What is the best way to save data?

Hi, and welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community.

Re: What is the best way to save data?

Who is saving the data?

A multi-national company, a small business, a family, an individual, a child.

The same answer may not suit everyone ... or suit the various hardware options ... opinions are just opinions.

Consult the user-guide and company's tips for the computer or device that data is on.

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Re: How valuable is data storage for your devices?

What data do you already store ?

Value is likely an individual matter. Data value may depend on how attached you are to the data.

Eg: If the loss of your photos would be devastating, why not back them up safely.

If you never look back at photos taken previously ... they may not be at all valuable, if saved, or deleted.

If other people depend on you for keeping their data safe and private after you receive it from them,

then if you back that data up, it is an added responsibility, especially as storage hardware keeps changing.

Eg: Many may still have data on floppy disks, wondering how to discard the disks,

yet still act responsibly toward those who entrusted their data, to keep that data safe.

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How much data is available for each individual user?

Are the individual users all using the same shared computer or device, or do they each have their own devices ?

Some computers and devices can not add more data storage than that which came with the purchase.

Whether the computer or device has 100 Gb or 4 Tb that's how much is available, for one, or for those who share.

For saving data to external storage ... the sky (and your budget) is the limit!

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What are some tips to saving data?

Again, depends on the computer or device, also whether you can afford monthly charges, or to buy / update / external drives.

Use common sense.

Many apps have settings which can remove stored data from a device after 30 days.

Keep saving the data progressively as you create it, or work on a document ... ie: you retrieve most of your work if some unforseen difficulty occurs, or there's a sudden power outage.

Disconnect hardware during thunderstorms.

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External storage hardware, once purchased, is free to use, erase, use again, during its lifetime.

An extra stored copy is also a necessary safeguard for many people,

(If the data on one is accidentally wiped or damaged, or the hardware is lost or damaged, one copy remains.)

Monthly storage charges never end unless cancelled, with little or nothing to show for the $$'s

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If you can afford it, keep updating external storage hardware, transferring any "old" data you wish to keep to the new hardware, and erasing the old hardware while it is still possible. Keep a second copy at another location.

These may or may not be the answers you were looking for.

Hope there's something useful to you here :-)