Every week someone walks into Twomey PC Repair in Highland Square with a dead drive and 15 years of photos on it. Sometimes we get the data back. Sometimes we don’t. The difference between a story and a tragedy is a backup. Here’s the plan we install for customers, it costs $0 for most people.
The rule: 3-2-1
Three copies of your data. Two different types of storage. One copy offsite (not in your house).
Copy 1, Your Computer
This is the copy you use every day. Nothing to do.
Copy 2, An External Drive
A $60 external 2 TB drive from Amazon, plugged in once a week. Windows has a built-in “File History” tool (Settings → System → Storage → Backup) that handles it automatically. Mac users use Time Machine.
Label the drive Backup and keep it in a drawer, not plugged in all the time. Ransomware can encrypt anything that’s connected.
Copy 3, The Cloud
Pick one and walk away:
- iCloudbest for iPhone users (5 GB free, upgrade to 50 GB for $0.99/mo)
- Google Drive / Google Photos15 GB free, great for Android
- OneDrive5 GB free, already built into Windows 10 / 11
- Backblaze$99/year, full unlimited backup, fire-and-forget
For a typical home user with a lot of photos and a few documents, a free iCloud + OneDrive combo covers everything. Zero dollars.
Want us to set it up?
Bring your computer to the shop in Highland Square and we’ll configure all three copies, test a restore, and write you a cheat sheet for your fridge. $75 flat, one-time, and one of the cheapest pieces of insurance you’ll ever buy. Text us a photo and we’ll book you in.