Using Dropbox and GoogleDrive Cloud Storage

My Dell Vostro died 2 weeks ago, after over 8 years of dependable service.. Fortunately, I keep my genealogy databases and the associated photos in Dropbox. I simply needed to install AQ14 on my new computer and install the SAME Dropbox account on the new computer. I opened my main database, and the photos appeared. And I was ready to roll.

In contrast I spent 2 hours one night helping a friend who had DIFFERENT Dropbox accounts installed on two computers. When she left, she said "I will be back next week and maybe we can got it sorted out then."

The conclusion I draw from this experience is that a SINGLE Dropbox account brings peace, harmony and simplicity. Two different Dropbox accounts bring endless frustration.



I use Dropbox for some files that need to be accessible from my various machines. But I depend on it most for my genealogy database and linked photos/scrapbook.

That way, I can look up information, do updates, reports, etc. from any of our three computers. I just need to remember to not have the same database open on two computers at once, or I risk to create a "conflicted copy" of my database. (This means that the two copies are out of sync.)

Since the working copy is kept in Dropbox, I backup locally to whatever computer is being used. For safety of my data, I try to follow the 3-2-1 principle. Have at least 3 recent copies of your data, on at least 2 different media, with one copy stored off-site. (My working copy in Dropbox is obviously stored off-site.) 

GoogleDrive and some other cloud drives are similar to Dropbox and more generous in the space allowed, but I know Dropbox well enough that I find it easy to use. (Dropbox allows 2 GB of free storage, GoogleDrive is 15 GB.)