Computer died.... don't be Dean!

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Was your NAS not able to support time machine backups?? right now I have 3 Lacie d2 drives one is a HD mirror for my iMac and my MacBook Pro (separate partitions) , 2nd is time machine backups for both machines, and the 3rd is archived files... plus I use online Backblaze for off site storage.
I'm pretty sure i'd be able to do it, i just hadn't hence owning that i'm a dill bag for being lazy. When I upgraded to OS versions in backed up to the NAS.
 
I'm pretty sure i'd be able to do it, i just hadn't hence owning that i'm a dill bag for being lazy. When I upgraded to OS versions in backed up to the NAS.
Dean,
Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure at one time or another we have all been there. There are all sorts of options for backup which many have suggested but to get you started the easiest method is to use Carbon Copy Cloner and an external SSD or HD. Once you have done that you can decide what other options you will pursue. I have multiple backups of my photos. At least five HD not to mention the original SD cards. Here is the link for CarbonCopy Cloner. https://bombich.com/. One advantage of CCC is that it will mirror your main drive so that you can use any backup you make as a startup drive.
 
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I wrote earlier that I have a Synology disc station on mr NAS. It fully supports my Mac’s time machine backups, whI have runs automatically, plus in the disc station, there’s a Synology app I also use for backing up my photo folders.
the only issue I have is that since upgrading the mac‘s O/S to Big Sur, I found that my antivirus software, Norton 360 blocks the network. with Norton, my Mac couldn’t access the network, so no backup nor internet. I had to disable then delete. As far as I know, this isn’t resolved.
Norton’s response was that they don’t support beta versions on Apple operating systems. They can’t explain why my wife’s Mac also has the same issue. Its on going...
Just a thought here on this... did you try just disabling the firewall part of the antivirus software? or better yet making a rule to explicitly allow access?

Another option is automator. turn off Norton run time machine, turn Norton back on.... At least you could schedule one nightly or weekly backup and still have antivirus.
 
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Back in 1982 when data was kept on floppy discs a worker asked me how frequently to make saves to the disc and I said it depended upon how much of his active work he was willing to lose. He was working on a paper for a night class and about an hour later the lights in the office flickered briefly and I heard a loud exclamation from his office as he had lost all of his work on the paper. Now I look at how much of my work I can afford to lose if I do not back it up properly.

With a dual mirrored drive RAID1 NAS costing under $300 for 1-2 terrabytes of safe data storage there is no reason to have important data on the computer itself. With a laptop I use free partition software to make a D: drive sector and all my active data goes there while I am working on it. Files from the cameras go straight to the NAS and then copies are moved to the D: drive section of the laptop drive. I may lose a day's work but never the Raw image files.

All devices fail and often with no warning and that includes solid state drives as well as computer motherboards. Raw file storage on a computer is asking for trouble and a good NAS with RAID so if one drive fails no data is lost is dirt cheap to buy and set up. Get a NAS with an Ethernet port and hang if off your router so every computer you use can access it.
 
Get a NAS with an Ethernet port and hang if off your router so every computer you use can access it.
I have got one, if you read I simply got lazy and need to setup an automatic backup as opposed to doing it manually. At the end of the day though, like a lot of us, this is nothing more than a hobby at this point so it's truly a annoyance than a actual problem. If it was for work or study etc. most people including myself are a bit more on to it.
 
Thanks Patrick, that's something I'll look at setting up with my NAS, auto regular backups. Need to grab a drive for the second NAS bay dedicated to backup I'm thinking.
Dean - I can feel for you - we've all been burned by technology, best practices, and good intensions. Since you mentioned a second drive in your NAS, see if your device can do RAID 1. That configuration within the NAS does automatic sharing of data between the drives which increases the probability that you will have a full backup even if one drive fails. In some cases you can do a "hot swap" to replace a failed drive and the new blank drive will be updated by the remaining good drive, "while you work".
 
Dean - I can feel for you - we've all been burned by technology, best practices, and good intensions. Since you mentioned a second drive in your NAS, see if your device can do RAID 1. That configuration within the NAS does automatic sharing of data between the drives which increases the probability that you will have a full backup even if one drive fails. In some cases you can do a "hot swap" to replace a failed drive and the new blank drive will be updated by the remaining good drive, "while you work".
Thanks, i'll be grabbing the second drive this week for my NAS and installing so will be able to check my options out for backup. Still need to drop of my dean MBP for repair as i've been away and not had the chance.
 
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