backing up files to One Drive

[grantmac]

just curious for some help. I have a separate HDD of 2TB which I have all my older files. I also have a 2 TB One Drive subscription which only recently (last 3 years) have I started backing up more recent files automatically to the cloud.
I am looking to shift the files on my external HDD to the One Drive account but I have realized this has to go via my PC. The files are simply too big - over 1TB so my PC cannot handle. So what I have done is broken them down and am doing the transfer in chunks of 500GB. Its painfully slow - so far 4 days and only at 40%.
So my question - my understanding is there is no way to transfer directly from the HDD to the One Drive and secondly once I have the files on the PC i need to remove them but not from the One Cloud account. Apparently the way to do this is to select the transferred files on the PC and right click and chose ´´free up space´´. This removes the files from the PC but NOT the One Cloud account.

Anyone got any other ideas or input?

 

[wessie]

Is the 1TB file some sort of compressed archive? If so, what file format? I would use .rar as it splits the archive into tiny pieces with each being a separate file. This is the method used by P2P file sharing for larger files, especially where the transfer portal is slow, like uploading to OneDrive. Using this method is likely quicker as there will be fewer incidents where a transfer stalls and has to restart like you have with a jumbo sized file.

 

[Barnoe]

If your HDD is an older model on slower USB, then uploading direct from the USB is likely why its slow.
Transfer chunks to your C drive then upload to the cloud from there.
also make sure your wired in, dont do it over wifi its slower.

If its your internet, have you got a mate with superfast fibre?
You could take a laptop and have a beer while it uploads

 

[JoeBiff]

just curious for some help. I have a separate HDD of 2TB which I have all my older files. I also have a 2 TB One Drive subscription which only recently (last 3 years) have I started backing up more recent files automatically to the cloud.
I am looking to shift the files on my external HDD to the One Drive account but I have realized this has to go via my PC. The files are simply too big - over 1TB so my PC cannot handle. So what I have done is broken them down and am doing the transfer in chunks of 500GB. Its painfully slow - so far 4 days and only at 40%.
So my question - my understanding is there is no way to transfer directly from the HDD to the One Drive and secondly once I have the files on the PC i need to remove them but not from the One Cloud account. Apparently the way to do this is to select the transferred files on the PC and right click and chose ´´free up space´´. This removes the files from the PC but NOT the One Cloud account.

Anyone got any other ideas or input?

I work the other way round…
I back my OneDrive to a stand-alone HDD.

Remember, someone else owns OneDrive, not you.

 

[grantmac]

agreed. Wont be dumping my HDD but keeping both. I´m just concerned that if the HDD packs up then I have lost everything....

 

[sparkplug]

I know that I'm a bit tin foil hat when it comes to data and privacy and Microsoft....

However, have you priced up what your subscription will cost you compared to a NAS system at home?

I've had a Synology for years but others like UGreen and Qnap are also worth looking at.

Bit of an up-front cost but (for me at least) cheaper than a subscription.

It's also a lot faster to backup / restore as it can all be done locally via ethernet cable.

My setup is that the laptop automatically backs up daily to the NAS, the NAS has a RAID array so if one disk fails then your data is still safe.

On top of that, I have an external HD that takes a copy of the backed up files on the NAS and for the full tin foil effect I also have another NAS in another house in another country which my NAS replicates to.

So if my house burns down then my data is still not lost.

The irony of course is that my data isn't really all that interesting, but I like a technical challenge

 

[Snaf]

Do you have unlimited data use, if not you may be paying for extra data.
Test your upload speed, make a note of it and ask google how long 500gb will take to upload at that speed.
Clean your HD up first to see if it has any duplication.
We use NAS and cloud storage, onedrive on your pc can also take up a bit of space even without the files actually sitting on it.
Can you add another HD to the pc.

 

[Rasher]

I know that I'm a bit tin foil hat when it comes to data and privacy and Microsoft....

However, have you priced up what your subscription will cost you compared to a NAS system at home?

I've had a Synology for years but others like UGreen and Qnap are also worth looking at.

Bit of an up-front cost but (for me at least) cheaper than a subscription.

It's also a lot faster to backup / restore as it can all be done locally via ethernet cable.

My setup is that the laptop automatically backs up daily to the NAS, the NAS has a RAID array so if one disk fails then your data is still safe.

On top of that, I have an external HD that takes a copy of the backed up files on the NAS and for the full tin foil effect I also have another NAS in another house in another country which my NAS replicates to.

So if my house burns down then my data is still not lost.

The irony of course is that my data isn't really all that interesting, but I like a technical challenge

Pretty much the same here,

I have a laptop and desktop PC and sync files to OneDrive from both - so two copies, and laptop in house, desktop in seperate office.

The difference is I only occasionally connect to my Synology NAS (RAID Array) so in the event of a nasty cyber attack encrypting or damaning my PC / Laptop files and the damage spreading then the NAS will stil be untocuhed as it is not directly attached storage to the computers - requires a manual browse, and does not auto-sync.

I then connect occasionally (every week or so) and manually copy any new files to the NAS - which is also handy for storing digital copy of all my music without it using up all my OneDrive space.

With any external storage you need to consider the connection speed and disk speeds, spinning platters of rust are slower than SSD drives, and my RAID-5 array is painfully slow ar write operations (who cares, I just leave it going all night if need be) but for most the connection to the internet is likely a bigger bottleneck, and even if you have super duper fibre speed you may find upload is slower than download by a large margin....

...but a quick Google did reveal you may wish to check your one-drive settings;

How to Check or Change Your OneDrive Speed Settings:
If you feel your uploads are moving too slowly, you can verify that the app isn't artificially throttling your bandwidth:

1. • Right-click the OneDrive icon in your system tray or notification area.
   • Go to Settings (or Help & Settings > Settings).
   • Navigate to the Network (or Sync and back up / Advanced settings) tab.
   • Check the Upload rate section to ensure it is set to "Don't limit

 

[HxH]

I'm kinda old fashioned, but can these large files be zipped, before sending?

 

[Berin]

agreed. Wont be dumping my HDD but keeping both. I´m just concerned that if the HDD packs up then I have lost everything....

Get a NAS and then back that up to a 2tb drive as well.

 

[er-minio]

Avoiding using OneDrive is a good start...

 

[sparkplug]

...then start ditching the rest of Microsoft like world governments have started doing...

 

[grantmac]

And moving to Google based solutions

 

[Barnoe]

As i android and google user i fnd google drive really easy to use and i pay something like £1.59 a month for extra storage which is nothing.

I used to use one drive, its ok.

But any of them will look after your date and its backed up, you can forget about it until you need it.

I have a home server too with plenty of room on it, I used to use NextCloud installed on it, but google is just so easy to use.

 

[grantmac]

How does your home server work?
I tried setting up a wireless system using WD hard drive which acted as a storage hub for all appliances in the house. I mean lap tops etc. what a load of bollox that was. Never really worked
Was meant to auto save files via wireless to one central HDD and also create a back up. Like a mini cloud system

 

[Hatcho]

If these are old files that you don't need regular access to, I would just purchase another external HDD and copy the lot onto it, and then store it in a different location. Keep your OneDrive storage for files which are still 'live'.

 

[sparkplug]

And moving to Google based solutions

Nooooooooooo!!!!



Google used to have 'Don't be evil' as their mantra in their code of conduct and in 2015 this was dropped.

That's all you need to know.

 

[sparkplug]

How does your home server work?
I tried setting up a wireless system using WD hard drive which acted as a storage hub for all appliances in the house. I mean lap tops etc. what a load of bollox that was. Never really worked
Was meant to auto save files via wireless to one central HDD and also create a back up. Like a mini cloud system

Honestly, this is where a proper NAS comes in.

Don't know with other systems, but it's a piece of cake with Synology:

How do I back up data on my computer using Synology Drive Client? - Synology Knowledge Center

Synology Knowledge Center offers comprehensive support, providing answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting steps, software tutorials, and all the technical documentation you may need.

kb.synology.com

 

[Mzokk]

Big issue is the price of computer hardware these days since the advent of AI data centres. A few years ago I bought two 2TB crucial x9 external SSD's for about £90 each for backing up the data I want to keep (mainly music and Photos). Now these are about £200 a pop!!

 

[wessie]

Big issue is the price of computer hardware these days since the advent of AI data centres. A few years ago I bought two 2TB crucial x9 external SSD's for about £90 each for backing up the data I want to keep (mainly music and Photos). Now these are about £200 a pop!!

lucrative business model. Buy up all of the hardware and rent it back to you.