Note: This post contains affiliate links
As someone whose work depends on access to their computer and all the work related files on it, having a backup of these files is super important. Even as a blogger, having access to my template files for post images, logo files, graphic design resources… all these things are needed for me to be able to keep working and posting.If my PC breaks down, I keep an old one that I can use in emergency situations. But what about my files? Often it’s impractical for me to switch hard drives from one PC to the other. Plus I don’t want to accidentally break something trying to switch one in.
If my PC breaks down, I keep an old one that I can use in emergency situations. But what about my files? Often it’s impractical for me to switch hard drives from one PC to the other. Plus I don’t want to accidentally break something trying to switch one in.
This is where cloud services like Backblaze come in. It’s literally the greatest service I’ve ever paid for. Twice now I’ve had to depend on this website to retrieve files from a broken PC. Let me tell you why I think it’s so great. I mean, just those few sentences should be enough, right? But the details.
Automatic backup of all of your files
Or at least most of them. By default, system files are not selected, but you can add them in the settings. You can also add file locations that you don’t want to be backed up in the same interface. It’s even simpler if you prefer it to not track an entire drive: just uncheck it from the Exclusions tab in the Backblaze client preferences.
Other than that, Backblaze tracks any edited or added files and uploads them to the server without any interaction needed from you.
Automatic upload speed throttling
No need to worry about the upload process slowing down your video chats, streaming, or uploading to your hosting server. If you have monthly bandwidth restrictions on uploads, this will benefit you as well. The Backblaze client will automatically adjust to let your own uploads take priority. It will decide on a max upload speed on its own, but you can also customize it to whatever you want.
Download your files from any device with an internet connection
Download your files in zip format absolutely free from anywhere you’ve got an internet connection. And no, you don’t have to download your entire drive at once. You can choose exactly which files you want and hit “Continue with Restore”. Your files will then be packed into a neat and tidy zip file that you can download from the Backblaze website for up to 7 days. Depending on how large the files that you want to restore are, it might take a little while for your download to be ready, but you’ll receive an email notification when it’s available for download.
This is also nice cause I can use it to restore files if I accidentally save over the wrong thing, as long as I catch it soon enough. Uploads aren’t instant, so I won’t be able to go back to my last save or anything, but if I accidentally save as, my compilation file for ads, I can load up the restore and have all my previous ads again. Yes… this is a true story!
Got too much to download? No problem.
Flash drives with up to 128GB and hard drives with up to 4TB are available for purchase. The price seems a bit steep ($99 for a flash drive, $189 for hard drive), but if you send the drives back to Backblaze within 30 days, they will refund you the cost.
Got lots of friends? Get the entire service for free
You can get free months by referring other people, and they get a free month also! There’s not even a limit on how many times you can do this. Here’s my link. Go ahead and give it a try for 30 days!
Okay, that’s great. But what about the cons?
So far, the only downside is that if you’re like me with over 3TB of data to upload (and really probably another 1.8 I could add to that), it literally takes weeks or months to upload everything. I still have about 1TB left on one PC and it’s been uploading since April 1st, so that’s over 4 months now.
However, the majority of my really important, must have for work files are uploaded, and that’s all I really care about. It still uploads changed my change files to, so even though my PC went down on the 4th, files I edited around the 1-2 are still available to me. That means A LOT! Sure I’ve lost a little work, but it could definitely be worse.
I guess another con is the price of a physical drive. If I ever need to do a huge restore, who knows if I’ve got $189 to spend even if I’m going to send the drive back after a few days. Plus, the drive you receive is only as big as it needs to be to fit your data, so I couldn’t even restore things and then keep the drive for extra space. I understand the practice, but I don’t see myself at my current financial situation using the physical drive restores.
In the end, it’s all worth it
Despite those things, I truly LOVE the service. I don’t think I could live without it now. It’s invaluable to me as a designer and now a blogger. I never have to worry about losing content. If my computer breaks, I can still access my files on my laptop or secondary PC.
What to try it out, too? Don’t forget that you can get a free month by clicking here. Backup your computer before it’s too late.
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