SSD?

[Karl Auer]

On Sun, 2022-03-06 at 14:58 +0000, ubuntu at howorth.org.uk wrote:
> My backup drive is permanently connected and has been for many years
> and I've never had any such problem. I'd much rather have a backup
> drive connected so it just works reliably day after day with no
> action required.
> 

Well, it's great that you've never had that problem. If your
expectation is that you never will, nor any others, then you don't need
a backup at all.

A backup that backs up reliably is a great thing. But what really
counts is having that backup available when you need it.

As long as your luck holds out, your one drive backup will continue to
work reliably, allowing you to easily recover things you may have
accidentally deleted from your main computer. Or to go back and get an
old version of something.

Then one day you will knock the drive off the desk. It falls a metre to
the floor.  And all your backups will be gone.

Or one day the drive just fails,for no particular reason - old age,
cosmic rays, who knows? But all your backups will be gone.

Or one day you will accidentally format the wrong drive. And all your
backups will be gone.

Or one day ransomware will quietly encrypt the files on the backup
drive, because it is directly connected to your computer so the malware
access to all the drives. And all your backups will be gone.

Or one day you will be burgled, and the thief will take your computer
and the attached backup drive. And all your backups will be gone.

Or one day your house will burn down. Your computer and the backup
drive will burn with it. And all your backups will be gone.

Or one day a lightning strike will hit power lines near your house and
a trillion volts will course through your computer and everything
attached to it. And all your backups will be gone.

I'm sure the theme is clear.... A backup drive that is likely (or in
your case almost certain) to share the fate of its source data, is
barely a backup at all.

Regards, K.

-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karl Auer (kauer at biplane.com.au)
http://www.biplane.com.au/kauer

GPG fingerprint: 61A0 99A9 8823 3A75 871E 5D90 BADB B237 260C 9C58
Old fingerprint: 2561 E9EC D868 E73C 8AF1 49CF EE50 4B1D CCA1 5170