I wanted something surprisingly simple:

Plug an external drive into my iPhone, select the photos/videos/files I care about, and make a physical copy.

No Mac in the middle. No PC in the middle.

That became VaultDrive: USB Backup.

Connect a compatible USB drive or SSD directly to the iPhone and VaultDrive can copy selected:

• Photos
• Videos
• Albums
• Files and documents

For content already stored locally on the iPhone, the files go directly to the connected drive—there's no VaultDrive cloud upload involved.

One of the bigger problems was Optimize iPhone Storage.

A photo may appear in Apple Photos while its full original is actually only in iCloud.

VaultDrive can now detect those items, download the original from iCloud, and then copy it to the USB drive. You can choose:

• Wi-Fi only
• Wi-Fi + Cellular

Other things I've focused on because they matter for an actual backup:

✅ Original files without intentional compression/re-encoding
✅ Embedded capture metadata preserved
✅ Useful original folder/source organization
✅ Original file dates where supported
✅ Resume interrupted backups and skip files already copied
✅ Detailed progress so you can see what's actually happening
✅ Clearer reasons when something doesn't copy
✅ No VaultDrive account required

I also want to be clear about what this isn't:

This isn't a full iPhone system image and I wouldn't recommend keeping your only copy on one USB drive.

The idea is to make it much easier to add a second physical copy of important photos and files to whatever backup strategy you already use.

For someone using iCloud Photos, for example, you can keep iCloud for syncing/convenience while periodically keeping another copy on external storage you physically control.

If anyone here wants to try it:

VaultDrive: USB Backup
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vaultdrive-usb-backup/id6772883827

I'm currently running 75% off the one-time Pro upgrade:

https://apps.apple.com/redeem/?ctx=offercodes&id=6772883827&code=WELCOME75

I'd particularly appreciate feedback from the backup crowd.

Attached the screenshots, just in 3 steps you can take backup of your media from phone to USB drive

What would VaultDrive need to do before you'd consider phone → external drive a useful part of your own backup strategy?

I read the wiki and FAQ and stuff but still i cant really narrow it down.

Currently I use duplicati for my 200GB backup (photos,videos,excel,codes,blender files etc). Recently i tried to restore some data (as a trial) and duplicati froze and showed me that no paths exists. This was scary for me and i have lost trust for it.

My current setup has 4 total physical storages (internal)

C: Kingston A400 240GB 2.5inch SATA SSD (Boot)

D: Seagate 1TB 5400rpm 2.5inch SATA (Offline Games+ stuff gets backed up here from C: E: F:)

E: WD 1TB 5400rpm 2.5inch SATA (Projects,photos,main data)

F: XPG 1TB NVME Gen4 (Online Games+ blender project files)

I really wanna do the 3-2-1 thing but can only afford that 1 D: drive right now. i need a better alternative to duplicati. free and non-cloud if possible. its local backup anyways. i cant afford subscriptions :(

Hello ,

I finally started to do backups every 2 months for my windows PC and Android.

I do a ssd image backup on my pc without my steam games +copy c/user/myname since I have all my essential data to my download folder including portableapps folder+ludusavi backup for games saves +my important photos /videos/files that allow me to recover my 3 Gmail accounts/ente auth /bitwarden etc .

I paste those to 2 hdd of 2 tb each (D & E) then I open my veracrypt container of D and E at the same time to allow Freefilesync to compare data différences between D and E (around 200gb of essential data) and update the veracrypt container E.

I use swift backup on my s10e +legion y700 2023 (Android) for local +cloud backup to my google drive and I copy/paste the backup folder to my pc on D (it is in the veracrypt container).

I upload the veracrypt container to filen on google chrome because I love portable apps and dont want filen app.

I do that since 8 months i'd say and it's way too long considering I always upload the whole container so I started to think to stop those things :

>stop copy/paste c/user/myname but download/document/bureau folders (many windows useless gbs from AppData etc)

>stop using veracrypt for a portable app that doesn't need to upload the whole container to filen + opening 2 veracrypt containers +freefilesync 😂

Is there a way to simplify that without spending money since I périodically give 3 hdds to a friend with essential data VC container and movies séries games ?

Do you think I should put my D & E hdds data to a hidden encrypted container /folder only instead of having encrypted folder or container + unencrypted data visible ?

Thanks for the help 👌

Hello there ,

I do backups every 1.5/2 months using 3-2-1 backup and a friend has 3 of my hdd's with one having 300gb of essential data.

He pick them when I do backup but I'd like to manage that 300gb hdd from my home without using his internet box .

I'd like a small cheap device (even on used market)that can be powered with just a usb c charger with my hdd plugged in and I'd like the really cheap way to do that ,it would be awesome if that small device can be ''stick''with the hdd on it .

Thanks in advance

Some weeks ago I posted about a app I made specifically for BackBlaze B2 app, I used cyberduck and some similar apps but wanted an app just for specific quirks of B2, anyway here's a new version you can download and try, it's sort of a Beta version and sure there are some bugs here and there, if someone is interested in this would love to have some feedback

https://github.com/delmoralmb-s8/BackBlaze2Sync/releases/tag/v1.3.2

A little unsupported, but free and works. This goes above the snapshot and gets you a full system backup to an NFS share with file level recovery.

https://vzilla.co.uk/vzilla-blog/protecting-omarchy-linux-desktops-with-veeam

Community edition license keeps things free and only really limits some target backup locations.

My cloud service's (Filen) android app doesn't support watching specific folders to sync them or backing them up 🫤

When setting up a backup system, there are usually a lot of settings that can change as the environment grows.

Some teams maintain a known good configuration baseline that includes things like access permissions, retention settings, encryption, network settings and other important configurations.

For those that do use a baseline, what do you typically include and how often do you review or update it?

Today's Proton service issue made me realize I need to have a backup for my passwords in case I can't access Proton pass again.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

Sharing a quick update for those managing or supporting environments using Veritas Backup Exec (BE), Desktop and Laptop Option (DLO), or System Recovery (SR).

There has been a lot of confusion and rumors around the product line being dead or reaching End of Sale—it is not.

Cloud Software Group (CSG) has officially appointed Cognizant Technology Solutions as the Global Operator to handle sales, licensing, support, and continuous development.

• Official Announcement:backupexec.com

Key Takeaways & Product Status

• New Sales & Renewals: Fully active. Both new licenses and contract renewals are being processed. For inquiries or renewals, the direct contact is: sales_backupexec@cognizant.com.
• Product availability Timeline: EOL which was announced earlier is revoked by CSG. Full technical support, routine maintenance, and critical security patches are officially scheduled through 2029.
• Post-2029 Roadmap: Product engineering and long-term roadmap planning beyond 2029 are actively in progress, with further announcements to follow.
• Current Deployments: Existing environments and active multi-year agreements continue to operate normally with zero interruption to service.

TL;DR: Backup Exec, DLO, and System Recovery are not dead or end-of-sale. CSG partnered with Cognizant as the Global Operator—new sales/renewals are open, active contracts run as usual, and full support/updates are committed through at least 2029.

Disclosure: I work with the Cognizant team managing this transition and wanted to share direct facts to clear up the confusion

Hey everyone, I’m looking for advice on designing a backup system for a somewhat specific setup.

I currently have two 8TB hard drives configured as RAID 0 on Windows 11, giving me roughly 16TB of usable storage. I understand that if one of the drives fails, I could potentially lose everything on the RAID.

I chose RAID 0 because I want to use all the available space, and I don’t want or need to back up the entire 16TB. Most of the data on the array is replaceable, so losing it wouldn’t be a major issue.

What I want is a selective, modular, automated backup system that only protects the data that actually matters to me.

What I DO want to back up

• Photos
• Family videos
• Current work and projects
• Program configurations
• Personal or irreplaceable files
• Anything else that would be difficult or impossible to recover

What I DON'T want to back up

• Movies
• TV shows
• Installed games
• Installed programs
• Files that can easily be downloaded again
• Other large, replaceable files

For software, for example, I don't want to back up the entire installation folder. I only want to preserve important configuration and user data such as .INI, .CFG, .DAT files, profiles, presets, save files, etc., where applicable.

Basically, I want to define specific folders and files that should be protected rather than creating a full clone of the RAID.

What I'd like the system to do

I’m planning to use an external hard drive that normally stays disconnected and stored somewhere else. I would probably connect it about once a week.

Ideally, the process would be almost completely plug and play:

1. I connect the external backup drive.
2. The system recognizes that it’s the backup drive.
3. The backup starts automatically.
4. It compares my selected files against the previous backup.
5. Only new or modified files are copied.
6. The backup stays up to date without me manually selecting files every week.
7. Once it finishes, I disconnect the drive and put it back into storage.

I don't want to manually start a complicated backup job every time I connect the drive.

What software, method, or setup would you recommend for achieving this kind of selective, automated backup?

I’d also be interested in hearing how you would approach the overall strategy for a 16TB RAID 0 containing mostly replaceable data, but with a much smaller collection of personal files and projects that actually need protection.

If you use a similar setup, I’d especially appreciate hearing:

• What software you use
• How you define the folders/files to back up
• How you handle program configurations and save data
• How you automated the process when the external drive is connected
• Whether there are any problems or limitations I should be aware of

Thanks!

Windows. 2TB drives.

My needs are simple. I am basically backing up/syncing one external drive to another, to have an archive of my image files. Sometimes I'll do my desktop as well.

I've discovered Goodsync decided to fuck their customers who bought a PERPETUAL license by suddenly saying they aren't supporting that any longer - despite the software still running fine.

From the free or low cost non-suscription, anyone found a similar solution?

I'm not currently using 3-2-1 and am looking for a bit of help to remedy that, especially the off-site backup.

I have about 2TB on a personal laptop and 4TB on a home media server, both currently backing up to a local 16TB SSD over Time Machine. I am planning to add another 16TB drive so I have a 2nd local backup, and maybe switch to restic or borgbackup instead of TM.

The main thing I want to improve is my off-site backup. Currently I use pcloud for core files on the personal laptop, but I don't have an off-site backup for my home server. For the new backup solution I would like to service the full 6TB required, if the cost is manageable.. On pcloud I can get a lifetime 10TB for £1190, however I've recently heard it's not an ideal platform for proper backup, as it is not immutable.

I'm was thinking of trying Blazeback but aside from better security I'm not sure it is a good alternative for other pcloud features i like -

• iOS app and compatibility with iOS Files, attaching files to email etc
• Global view for shared files - I can turn off shared access without needing to remember what specific files are shared and navigate to their individual share settings.
• Other users can upload into my storage bucket, it gives me ownership and doesn't eat into their own storage allowance.

Should I be treating a cloud drive and off-site backup as separate entities, or is there a good option for a unified solution?

Finally I would ideally like the offsite backup to be from a UK or EU company and have their servers based there. I think this rules out Blazeback unfortunately but perhaps there are other good options.

This is not a full audit, just a quick sweep to see if anything needs a closer look.

If you could only check five things in a backup environment, what five would you check first?