ve gathered you together here today to address some of weirdest questions (and answers) about everyone’s favorite topic: data storage. 

From the outside looking in, it’s easy to think it’s a subject that is as dry as Ben Stein in “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off”. But, given that everyday functions are increasingly moving to the internet, data storage is, in some ways, the secret backbone of modern society. 

Today it’s estimated that there are over 8,000 data centers (DCs) in the world, built on a variety of storage media, connected to various networks, consuming vast amounts of power, and taking up valuable real estate. Plus, the drive technology itself brings together engineering foci affected by (driving?) everything from clean room technology to DNA research. 

Fertile ground for strange, surprising questions, certainly. So, without further ado, here are some of our favorite questions about data storage. 

1. Does a Hard Drive Weigh More When It’s Full?

Short answer: for all practical purposes, no. Long answer: technically yes, but it’s such a miniscule amount that you wouldn’t be able to measure it. Shout out to David Zaslavsky for doing all the math, and here’s the summary. 

As Einstein famously hypothesized, e = mc². If it’s been a while since you took physics, that formula defined is that energy is equal to mass multiplied by the speed of light squared. Since energy is defined by mass, then, we can infer that energy has a weight, even if it’s negligible. 

Now, hard drives record data by magnetizing a thin film of ferromagnetic material. Basically, you’re forcing the atoms in a magnetic field to align in a different direction. And, since magnetic fields have differing amounts of energy depending on whether they’re aligned or antialigned, technically the weight does change. According to David’s math, it’d be approximately 10^-14 g for a 1TB hard drive. 

2. How Loud Is the Cloud?

In the past, we’ve talked about how heavy the Backblaze Storage Cloud is, and we’ve spent some ink on how loud a Backblaze DC is. All that noise comes from a combination of factors, largely cooling systems. Back in 2017, we measured our DCs at approximately 78dB, but other sources report that DCs can reach up to 96dB. 

When you’re talking about building your own storage, my favorite research data point was one Reddit user’s opinion:

But, it’s still worth investing in ways to reduce the noise—if not for worker safety, then to reduce the environmental impact of DCs, including noise pollution. There are a wealth of studies out there connecting noise pollution to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, high stress levels, sleep disturbance, and good ol’ hearing loss in humans. In our animal friends, noise pollution can disrupt predator/prey detection and avoidance, echolocation, and interfere with reproduction and navigation. 

The good news is that there are technologies to keep data centers (relatively) quiet when they become disruptive to communities.  

3. How Long Does Data Stay Where You Stored It?

As much as we love old-school media here at Backblaze, we’re keeping this conversation to digital storage—so let’s chat about how long your data storage will retain your media, unplugged, in ideal environmental conditions. 

We like the way Enterprise Storage Forum put it: “Storage experts know that there are two kinds of drive in this world—those that have already failed, and those that will fail sooner or later.” Their article encompasses a pretty solid table of how long (traditional) storage media lasts.

However, with new technologies—and their consumer applications—emerging, we might see a challenge to the data storage throne. The Institute of Physics reports that data written to a glass memory crystal could remain intact for a million years, a product they’ve dubbed the “Superman crystal.” So, look out for lasers altering the optical properties of quartz at the nanoscale. (That was just too cool not to say.)

4. What’s the Most Expensive Data Center Site?

And why? 

One thing we know from the Network Engineering team at Backblaze is that optimizing your connectivity (getting your data from point A to point B) to the strongest networks is no simple feat. Take this back to the real world: when you’re talking about what the internet truly is, you’re just connecting one computer to every other computer, and there are, in fact, cables involved. 

The hardware infrastructure combines with population dispersion in murky ways. We’ll go ahead and admit that’s out of scope for this article. But, working backwards from the below image, let’s just say that where there are more data centers, it’s likely there are more network exchanges. 

From an operational standpoint, you’d likely assume it’s a bad choice to have your data center in the middle of the most expensive real estate and power infrastructures in the world, but there are tangible benefits to joining up all those networks at a central hub and to putting them in or near population centers. We call those spaces carrier hotels. 

Here’s the best definition we found: 

There is no industry standard definition of a carrier hotel versus merely a data center with a meet-me room (MMR). But, generally, the term is reserved for the facilities where metro fiber carriers meet long-haul carriers—and the number of network providers numbers in the dozens.
—Data Center Dynamics

Some sources go so far as to say that carrier hotels have to be in cities by definition. Either way, the result is that carrier hotels sit on some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Citing DGTL Infra from April 2023, here are the top 25 U.S. carrier hotels: 

Let’s take #12 on this list, the NYC listing. According to PropertyShark, it’s worth $1.15 billion. With a b. That’s before you even get to the tech inside the building. 

If you’re so inclined, flex those internet research skills and look up some of the other property values on the list. Some of them are a bit hard to find, and there are other interesting tidbits along the way. (And tell us what you find in the comments, of course.)

Bonus Question: Is It Over Already?

Look, do I want it to be over? No, never. But, the amount of weird and wonderful data storage questions that I could include in this article is infinite. Here’s a shortlist that other folks from Backblaze suggested: 

• How broken is too broken when it comes to restoring files from a hard drive? (This is a whole article in and of itself.)
• When I send an email, how does it get to where it goes? (Check out Backblaze CEO Gleb Budman’s Bookblaze recommendation if you’re curious.) 
• What happens to storage drives when we’re done with them? What does recycling look like? 

So, the real question is, what do you want to know? Sound off in the comments—we’ll do our best to research and answer.

The post Data Storage Beyond the Hardware: 4 Surprising Questions appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

If you’re responsible for protecting company data, you know that any number of things can jeopardize the data on workstations, be it human error or natural disaster. It’s your job to reduce risk, but to do that you need the ability to fine-tune your backup systems.

Backblaze Computer Backup gives you an easy, automatic, centrally-managed solution for backup. And, starting today IT administrators can take greater control of their endpoint backups—from how employees authenticate to what they can and cannot restore—with the introduction of our new Enterprise Control for Backblaze Computer Backup.   

What’s New in Enterprise Control?

Whether you’re an IT manager or an MSP responsible for protecting business data, Enterprise Control allows you to meet your full business continuity and data security standards for workstation data and better support a hybrid and remote workforce. Here’s what you can do with Enterprise Control:

• Fine-Grained Access Permissions: Manage access to group member data on a granular level for enterprise operations. This includes control over members’ ability to delete their own backups, admin’s ability to delete member backups, and admin’s permissions for restoring data on a member’s behalf. 
• Advanced Single Sign-On: Enable OpenID Connect (OIDC) single sign-on (SSO) and the ability to use tools like Okta and Azure Active Directory in addition to GSuite and Microsoft. This enhances security control, allowing you to ramp up authentication practices, verifying member identity and streamlining identity management.
• Group Management Controls: Prevent members from leaving a group, taking data with them, or ordering restore hard drives or snapshot hard drives without permission. You also have the option to hide the ability to update the client through the desktop app, rename or purge end user backups from the web application, and prevent Group members from updating the client app on their own. 
• Compliance Support: Benefits businesses who are mandated to apply greater controls given compliance, cyber insurance, or heightened recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO) requirements.

Enterprise Control Gives You The Guardrails

Backblaze Computer Backup reduces IT burden with its simplicity, and consistently ranked as Wirecutter’s Best Online Cloud Backup Service. Now, we’ve wrapped that simplicity with the enterprise features larger organizations require so you can reduce risk, achieve compliance, and better support your cybersecurity and disaster recovery goals. 

How to Upgrade to Enterprise Control

Enterprise Control is available for Groups with 20 or more Computer Backup licenses. To take advantage of Enterprise Control or to purchase Backblaze Computer Backup for your organization, contact your Sales representative. Or, learn more about how to implement Enterprise Control by visiting our technical documentation article.

If you have additional feature requests, please visit our Product Portal or let us know in the comments below.

The post Now Available: Enterprise Control for Computer Backup appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

Everyone has their arsenal of indispensable gadgets and apps they absolutely couldn’t live without, and we had a feeling the folks here at Backblaze would have a lot to say about the subject. We tapped the smart, savvy minds that keep our storage cloud up and running, and discovered a treasure trove of insights into the tech essentials that power their daily lives.

From budgeting apps to text editors to humble charging jacks, our staff share the tools they can’t live without. So, without further ado, let’s dig into the gear that keeps our collective gears turning:

Tech for Staying Connected

Solutions Engineering Director, Troy Liljedahl

As a Mac guy, I love my Airpod Pros and the way they work seamlessly with my iPhone, Macbook Pro, and iPad. But things get a little wonky when you try to use them outside of the Apple ecosystem. I tried many different wireless earbuds and settled on the Anker Soundcore Space A40 Earbuds. I’m a big fan of The Wirecutter by the New York Times (and they’re big fans of us) and they had these at the top of their list. I love the sound quality, noise canceling, and excellent battery life. My Airpod Pros are still my go to when I’m out of the house, but when I need a good headset at home for my PC and other non-Apple devices, these have become my go to earbuds.

Senior Director, Marketing, Yev Pusin

You know what I hate? Getting my phone out at inopportune times. You know what I don’t mind so much? Glancing down at my Google Pixel Watch to see that the cold call I’m receiving is being answered by my phone’s call screening and I don’t have to pick it up. Whether it’s the first version or the second, I have grown accustomed to having something on my wrist that acts as an extension of my phone. True digital bliss. 

Chief Technical Evangelist, Pat Patterson

I use my webcam a LOT: Zoom and Google Meet with coworkers, FaceTime with family and friends, webinars with the Backblaze community of developers and admins, and quick-start videos for the Backblaze YouTube channel. Ever since I got my PlexiCam Pro mount about a year ago, it’s been my secret weapon in every one of those interactions. It’s a transparent plexiglass webcam mount that hangs from the top edge of my monitor, allowing me to position my webcam in my eyeline, just above my focus. To anyone on the call, I appear to be looking directly into the camera. 

At $85, it’s not cheap, but it’s well designed and constructed, and feels like it will last forever. Highly recommended for anyone who spends a lot of time flicking their eyes between the screen and the webcam!

Tech for Devs

Senior Site Reliability Engineer, nathaniel wagner

Ah, the age old debate of Emacs versus Vim: the two most widely used editors for Linux operating systems. I solidly planted my flag on team Vim once I learned how to save and exit the program. ;)

I do aspire to one day having a computer that only runs Emacs because byte compiled Emacs is cool to me. Until I graduate to that level of wizardry, I stick to Neovim when I need to quickly edit something from a terminal or want to appear cool in front of my coworkers. I mostly use the Vim extension in Intellij for day-to-day modifying of code and configs. If you would like to also learn Vim, I really enjoyed playing through Vim Adventures, which is a free game that teaches you a lot of the shortcuts and movements in Vim.

Lead Software Engineer, Application Security, Ola Nordstrom

Continuing the discussion in favor of Vim, specifically Neovim. You only have to learn the keybindings once. There is a fantastic set of plugins to customize it to your heart’s content—Visual Studio Code has VSCodeVim, Intellij has IdeaVim, for example. Then you don’t have to relearn keybindings while switching between languages, projects, and code. 

Tmux the terminal multiplexer: like Vim, it may have a steep learning curve but once you learn it you can’t live without it. The tmux wiki has some great getting started guides. I strongly recommend remapping the leader key (mine is Caps + A, or Caps Lock + A on Windows keyboards). You can set up customized tmux scripts to re-create all your environments (one session for server code, another for a different codebase, another for your notes, and so on). Each session then has multiple windows which you can create, split, and close quickly, no need to leave your keyboard.

For web technologies, learn the toolset available in the browser developer tools. Remember to preserve logs filter to specific responses so you won’t be overwhelmed looking at messages.

Stepping away from the browser and back into the terminal, learn Curl and ag or rg. For every “old” unix command there’s likely a modern replacement that’s 100s of times faster with much more customization available. 

But there’s always the middle ground for situations where you may need to initiate a complex series of browser–webapp interactions and you need to modify or test something quickly. To do this, learn how to use Burp. In the long run it’s well worth it. It makes it a breeze to modify data between the browser and your app.

Last tip: for native code, just learn how to use the debugger.

Tusen Tack!

Tech That Makes Home Homier

Principle Site Reliability Engineer, Elliott Sims

One power adapter to rule them all: the Anker 715 Charger (Nano II 65W). This one little power adapter can power my personal laptop, work laptop, headphones, and more. With one cable, one small charger cube, and a few small USB end adapters, I can charge everything.

Senior Product Marketing Manager, James Flores 

A Roku. I use it at home for streaming apps, but I also carry one in my travel bag. There’s nothing worse than flipping through basic cable channels in a hotel when you’re traveling. Wait, yes there is—signing in to Netflix on the hotel TV and forgetting to sign out. If I travel with it, I just plug it in and I’m already signed in to all my apps. 

Senior Technical Editing Manager, Alison McClelland

I got tired of locking myself out of my own house and forgetting who I gave spare keys to, so I really appreciate this Yale Lock with Nest Connect. It works with the Nest cameras that I mostly use to see whether the UPS or DoorDash delivery person has the nerve to ring my doorbell. (Drop it and run, people!) 

It’s secure and easy-to-use; no more locking myself out of my own house in the middle of winter. I can give a code to a friend so they can feed my cats while I’m away, or create temporary passcodes so I don’t have to wait around for the cable guy.

Senior Content Editor, Molly Clancy

I have a hard time turning my brain off at night, so I used to pop in earbuds to listen to something soothing (not comfortable at all!). Then I got this Cozyband as a gift and became 100% addicted to it. I CAN fall asleep without it, but I don’t do it willingly. It’s also good for working out if you hate sweaty earbuds slipping out all the time. 

Chief Executive Officer, Gleb Budman

It gets cold in my home, and I don’t necessarily want to heat the whole place when it’s just me. A good old fashioned heated blanket does the trick. All the tech in the world won’t help you when you’re shivering. 

The Apps Have Entered the Chat

Partner Marketing Director, Jen Newman

As a working mom with two boys, I am always on the go. Both of my boys are now playing for AAA travel teams. I try my best to keep up with all their games, and LiveBarn is how I stay connected to them. It allows me to pull up a live feed or on-demand video of the game. Last weekend was a great example: they were playing at two different rinks across town. I was able to pull up one game on LiveBarn on my phone, and watch both games literally at the same time. When my older son came home and asked me if I saw his goal, I was able to say, “I heard Coach yell, ‘Nice shot, Newy!’” 

Associate Editor and Writer, Stephanie Doyle

My life changed when I adopted a password manager years ago. Before I went back to full-time corporate life in 2020, I freelanced quite a bit—which means an endless series of logins and passwords, depending on how you’re engaging with your clients. And, while I enjoy making up 13–15 character passphrases with a mix of upper and lowercase letters, at least one symbol with some outlawed symbols (but different ones on each site), and then remembering which ones I’ve used for which accounts without reusing them… Oh wait, I actually really don’t like that. I’d rather have a password manager like Bitwarden that can generate passwords, follows me device to device, and allows me to enable biometric controls. And, spoiler alert for any of my family members who diligently read my work (I’m sure): This year the whole family is getting a subscription as a gift, and I can centrally manage it for my non-tech-inclined family members.

Senior Director of Publishing, Patrick Thomas

I’m not going into the story of how I got hooked on this app, but I will tell you that CENTR’s meal planning tool is a life saver. You can set a crazy variety of dietary needs, select your meals and portions for a week, and it spits out a perfectly organized shopping list. Then, when you want to make a meal, you just pop into the app and it tells you exactly how to look like you know what you’re doing in the kitchen. It’s sort of pricey, but the amount of money I save by not ordering in or wasting food that I bought without a plan more than makes up for it.

Senior Product Marketing Manager, Kari Rivas

Hoping on the app train here. The one I can’t live without is definitely YNAB. I’m trying to get better at budgeting ahead (and get my husband and I on the same page—haha!) and I like their philosophical approach to a typically boring subject.

The “Tech Is a Tool” Answer

Principal Cloud Storage Storyteller, Andy Klein

I don’t have a favorite tech thing. I certainly use lots of them, but I would not be lost without them because I was raised without any of the current tech. I know how to tie my shoes without watching a Youtube video. Just sayin’.

Thanks, Andy

Leave it to Andy to send us off with a reminder to put the tech down sometimes, as we hope you all get a chance to do this holiday season. But, we also want to know: what’s the tech that you can’t live without? Let us know in the comments.

The post The Backblaze Team Recommends: Tech That Saves the Day appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

More than one billion businesses and individuals use Google Drive according to, well, a quick search on Google. If most of those one billion people are like me, they save pretty much everything there. 

Whether the data is professional or personal, the end result is a lot of important files that aren’t necessarily backed up anywhere. Maybe your school is closing your account and you need to move all of your data somewhere else. Maybe your account gets attacked by cybercriminals. Or maybe Google goes down or loses your data. In order to protect your important Google Drive files, you need to understand how to go about downloading and backing up your account. 

How to Download Your Google Drive

Most people have multiple email accounts, so first it is important to make sure you are logged in to the correct Google Account before you start this process. 

Once you’re signed in, you will want to go to Google Drive: drive.google.com. From there, you can download individual files if you don’t have that many or do a bulk download.

To download individual files:

1. Hold shift while you select all of your files.
2. Right click and select download.

To do a bulk download:

1. Go to your account at myaccount.google.com.
2. Go to Data & privacy.
3. Scroll down to the section of the page titled “Download or delete your data” and click “Download your data.” This allows you to download all of the data in your Google account (not just Google Drive) via Google Takeout.

4. Select Google Drive (and whatever other services you might want to download data from).

5. You then have a few options to select:
   1. Multiple formats: Here you can tell Google the formats of the files you want to download. For example, if you want to download documents as .docx files or as PDFs.
   2. Advanced settings: Here you can tell Google to download additional data, including previous versions and the names of your folders. 
   3. All Drive data included: Here you can select all data, or deselect specific folders if you want to.
6. Scroll down to the bottom and click on Next Step.
7. You’ll be prompted to specify your delivery method. Select Send download link via email.
8. You can then specify your frequency. You can select a single export or an export every two months for a year. For our purposes, you can select a single export. (We’ll talk about options for backing up your data more frequently later.)
9. Specify the file type and the file size you want to export.
   1. You can choose to have these files sent as a .zip file or a .tgz (tar) file. The main difference between the two options is that a .zip file compresses every file independently in the archive, but a .tgz file compresses the archive as a whole.
   2. The file size tells Google when to split your data into a separate file. Depending on the size of your data, Google may send you multiple emails with different sizes of files.

10. Click Create export.

When most people think about downloading the data they store in Google Drive, they’re thinking about the documents, photos, and other larger files they work with, but (as Google Takeout makes clear) you have a lot more data stored with Google outside of Drive.

Here’s why you might choose to export everything: 

• To have a copy of bookmarked websites. 
• To have a copy of emails that may contain files you’ve lost over time. 
• To have a copy of important voicemails from loved ones in Google’s Voice product that you want to keep forever. 

Also, when you download all of your data it is a good reminder of what information Google has of yours.

After you click Create export, you’ll get an email in a few minutes, hours, or a couple of days, depending on the size of your data, informing you that your Google data is ready to download.

How to Back Up Your Computer

You now have your Google Drive data out of the Google Cloud and on your computer. Next, you’ll want to make sure it’s backed up. Your computer can fail just like Google, so simply downloading it isn’t enough. Protecting your newly downloaded Google data with a good cloud backup strategy should be the next thing you do.

Make sure to have at least three copies of your data: two local including one on your desktop and one on a different storage medium, like a hard drive. Then, you should have one off-site, and these days that means in the cloud.  

Note that when we’re using the word “cloud” here, we specifically mean that you’re backing up to the cloud. Often using a “cloud drive” means that you’re syncing, and, as the current data loss snafu at Google shows, there’s a big difference between sync and backup.

How to Back Up Google Drive

Downloading your data once and backing it all up is a good step. But, you’re adding documents to Google Drive all the time, and downloading your data manually can get tedious if you want to make sure your work is consistently and reliably backed up. 

Of course, as we noted above, you can set your Google Drive bulk download frequency to a regular cadence. You’d still have to manually download your data and add it to your computer’s local storage, then back it up using the same method you would for your computer data. If you’re using Backblaze Computer Backup, which automatically runs in the background on your computer, those files would be backed once they entered your local storage. 

Still, that means that you have the possibility of losing files if your cadence isn’t frequent enough, and if you forget to manually download and replace those files sent to you in email, then you might run into trouble. 

Alternatively, there are a few services that will back up your Google Drive data for you. With something like Movebot, you can set up your Google Drive to sync and back up to a cloud storage service like Backblaze B2. If you’re a little more tech savvy, you can also use rclone to do the same thing. 

These tools are a bit more complex than using your Backblaze Computer Backup account, but you can configure these tools to back up your Google Drive at a frequency that makes sense for you to make sure new data is getting backed up as you add it.

Do you have any techniques on how you download your data from Google Drive or other Google products? Share them in the comments section below!

FAQ

The post How to Download Your Google Drive and Back Up Your Files appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

When it comes to navigating the treacherous landscape of a household’s digital ecosystem, from smartphones and laptops to smart homes and millions of subscriptions, there often emerges a silent hero—the ever-humble, quietly toiling, underappreciated Family IT Manager. This unsung role, typically filled by a tech-savvy-est member of the family, takes on the responsibility of keeping everyone’s digital lives running smoothly. Maybe you know one of these vaillant souls. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s you. 

As the Family IT Manager, having one more arrow in your quiver with which to slay the dreaded data loss dragon is always helpful. And that’s what Backblaze Groups is all about—making it easier for you to keep track of everyone’s data in one place. 

Today, we’re sharing some practical tips and tricks for using Groups to better manage your family’s backups.

What Are Backblaze Groups?

Groups helps you manage the backups your family creates without having to log in and out of individual accounts. This makes it simple to keep track of everyone in one place. All the backup accounts are linked to the same credit card (they can Venmo you later), and you can even help someone else in your family create a backup or restore files easily with Groups. Need to help a family member with a computer emergency? Log in, access their most recent backup, and restore everything. Is your sibling unsure that you really added Backblaze to their computer? Log in, view their account, and get the screenshots to prove it to them (and everyone else). 

By the way, this would be a great time to give the new Restore App, included with Backblaze Computer Backup v9.0, a spin.

One point of clarification: You might see Backblaze Groups referred to as “Business Groups,” but you don’t have to be a business to use Groups. They work equally well for businesses and personal users alike, including Family IT Managers (and, truly, running family IT is kind of like running a business, isn’t it?).

Why Use Groups?

You can already manage multiple computers on a single Backblaze account. So why use Groups instead? Well, with Groups, each user has individual access to, and control of, their account. You—as Group administrator—manage billing and, as needed, data recovery. This is a more secure and safer method than sharing the same account credentials among several computers used by different people.

Have multiple households or groupings of folks in your life that you need to manage? You can have as many Groups as you like to help you keep track of everyone and everything, and each of those Groups can have separate billing. 

What Do I Need to Know About Setting Up Backblaze Groups for My Family?

The Groups feature streamlines the management of the accounts you need to monitor. As the Group administrator, you have total control over who’s included as part of your Group. You can send out email invitations, or alternatively, you can use a unique Group invitation link that allows anyone you share it with to easily join. 

Being in a Group is entirely voluntary. Any member of a Group can leave any time they want, and Group administrators can also remove individuals from a Group at any time. 

If you dissolve your Group for some reason or if someone chooses to leave, the removed person can decide whether they want to keep using Backblaze by establishing their own payment method. Perfect for when it’s time to wean the kiddos off of your shared accounts—whether they like it or not.

One last note: while you can set up and administer more than one Group with separate billing, you can only be a member in one Group. 

Those are all the caveats, really. If you want to read more about the step-by-step instructions, check out our Help article about creating a Group.

Invite Members: The More the Merrier

Once you create a Group, you can invite members to join it. Copy the Group invite link Backblaze generates automatically for you. Give it to friends and family via email, chat, or any other means you’d like. 

When the person you’ve invited clicks on the link, they will be prompted to either create a Backblaze account (if they don’t have one) or log in to their existing account. After completing this step, they will be prompted to download Backblaze. If they are already using Backblaze, there is no need for a reinstallation; they will seamlessly become a part of your Group.

Once an existing user successfully joins your Group, they’ll be under your billing account. Their existing credit card will automatically receive a prorated refund for the remaining portion of their previous Backblaze license. There is no need to worry about re-uploading data—their backup remains securely stored in Backblaze.

Newcomers to Backblaze can download and install the client to initiate their initial backup process. As the Group administrator, you will have the capability to monitor their backup progress. Remember that the first backup of data may take some time, but after that, everything will run smoothly in the background. 

Go Forth and Conquer, Mighty IT Manager

We understand that being the go-to “tech person” for your family and friends can be challenging. We hope that Groups simplifies the process, making it easier for you to help keep your family’s data safe.

The post How to Manage Your Family’s Backups appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

A while back, I received a frantic phone call from a long time friend who teaches ninth grade English. Now, don’t get me wrong, this friend, let’s call her Alex, is a tech-savvy person. She has more apps on her smartphone than I knew existed, but she had never used an external hard drive before. 

Her school district had given them out to help make remote learning easier on teachers, but she was nervous about using it incorrectly, breaking it, or even just being able to find it on her computer. And she was a little embarrassed because it seemed like something everyone else already knew how to use.

If you’ve ever felt a bit lost when it comes to hard drives, don’t worry—you’re not alone. If you’re one of many folks who’ve asked themselves, “What is this thing?” and “How will it be helpful to me?” and “What if I break it?” then I’m here to walk you through everything I walked Alex through. Lots of folks have the same questions, and we’ll answer them in this guide for setting up and protecting your new hard drive.

A Guide to Setting Up Your First External Hard Drive

Getting Started

While it might seem like a no-brainer, the first step for setting up your hard drive is to plug it into your computer. Small, external, portable hard drives typically have one cord that plugs into your computer so you can transfer data. It also powers the hard drive. Some models may have another cord for added power—if so, you’ll want to plug in both.

Finding Your Hard Drive on Your Computer

On a Mac, locating your connected external drive is straightforward. Open Finder, which you can access by clicking the default Finder icon in your applications Dock, using Command + Space bar to search for Finder, or pressing Shift + Command + C. Once in Finder, your drives should appear either immediately or in the left-hand navigation column under “Locations.” Click on the specific drive you want to access to view its contents.

For Windows computers, the steps may vary depending on your Windows version. In general, you can find your drives in File Explorer by clicking on Computer or This PC in the left-hand navigation bar of a File Explorer window. If you’re unsure how to open File Explorer, look for it in your Start Menu, or try clicking on your desktop and pressing Windows Key + E together. Once you’ve located your drives, simply click on the one you wish to explore to access its contents.

Saving Files to Your External Hard Drive

External hard drives are a breeze to use. Once you’ve plugged them in and found them on your computer, you can simply copy files onto the hard drive by clicking and dragging them into the Finder or File Explorer window. This creates a copy on your hard drive, while leaving the original on your computer or laptop. 

External Hard Drive Best Practices

Once you know how to use your external hard drive, there are a number of things you can do to maintain it and keep it organized. Your hard drive will fail eventually (more on that later), but there are things you can do to keep it working as long as possible. And there are things you can do to make sure you can easily find what you’re looking for. 

1. Keep Your Drive Clean

Maintaining the cleanliness of your external hard drive involves two essential steps: caring for the hard drive itself and keeping the surrounding computer area tidy. The biggest priority is to ensure that both your hard drive and its immediate environment remain free from dust. A dust-free environment contributes to unimpeded airflow within your device, reducing the risk of overheating. If your hard drive has already been exposed to a dusty environment, compressed air is the most effective cleaning tool to remove it.

To effectively use compressed air, first identify key areas for cleaning. Look for the fan vent, inspect the USB ports, and examine other spots on the external hard drive that may accumulate dust over time. Then, simply blast those areas with the compressed air to remove some of the built up dust. (Bonus: it’s super fun.)

Lastly, it’s crucial to maintain an uncluttered area around your external hard drive to facilitate optimal airflow. Take the time to relocate any objects that might obstruct the airflow, such as books, papers, and other potential obstructions. This simple step can significantly enhance the longevity and performance of your external hard drive.

2. Keep Your Operating System Up to Date

The second best practice has more to do with your computer or laptop than your hard drive, but that’s what your hard drive connects to—so it’s important to keep it working, too. 

We have all hit “remind me later” on an update dialog from our computer at some point in our lives, but updating your operating system (OS) will ensure that your computer is secure, that your system can run better, and that hard drives are able to properly connect to your files. Updating your OS can vary depending on what kind of computer you have. The best place to look for how to update your OS is in your system’s preferences.

Depending on the age of your computer, however, you should reach out to your local IT person before updating. Some older computers are not able to run, or run very poorly, on newer systems.

3. Know What’s On Your External Hard Drive

External hard drives are simple: you plug them in, they appear on your computer, and you can simply click and drag your files onto them to copy the files onto the hard drive. If you’re a more advanced user, you may have set up your external hard drive so that there are files that only exist on that device. Either way, it’s important to monitor what’s on your external hard drive and minimize digital clutter, just like you would with your computer or laptop. You can do this by periodically checking your drive to make sure your files are up to date and still needed.

4. Delete Duplicates

When you’re reviewing the contents of your external hard drive, keep in mind the significance of deleting duplicates. There are times when we unintentionally generate multiple copies of a project or document or save several versions of the same file, especially when finalizing edits. Removing redundant duplicates not only contributes to a speedier hard drive performance but also creates room for additional files. You can either manually inspect your files for duplications or use specialized applications designed to detect and delete duplicate files residing on your drive.

Protecting Your Data on an External Hard Drive

3-2-1 Backup

Implementing a 3-2-1 backup strategy means maintaining a minimum of three complete copies of your data. Two of these copies should reside locally but on distinct types of media, such as an external hard drive. The third copy must be stored offsite, away from your primary location. For instance, if you have your files on your computer and an external hard drive (which should be stored separately from your computer when not in use), you should maintain one additional copy stored independently, beyond the confines of your home. This is where the cloud comes in.

There are several cloud-based services that will back up your computer and your attached drives. We’re partial to our own, of course, and, here’s our guide to making sure your external hard drives are backed up. And, with Backblaze’s Forever Version History, you’ll always have a copy of your hard drive data, updated from the most recent time you plugged it in.

Prepare for a Drive Failure

The only truth about computer hardware is that it will fail eventually. We know a little bit about that. Most hard drive manufacturer warranties span only three to five years, and budget-friendly drives often have even shorter lifespans. These time frames don’t factor in variables like physical wear and tear, specific make or model, or storage conditions.

When using an external hard drive, you have to prepare for the day that it fails. Fortunately, there are several methods to monitor your external hard drive’s health, with telltale signs that it’s approaching the end of its service life. These signs may include unusual clicking or screeching sounds, sluggish performance, and frequent errors when attempting to access folders on the drive. You can also manually assess your drives’ status directly from your computer.

How to Find Out if Your Drive Is Failing

For a Windows computer, you’ll use a simple command prompt that will tell your computer where to look and what to check. Just right-click the Start menu on your computer, select Run, and type “cmd” or type “cmd” into the search bar. In the Command Line window that opens, copy and paste wmic diskdrive get status and hit enter. This command will run and it will return “Pred Fail” if your drive is not performing, or “OK” if the drive is performing well.

For a Mac computer, you can monitor the status of your external hard drive by opening Disk Utility. You can find it by going to Applications and then Utilities. Next, you will click on the drive you would like to test to see how it’s performing. Click the View button in the toolbar, then select Show SMART Status. This will display the SMART status of your hard drive as either “Verified” (healthy) or “Failing” (indicating a potential problem). Disk Utility will not detect or repair all problems that a disk may have, but it can give you a general picture.

Note: The process for running these diagnostics may vary slightly depending on your OS and the specific utility you use. 

How to Run SMART Diagnostics on Your Hard Drive

Running SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) diagnostics on your hard drive is a smart (see what we did there?) way to assess its health and predict potential issues. SMART diagnostics provide valuable insights into your drive’s performance and can help you detect problems before they lead to data loss. 
You can use third-party software utilities like CrystalDiskInfo or HDDScan to access more detailed SMART data and view drive health in a user-friendly interface. Download and install one of these tools, then launch it and select your hard drive to view its SMART attributes and health status.

In Conclusion

Starting out with an external hard drive is exactly like starting out with any piece of technology you might own. The more you educate yourself on the ins and outs of taking care of it, the better it will run for you. But if something bad were to happen, you should always have a backup plan (we suggest Backblaze, but you probably already know that) to protect your new piece of equipment.

External Hard Drive FAQs

The post A Beginner’s Guide to External Hard Drives appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

Get ready. The release of Backblaze Computer Backup 9.0 is rolling out now through the end of September.

Backblaze Computer Backup 9.0 is available today in early access, and restoring your files is about to get a whole lot easier.

What’s New in Backblaze Computer Backup 9.0?

Whether you’re a longtime user or just getting started with Backblaze, version 9.0 provides you with an unparalleled backup and restore solution. With our latest release, you get our most requested feature: a dedicated restore app for both macOS and Windows clients that makes the process of restoring your data even more intuitive, seamless, and streamlined than before. The new version also comes with essential bug fixes and performance improvements to keep your back up experience ahead of the curve for both security and speed. 

Backblaze Restore App: macOS and Windows Highlights

Whether you’re using our macOS or Windows clients, you can now recover your important data with even more ease.

Here’s a peek into some of the new features we have in store with our new Restore Client App: 

• Simplified restore initiation process. When you’ve lost important files, the last thing you want is a demanding process sitting between you and restoring your data. With the restore app, you authenticate your Backblaze account and initiate the restore directly from your desktop. Once authenticated, you can browse your file tree and kick off the restore process immediately.
• No limits for restore size. There are no limits to restore sizes inside of the restore app. Conserving disk space is important and you shouldn’t have to worry about downloading a .zip and having enough additional space to unzip it as well. 

Note that the Restore App requires minimum of MacOS 11 (Big Sur) or higher due to Swift UI compatibility. If you’re interested in a comprehensive tutorial on how to use the new restore app, we’re here to guide you. Let us walk you through the process.

We’re excited that our version 9.0 release compliments your already robust methods of accessing your data. To access your backup from anywhere, you can log in to www.backblaze.com to initiate a restore and use our iOS and Android apps to access your files on the go. 

Backblaze v9.0 Is Available in Early Access Today: September 13, 2023

We will be taking feedback and slowly auto-updating all users in the coming weeks, but if you can’t wait and want to download the early access release now on your Mac or PC:

1. Go to: https://www.backblaze.com/status/backup-beta
2. Select your operating system and download the v9.0 app.
3. Install the early access release on your computer.

Please note, since this is in early access you might hit some bugs. Please reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions or if you want to give feedback—we always like to know how things are going.

The post Restore Like Never Before: Introducing Backblaze Computer Backup v9.0 appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

The terms NAS and SAN can be confusing—the technology is similar and, making matters worse, the acronyms are the reverse of each other. NAS stands for network attached storage and SAN stands for storage area network. They were both developed to solve the problem of making stored data available to many users at once. But, they couldn’t be more different in how they achieve that goal.

The TL/DR:

• NAS is a single storage device that serves files over ethernet and is relatively inexpensive. NAS devices are easier for a home user or small business to set up.
• A SAN is a tightly coupled network of multiple devices that is more expensive and complex to set up and manage. A SAN is better suited for larger businesses and requires administration by IT staff. 

Read on and we’ll dissect the nuances of NAS and SANs to help you make informed decisions about which solution best suits your storage needs.

Basic Definitions: What Is NAS?

NAS is a device or devices with a large data storage capacity that provides file-based data storage services to other devices on a network. Usually, they also have a client or web portal interface that’s easy to navigate, as well as services like QNAP’s Hybrid Backup Sync or Synology’s Hyper Backup to help manage your files. In other words, NAS is synonymous with user-friendly file sharing. 

At its core, NAS operates as a standalone device connected to a network, offering shared access to files and folders. NAS volumes appear to the user as network-mounted volumes. The files to be served are typically contained on one or more hard drives in the system, often arranged in RAID arrays. Generally, the more drive bays available within the NAS, the larger and more flexible storage options you have.

Key Characteristics of NAS:

• File-Level Access: NAS provides file-level access, ideal for environments where collaborative work and content sharing are paramount.
• Simplicity: NAS solutions offer straightforward setups and intuitive interfaces, making them accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise.
• Scalability: While NAS devices can be expanded by adding more drives, there may be limitations in terms of performance and scalability for large-scale enterprise use.

How NAS Works

The NAS device itself is a network node—much like computers and other TCP/IP devices, all of which maintain their own IP address—and the NAS file service uses the ethernet network to send and receive files. This system employs protocols like network file system (NFS) and server message block (SMB), enabling seamless data exchange between multiple users.

Benefits of NAS

NAS devices are designed to be easy to manage, making them a popular choice for home users, small businesses, and departments seeking straightforward centralized storage. They offer an easy way for multiple users in multiple locations to access data, which is valuable when users are collaborating on projects or need to share information. 

For individual home users, if you’re currently using external hard drives or direct attached storage, which can be vulnerable to drive failure, upgrading to a NAS ensures your data is better protected.  

For small business or departments, installing NAS is typically driven by the desire to share files locally and remotely, have files available 24/7, achieve data redundancy, have the ability to replace and upgrade hard drives in the system, and most importantly, support integrations with cloud storage that provide a location for necessary automatic data backups.

NAS offers robust access controls and security mechanisms to facilitate collaborative efforts. Moreover, it empowers non-technical individuals to oversee and manage data access through an embedded web server. Its built-in redundancy, often achieved through RAID configurations, ensures solid data resilience. This technology merges multiple drives into a cohesive unit, mimicking a single, expansive volume capable of withstanding the failure of a subset of its constituent drives.

Summary of NAS Benefits:

• Relatively inexpensive.
• A self-contained solution.
• Easy administration.
• Remote data availability and 24/7 access.
• Wide array of systems and sizes to choose from.
• Drive failure-tolerant storage volumes.
• Automatic backups to other devices and the cloud.

Limitations of NAS

The weaknesses of NAS primarily revolve around scalability and performance. If more users need access, the server might struggle to keep pace. If you overprovisioned your NAS, you may be able to add storage. But sooner or later you’ll need to upgrade to a more powerful system with a bigger on-board processor, more memory, and faster and larger network connections. 

Another drawback ties back to ethernet’s inherent nature. Ethernet divides data into packets, forwarding them to their destination. Yet, depending on network traffic or other issues, potential delays or disorder in packet transmission can hinder file availability until all packets arrive and are put back in order. 

Although minor latency (slowness) is not usually noticed by users for small files, in data-intensive domains like video production, where large files are at play, even milliseconds of latency can disrupt operations, particularly video editing workflows.

Basic Definitions: What Is a SAN?

On the other end of the spectrum, SANs are engineered for high-performance and mission-critical applications. They function by connecting multiple storage devices, such as disk arrays or tape libraries, to a dedicated network that is separate from the main local area network (LAN). This isolation ensures that storage traffic doesn’t interfere with regular network traffic, leading to optimized performance and data availability.

Unlike NAS, a SAN operates at the block level, allowing servers to access storage blocks directly. This architecture is optimized for data-intensive tasks like database management and virtualization or video editing, where low latency and consistent high-speed access are essential.

Key Characteristics of SANs:

• Block-Level Access: SANs provide direct access to storage blocks, which is advantageous for applications requiring fast, low-latency data retrieval.
• Performance: SANs are designed to meet the rigorous demands of enterprise-level applications, ensuring reliable and high-speed data access.
• Scalability: SANs offer greater scalability by connecting multiple storage devices, making them suitable for businesses with expanding storage needs.

How Does a SAN Work?

A SAN is built from a combination of servers and storage over a high speed, low latency interconnect that allows direct Fibre Channel (FC) connections from the client to the storage volume to provide the fastest possible performance. The SAN may also require a separate, private ethernet network between the server and clients to keep the file request traffic out of the FC network for even more performance. 

By joining together the clients, SAN server, and storage on a FC network, the SAN volumes appear and perform as if it were a directly connected hard drive. Storage traffic over FC avoids the TCP/IP packetization and latency issues, as well as any LAN congestion, ensuring the highest access speed available for media and mission critical stored data.

Benefits of a SAN

Because it’s considerably more complex and expensive than NAS, a SAN is typically used by businesses versus individuals and typically requires administration by an IT staff. 

The primary strength of a SAN is that it allows simultaneous shared access to shared storage that becomes faster with the addition of storage controllers. SANs are optimized for data-intensive applications. For example, hundreds of video editors can simultaneously access tens of GB per second of storage simultaneously without straining the network. 

SANs can be easily expanded by adding more storage devices, making them suitable for growing storage needs. Storage resources can be efficiently managed and allocated from a central location. SANs also typically include redundancy and fault tolerance mechanisms to ensure data integrity and availability.

Summary of a SAN’s Benefits:

• Extremely fast data access with low latency.
• Relieves stress on a local area network.
• Can be scaled up to the limits of the interconnect.
• Operating system level (“native”) access to files.
• Often the only solution for demanding applications requiring concurrent shared access.

Limitations of a SAN

The challenge of a SAN can be summed up in its cost and administration requirements—having to dedicate and maintain both a separate ethernet network for metadata file requests and implement a FC network can be a considerable investment. That being said, a SAN is often the only way to provide very fast data access for a large number of users that also can scale to supporting hundreds of users at the same time.

The Main Differences Between NAS and SANs

Choosing the Right Solution

When considering a NAS device or a SAN, you might find it helpful to think of it this way: NAS is simple to set up, easy to administer, and great for general purpose applications. Meanwhile, a SAN can be more challenging to set up and administer, but it’s often the only way to make shared storage available for mission critical and high performance applications.

The choice between a NAS device and a SAN hinges on understanding your unique storage requirements and workloads. NAS is an excellent choice for environments prioritizing collaborative sharing and simple management. In contrast, a SAN shines when performance and scalability are top priorities, particularly for businesses dealing with data-heavy applications.

Ultimately, the decision should factor in aspects such as budget, anticipated growth, workload demands, and the expertise of your IT team. Striking the right balance between ease of use, performance, and scalability will help ensure your chosen storage solution aligns seamlessly with your goals.

Are You Using NAS, a SAN, or Both?

If you are using a NAS device or a SAN, we’d love to hear from you about what you’re using and how you’re using them in the comments.

NAS vs. SAN FAQs

The post What’s the Diff: NAS vs. SAN appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.

Solid-state drives (SSDs) have become the norm for most laptops and desktops, replacing the older hard disk drives (HDDs) that had been in use for decades previously. If your computer still relies on an HDD, it might be time to consider upgrading to an SSD for improved performance.

Upgrading to an SSD can give your computer a significant speed and responsiveness boost, especially if your machine is more than a few years old. However, before taking the plunge, it’s essential to weigh practical considerations. Let’s take a closer look at SSDs and the factors you should consider.

What Is an SSD?

An SSD is a type of data storage device used in computers and other electronic devices. Unlike traditional HDDs, which use spinning disks and mechanical read/write heads to store and retrieve data, SSDs rely on NAND-based flash memory to store information. This flash memory is similar to the kind used in USB drives and memory cards, but it’s optimized for higher performance and reliability.

Compared to HDDs, SSDs are more shock resistant (due to their lack of moving parts) and are less likely to be affected by magnetic fields. They also offer faster data access times, quicker boot-up and application load times, and better overall responsiveness. 

For more about the differences between HDDs and SSDs, check out Hard Disk Drive vs. Solid State Drive: What’s the Diff? or our two-part series, HDD vs. SSD: What Does the Future for Storage Hold?.

Why Upgrade to an SSD?

Because of their speed and efficiency, SSDs have become the preferred choice for many computing applications, ranging from laptops and desktops to servers and data centers. They are especially useful in situations where speed and reliability are crucial, such as in gaming, content creation, and tasks involving large data transfers. Despite typically offering less storage capacity compared to HDDs of similar cost, SSD performance benefits often outweigh the storage trade-off, making them a popular choice.

Depending on the task at hand, SSDs can be up to 10 times faster than their HDD counterparts. Replacing your hard drive with an SSD is one of the best things you can do to dramatically improve the performance of your older computer.

Without any moving parts, SSDs operate more quietly, more efficiently, and with fewer breakable things than hard drives that have spinning platters. Read and write speeds for SSDs are much better than hard drives, resulting in noticeably faster operations.

For you, that means less time waiting for stuff to happen. An SSD is worth looking into if you’re frequently seeing a spinning wheel cursor on your computer screen. Modern operating systems rely more on virtual memory management, utilizing temporary swap files that are written to the disk. A faster SSD minimizes the performance impact caused by this process.

If you have just one drive in your laptop or desktop, you could replace an HDD or small SSD with a 1TB SSD for less than $40. For those dealing with substantial amounts of data, concentrating on replacing the drive that houses your operating system and applications can yield a significant speed boost. Put your working data on additional internal or external hard drives, and you’re ready to tackle a mountain of photos, videos, or supersized databases. Just be sure to implement a backup plan to make sure you keep a copy of that data safe on additional local drives, network attached drives, or in the cloud.

Are There Any Reasons Not to Upgrade to an SSD?

If SSDs are so much better than hard drives, why aren’t all drives SSDs? The two biggest reasons are cost and capacity. SSDs are more expensive than hard drives. A 1TB SSD or HDD now cost about the same, $30–$50, with HDDs being slightly less, maybe around $25. 

That’s not much of a difference, but as drive capacity gets larger, the cost differential gets increasingly larger. For example, an 8TB HDD drive runs $120–$180, while 8TB SSDs start at around $350. In short, while upgrading the 1TB internal hard drive on your computer to an SSD is cost effective, the same may not be true for replacing larger capacity drives, like those used in external drives, unless the increased speed is worth the increased cost.

Whether your computer can use an SSD is another question. It all depends on the computer’s age and how it was designed. Let’s take a look at that question next.

How Do You Upgrade to an SSD?

Does your computer use a regular off-the-shelf SATA HDD? If so, you can upgrade it with an SSD. 

SSDs are compatible with both Macs and PCs. All current Mac laptops come with SSDs. Both iMacs and Mac Pros come with SSDs as well. Around 2010, Apple started moving to only SSD storage on most of its devices. That said, some Mac desktop computers continued to offer the option of both SSD and HDD storage until 2020, a setup they called a Fusion Drive. 

Note that as of November 2021, Apple does not offer any Macs with a Fusion Drive. Basically, if you bought your device before 2010 or you have a desktop computer from 2021 or earlier, there’s a chance you may be using an HDD.

Determine Your Disk Type in a Mac

To determine what kind of drive your Mac uses, click on the Apple menu and select About This Mac. 

Avoid the pitfall of selecting the Storage tab in the top menu. What you’ll find is that the default name of your drive is “Macintosh HD” which is confusing, given that they’re referring to the internal storage of the computer as a hard drive when (in most cases), your drive is an SSD. While you can find information about your drive on this screen, we prefer the method that provides maximum clarity. 

So, on the Overview screen, click System Report. Bonus: You’ll also see what type of processor you have and your macOS version (which will be useful later).

Once there, select the Storage tab, then the volume name you want to identify. You should see a line called Medium Type, which will tell you what kind of drive you have. 

Determine Your Disk Type in a PC

To determine your disk type in a Windows PC, first open the Task Manager in Windows:

1. Right-click the Start button and click Run. In the Run Command window, type dfrgui and click OK.

2. On the next screen, the type of drive will be listed under the Media Type column.

Can I Upgrade to a Better SSD?

Even if your computer already has an SSD, you may be able to upgrade it with a larger, faster SSD model. Besides SATA-based hard drive replacements, some later model PCs can be upgraded with M.2 SSDs, which look more like RAM chips than hard drives. 

Some Apple laptops made before 2016 that already shipped with SSDs can be upgraded with larger ones. However, you will need to upgrade to a Mac-specific SSD. Check Other World Computing and Transcend to find ones designed to work. Apple laptop models made after 2016 have SSDs soldered to the motherboard, so you’re stuck with what you have.

How to Install an SSD

If you’re comfortable tinkering with your computer’s guts, upgrading it with an SSD is a pretty common do-it-yourself project. Many companies offer hassle-free plug-and-play SSD replacements. Check out Amazon or NewEgg and you’ll have an embarrassment of riches. The choice is yours: Samsung, SanDisk, Crucial, and Toshiba are all popular SSD makers. There are many others, too.

However, if computer hardware isn’t your forte, it might not be worth the effort to learn from scratch. SSD upgrades are such a common aftermarket improvement most independent computer repair and service specialists will take on the task if you’re willing to pay them. Some throw in a data transfer if you’re lucky, or a skilled negotiator. Ask your friends and colleagues for recommendations. You can also hit up services like Angi to find someone.

If you are DIY inclined, YouTube has tons of walkthroughs like this one for desktop PCs, this one for laptops, and this one aimed at Mac users.

Many SSDs replace 2.5 inch HDDs. Those are the same drives you find in laptop computers and even small desktop models. Have a desktop computer that uses a 3.5 inch hard drive? You may need to use a 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch mounting adapter.

A Word on SSD Compatibility

Beyond the drive size, it’s a good idea to check to see if the SSD you want to buy is compatible with your laptop or desktop, especially if your system is older than a couple of years. Here are articles from Tom’s Hardware and ShareUs which can help with that.

How to Migrate to an SSD

Buying a replacement SSD is the first step. Moving your data onto the SSD is the next step. To achieve this, you need two essential components: cloning software and an external drive case, sled, or enclosure. These tools enable you to connect your SSD to your computer through its USB port or another data transfer interface.

Cloning software creates an exact replica of your internal hard drive’s data. Once this data is successfully migrated to the SSD, you can then insert the new drive into your computer. I prefer to clone a hard drive onto an SSD whenever possible. When executed correctly, a cloned SSD retains its bootable capabilities, providing a true plug-and-play experience. Just copying files between the two drives instead may not copy all the data you need to get the computer to boot with the new drive.

How to Clone a Hard Drive to an SSD

When you buy a new SSD or even a fresh hard drive, it’s unlikely that the operating system you need will be pre-installed. Cloning your existing hard drive fixes that. However, there are instances where this may not be feasible. For example, maybe you’ve installed the SSD in a computer that previously had a bad hard drive. If so, you can do what’s called a clean install and start fresh. Different operating system providers offer distinct guidelines for this procedure. Here’s a link to Microsoft’s clean install procedure, and Apple’s clean install instructions.

As we said at the outset, SSDs tend to come at a higher cost per gigabyte compared to traditional hard drives. You may not be able to afford as large an SSD as your current drive, so make sure your data will fit on your new drive. If it won’t, you might have to pare down first. Additionally, it’s wise to leave some room for expansion. The last thing you want to do is immediately max out your new, fast drive.

Now that you’ve successfully cloned your drive and integrated the SSD into your system, what do you do with the old drive? If it’s still functional, repurposing the external drive chassis utilized during migration is a practical option. It can continue to serve as a standalone external drive or become part of a disk array, such as a network attached storage (NAS) device. You can use it for local back up—something we strongly recommend doing—in addition to using cloud back up like Backblaze. Or, just use it for extra storage needs, like for your photos or music.

Make Sure to Back Up

SSD upgrades are commonplace, but that doesn’t mean things don’t go wrong that can stop you dead in your tracks. If your computer is working fine before the SSD upgrade, make sure you have a complete backup of your computer to restore from in the event something goes wrong.

More Questions About SSDs?

You might enjoy reading other posts in our SSD 101 series.

SSD Upgrade FAQs

The post SSD 101: How to Upgrade Your Computer With an SSD appeared first on Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage & Cloud Backup.