My external hard drive died in a cafe in Bali last month

I was writing a client report at a co-working spot in Ubud when my portable SSD just stopped spinning - no clicks, no warning, just dead silence. Lost about three months of client files and travel photos because I'd been lazy about backing up to the cloud. Anyone have a solid backup setup that actually works for nomads bouncing between countries?

3 comments

3 Comments

anthonymurray1mo ago

Blame Bali not the drive, my stuff lasts way longer without all that humidity.

alice3361mo agoTop Commenter

My phone battery swelled up after 3 weeks in Bali last year, but back home in Denver that same phone lasted 2 more years. It's not just electronics either. I bought a leather wallet in Vegas and it got all gross and mildewy after 2 days in that humidity. But dry climates really do make everything last longer, even your car paint doesn't chip as fast without all that moisture in the air. It's like living in a giant dehydrator for your stuff.

alicesingh19d ago

The double backup system is what finally saved me after losing a similar set of files in Chiang Mai. I keep one small portable SSD for my daily work files and another one just for backups that stays in my bag unless I am copying over new stuff at the end of each week. Cloud storage is great but sometimes the wifi is too slow or unreliable in certain spots so I do not rely on it for the main copy. What really changed things was setting a repeating alarm on my phone for every Sunday evening to do the backup no matter what. That way I never forget even when I am tired or distracted by travel plans. It is a bit annoying to carry two drives but losing months of work is a lot worse.