Jump to the work
PETME
Job

Back up

One external drive is not a backup, it is a second copy in one place. Make three copies, on two types of media, one away from home. And try a restore now and then.

The procedure

  1. List what you cannot replace

    Photos, documents, accounts, projects. Those go into the backup first.

    ReadBacking up with the 3-2-1 rule

  2. Set up an automatic backup

    To an external drive or a NAS. Manual backups get forgotten.

    ReadBacking up with the 3-2-1 ruleReadExternal drives and drive enclosures

  3. Pick the enclosure and interface

    A 3.5″ drive needs its own 12 V adapter. Both the drive and the USB interface limit the speed.

    ReadExternal drives and drive enclosuresReadSSDs and HDDs ToolInterfaces and speeds

  4. Add an off-site copy

    A cloud backup or a drive kept somewhere else.

    ReadBacking up with the 3-2-1 rule

  5. Unplug the drive and test a restore

    Disconnect the drive after the backup so ransomware or a surge cannot reach it. Restore a random file now and then.

    ReadBacking up with the 3-2-1 rule

On the bench

Interfaces and speeds

Choosing an enclosure or cable for the backup drive? Compare the theoretical maximums of the interfaces. Real transfers are slower.

Full tool page, method and sources

Show groups

USB and Thunderbolt

  • USB 2.0 0.48 Gb/s 480 Mb/s · USB-IF
  • USB 5Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 1) 5 Gb/s 5 Gb/s · USB-IF
  • USB 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2) 10 Gb/s 10 Gb/s · USB-IF
  • USB 20Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2×2) 20 Gb/s 20 Gb/s, USB-C only · USB-IF
  • USB4 40Gbps 40 Gb/s 40 Gb/s · USB-IF
  • USB4 v2.0 80Gbps 80 Gb/s 80 Gb/s · USB Promoter Group
  • Thunderbolt 4 40 Gb/s 40 Gb/s (half of TB5, according to Intel) · Intel
  • Thunderbolt 5 80 Gb/s 80 Gb/s bidirectional, Bandwidth Boost 120 Gb/s for video · Intel

Storage (SATA, NVMe)

  • SATA III (6Gb/s) 6 Gb/s 6 Gb/s, 8b/10b encoding · SATA-IO
  • PCIe 3.0 ×4 (NVMe) 31.5 Gb/s 8 GT/s × 4 × 128/130 ≈ 31.5 Gb/s ≈ 3.9 GB/s · calculated from PCI-SIG
  • PCIe 4.0 ×4 (NVMe) 63 Gb/s 16 GT/s × 4 × 128/130 ≈ 63 Gb/s ≈ 7.9 GB/s · calculated from PCI-SIG
  • PCIe 5.0 ×4 (NVMe) 126 Gb/s 32 GT/s × 4 × 128/130 ≈ 126 Gb/s ≈ 15.8 GB/s · calculated from PCI-SIG

Video (HDMI, DisplayPort)

  • HDMI 2.0 18 Gb/s 18 Gb/s · HDMI Forum
  • HDMI 2.1 48 Gb/s 48 Gb/s (Ultra High Speed cable) · HDMI LA
  • HDMI 2.2 96 Gb/s 96 Gb/s (Ultra96 cable) · HDMI Forum
  • DisplayPort 1.4 32.4 Gb/s 4 × 8.1 Gb/s = 32.4 Gb/s · VESA
  • DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR10 40 Gb/s 4 × 10 Gb/s, DP40 cable · VESA
  • DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20 80 Gb/s 4 × 20 Gb/s, DP80 cable · VESA
Axis in Gb/s, linear. For PCIe, one direction after subtracting 128b/130b encoding; for the others, the raw link rate from the specification. Thunderbolt 5: solid bar 80 Gb/s, hatched Bandwidth Boost 120 Gb/s (video only).

Guides for this job