The Importance of Backups
So they say "Back up your data. You'll be sorry if you don't." Or something like that. What's the big deal? Why should you back up your data? Well, let's see...
Back in 2019, I was still living with my mom. I had a laptop that I had some programming projects on. At the time my mom's boyfriend was staying for a few days. He had to work on his laptop, as he was a salesman. But in the worst moment, his laptop broke. He asked me if he could borrow mine for a few days. I said "Yeah, of course." I was happy to help. A few days later, he went back to his place. He was in quite a rush to leave. He forgot to give me my laptop back. I tried to call him, but he didn't answer. I asked my mom to call him, but she couldn't reach him either... He was never seen again.
I did not have any backup's of the data on my laptop. I lost all my projects and some pictures and other stuff. It was a shame. But I still hadn't learned my lesson. I still didn't back up my data. I thought "It would never happen again."
Fast forward to 2023, At 4 am on the most random day, my mom decided to get drunk and went crazy. As usual, she was saying that I ruined her life and she never wanted me. That was the day I got tired of it. My girlfriend and I agreed that it's best if I move in with her. But she lived in Germany, and I was in Scotland. I had booked a flight at 7 pm, I had to leave to the airport at 4 pm. So I had 12 hours to pack as much as I could. Since I had a desktop computer, I had to take the hard drives out and put them in my backpack. I had 4 hard drives and 3 SSDs in my bag. Since I was in a rush, I didn't have time to put them in anti-static bags. I just put them in paper. This was a big mistake...
As I arrive at my new home, I didn't have a computer, so I bought a SATA to USB adapter. I plugged in my hard drives and... Great, everything works. But then as I get up from the desk, I accidentally pull on the cable. The hard drive falls onto the floor. I, in a panic, pick it up and plug it back in. But it doesn't work. Just some clicking noises... This is when I realized that I should back up all my data.
My back up solution is quite simple. I have my data backed up on 2 drives on my computer, then 1 copy on my NAS/GIT server. Another copy on PCloud, and another copy on my off-site server. My digital keys, are backed up in parts in different places, with a copy of the whole key on a USB stick that I keep hidden away.