Hi -
Hard drive failures, updates that “break” the computer, ransomware hacks …
Are things like physical local storage, “cloning”, or anything else needed if OneDrive is continually backing up my files?
Thanks for any thoughts!
The short answer is: no. One drive only backs up DATA. This would certainly back up your projects.
I Would recommend creating and saving a “image” of your system to another drive and store it in a safe place. Create a new image fairly often.
What I do is: Save a image of my OS drive (“C” Drive) about once a month - OR if there’s been a big change like a large Windows update or DAW update etc.
I also keep a backup (on seperate drives) of my sound libraries. This you wouldn’t need to backup as often. If you add a new library, just back that folder(s) up to the sound library backup drive(s) afterwords.
I also back up new pojects nightly.
Another important tip is to create “restore points” before downloading any updates or installing any software.
R
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Yes, that’s good advice about making system images for disaster recovery (which is different from data backup). Also keep in mind that file sync (which is what OneDrive and similar services do) is not the same as backup (which is not the same as disaster recovery). Specifically, in a file sync scenario you are also sync’ing any file deletions, corruptions, etc. While these services typically have some capability of undoing file deletions, you don’t want to be in a situation where you deleted something you really needed, and that deletion is propagated to OneDrive with no way to get the file back. That’s what backups are for - you’ll want point-in-time backups (say, daily, weekly, and monthly, going, say, a year back) so you can go back in time and recover stuff.
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As TSKissel pointed out, Onedrive is a poor solution and unreliable. ie: If your internet goes down, you won’t be able to access Onedrive. Plus: Onedrive can be resource intensive when running in the background.
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Thanks, all!
If memory serves correctly, I used to use Paragon Recovery for cloning and 2Bright Sparks SyncBack Free for daily backups. That was back in 2018 when i last used Cubase before starting up again this year (I know i should have been concerned with these things anyway, “bad me!” 
).
Are these still good strategies, as far as anyone knows (Paragon Recovery for cloning and 2Bright Sparks SyncBack Free for daily backups), or are there better options nowadays?
Thank you!
Depends on if you want to spend money or not.
Myself, I’ve been using TeraByte’s programs for all my backups/restores etc for yrs, ever since Partition magic closed down.
I’ve also used their Boot Manager for yrs too, allows me to have multiple OS’s , like one partition for Windows10, another for the DAW and various Linux OS’s
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I run a Acronis TrueImage for the C Drive and Freefilesync x for data, to separate hard drives. I use TrueImage from a usb boot stick. Always run it before updates of any kind. It’s saved me many times.
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I don’t know how they compare but I use one software for both cloning and imaging/backing up; Macrium Reflect. I’ve been quite happy with it so far (not free version).
I’d suggest a cloud backup as though since it offers a bit more protection. I use Backblaze which works quite well for me.
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Thanks, @Paul_Bryce . I like the idea of having a separate partition for the DAW, envisioning I won’t have to go through the NASA-type checklist of turning off/on before/after DAW use of an ever growing list of apps (Microsoft Defender in two or three or more different windows, Tunnel Bear VPN, Malwarebytes, W10 Wifi, W10 Bluetooth, others). Uggh.
It’s almost bad enough to make me learn what a script is and how to use one to automatically and quickly do this! 
Thanks, @MattiasNYC .
If possible without giving away TMI of a personal nature, would you please describe what kind of things you put in the cloud?
Sure. From the system drive what is backed up is documents and some settings and files. The entire drive isn’t really backed up as a clone. This part of the cloud backup is to protect various data but not “the system” as a whole. The system as an image is on an internal backup drive. I think of this in terms of if the computer completely fails and I have no time to rebuild it and no way of accessing the backup set locally then I can get important documents off of the cloud from any location, even from my smartphone.
The other content I have on the cloud right now is my work drive which contain active projects, as well as my library drive which contains samples and sound effects
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+1 for TeraByte products.
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I use GoodSync (https://www.goodsync.com/) for daily file sync of my Cubase project folders to various backup locations (USB drives, local NAS etc.), and I’m happy with it. I like that it’s pretty flexible, and once you’ve got your sync jobs defined, it’s a one-click operation to get everything sync’d. You can sync to cloud destinations as well.
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