What happens to my backups when I'm away or on vacation? What happens to my backups when I'm away or on vacation?

What happens to my backups when I'm away or on vacation?

adam adam

If you're going on vacation or your computer is going to be shut off for an extended period of time you may wonder what's going to happen to your backed-up data.

If you're leaving your computer at home while you travel...

While files are expunged from the servers after 30 days if they're removed from a computer, your most recent backup snapshot will be retained until the next time that the backup is updated. Typically, this period of the "most recent backup snapshot" is short because the backup is updated so frequently. But if your backup is not updated for some time (the computer is powered off, the internet connection is severed, the backup's schedule is set to "Only When I Click", etc.), this "most recent backup snapshot" will continue to be available.

It is important to note that the "most recent backup snapshot" contains only the data found on the computer at the time of the last update; data that may have previously been backed up but has since been deleted, overwritten, or otherwise removed from the computer would NOT be included in the "most recent backup snapshot". External drives selected for backup but not properly mounted would likewise not be included. Enabling Extended Version History is the easiest and most effective way to ensure that all data remains available long-term, including files that may not have been included in the most recent update to the backup.

Before you leave your computer, make sure Backblaze is up to date, all external or secondary drives are connected, and the Backblaze control panel or system preference reports 0 files remaining to be backed up. After you've verified that, leave any external or secondary drives connected, then completely shut down your computer so it will no longer contact our servers while you're away. You can disconnect any external or secondary drives while it's powered off.

"Missing computer" email reminders are sent 14, 21, 28, 60, and 90 days since a backup was last seen by our servers. If you intentionally have Backblaze paused, you can safely disregard these messages, but keep aware of the rules regarding the "most recent backup snapshot".

When you return to your computer, make sure all external or secondary hard drives are connected before you power on the computer to ensure that the data on them is not expunged due to the 30-day window.

If you're on a monthly account, you may want to switch to a yearly or biyearly account for billing if you plan on being away for extended periods without access to a computer to make sure you continue to maintain your paid account.

If you're taking your computer with you, but not your external or secondary hard drives and you're going to be away for greater than 30 days...

While Backblaze is designed to retain data for 30 days from the last time data was scanned by the Backblaze software on your computer, you can effectively stop Backblaze from scanning and noting missing external drives by temporarily pausing it. However, the simplest way to avoid the 30-day limit for your files if you are going on vacation is to turn on Extended Version History. This will allow you to extend your backup time to a year, or forever (this feature will be an additional charge). Please click the link above or here to get the instruction to turn on the feature. If you choose not to use this feature please continue reading below.

Before you leave your external drives, make sure Backblaze is up to date, all external or secondary drives are connected, and the Backblaze control panel or system preference reports 0 files remaining to be backed up. After you've verified that, leave any external or secondary drives connected, then open the Backblaze control panel/system preference, clicking "Settings" then "Schedule," and changing the schedule to "Backup only when I click <backup now>." While you're away from your external or secondary drives, do not click the Backup Now button or start any backups.

That setting will prevent any forward progress on your backup while you're away (so newly created data while you're away will *not* be backed up), but will stop any disconnected drives from being purged from the Backblaze servers.

"Missing computer" email reminders are sent 14, 21, 28, 60, and 90 days since a backup was last seen by our servers. If you intentionally have Backblaze paused, you can safely disregard these messages, but keep aware of the rules regarding the "most recent backup snapshot".

When you return to your external or secondary drives, first connect them and verify they are working, and have all your files on them. Then you can change Backblaze's schedule back to "Continuously" and allow Backblaze to recheck the data on the external drives, and transmit any new/changed files since the last time it backed up.