Video summary

The Worst Backup Idea I’ve Heard (And What to Do Instead)

Main summary

Key takeaways

Technology

Summary of the video (technological concepts + backup guidance)

The speaker discusses whether using a 256GB SD card (~$25) instead of an external drive for laptop backups (including scheduled automatic backups) is a good idea. The conclusion is that it’s generally a bad backup strategy.

Key points and analysis

Convenience vs reliability

  • SD cards/USB sticks are convenient because you may avoid plugging in an external drive and can potentially set up scheduled automatic backups.
  • However, the speaker argues that convenience shouldn’t outweigh reliability when it comes to backups.

“Lifetime warranty” doesn’t mean “safe backups”

  • A “lifetime warranty” typically means the card may be replaced if it fails.
  • But if the SD card fails, the data on it is often lost (“poof”) with little or no chance of recovery.
  • The speaker contrasts this with expectations around other media: while external drives can fail too, traditional hard drives are implied to offer better recoverability in common failure scenarios than flash-based media.

Flash memory wear is the core technical concern

  • SD cards and USB sticks use flash memory, which wears out over time, especially with frequent writes.
  • Backups involve substantial write activity, and repeated backup cycles increase wear risk.
  • The speaker refers to this as “cheap flash memory” and says they wouldn’t trust backups to it.

SSD is also not recommended (for backups)

  • SSDs also use flash memory, but they’re generally higher quality than cheap SD/USB flash.
  • Still, the speaker says SSDs are a waste for backups because:
    • SSDs are valuable for speed, which helps most with primary storage.
    • For backups, you typically don’t need that performance, so you’re paying for something you don’t use.

Recommended alternatives

For backups, the speaker prefers:

  • External traditional hard disk drives (HDDs)
    • Connect periodically and run backups (often system image backups).
  • Alternatively, external SSDs
    • Usable, but more expensive per capacity for the same storage size.
  • Network backups (if possible)
    • For example, backing up to another machine over the network.

They also note:

  • Cloud services (e.g., Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive) can provide automated syncing/backup and may be acceptable depending on the use case.

Practical takeaway / rule of thumb

  • “Backup somehow is better than no backup.”
  • SD/USB could be okay for temporary/quick copies (e.g., while traveling).
  • But for important backup strategy, the speaker recommends:
    • External traditional HDD backups regularly (often as system image backups).

Final guidance

If the laptop’s internal drive fails, ask yourself:

  • What data would be lost?
  • Ensure that loss is covered by backups as updates happen.

Main speakers / sources

  • Leo Notton (host of AskLeo.com; “I’m Leo notton boom… this is askleo.com”)

Original video