The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.Few parts of computer maintenance are as important as having your data backed up.For almost two years I've relied on a multi-drive backup solution from Other World Computing to keep my most important files safe.They recently redesigned and updated that product, the Mercury Elite Pro II, and sent me one to test.A lot of people back their computers up using an external hard drive using an app on MacOS or Windows.That's a goodgeneral practice, but the Mercury Elite Pro ups the ante by giving you the ability to make redundant backups on multiple drives.Consider this: If you back up your computer to an external hard drive, and that drive fails, you don't have a backup anymore.I use a single external hard drive to keep an exact backup of my laptop's internal drive in case something goes wrong, but I store all of my one-of-a-kind, critically important files using OWC's solution.This multi-hard drive setup is called a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks), and while they've been used by major companies for years, they're starting to become a little more common in the consumer tech space.You can set up OWC's RAID in a couple of ways: If you're using it for backup purposes, which is how I use mine, you choose RAID 1. In this configuration, all of the data you store on the RAID will be written independently to both drives.RAID's canalso be used by people who want fast access to a lot of data in a mode called RAID 0, which makes your computer read and write data to two drives as if they were one huge volume. Instead of being handled by software, you can adjust the Mercury Elite Pro II's RAIDmode by turning a little key on the back of the unit.Once you've chosen your RAID configuration, the setup process works like it would on any external hard drive.You can choose to plug it in via USBor Thunderbolt, if your computer supports it. Two little lights on the front of the unit show whether both drives are currently running ' if they're blue, you're fine; if either is red, you've got trouble.The new unit I've been testing has been redesigned; it's quieter than the last model, and the lights are easier to see. Side by side it takes a second to see the difference at first, but I definitely appreciate the reduced fan noise. Because I use Thunderbolt, I actually have both Mercury Elite Pros daisy-chained together using a single cable, so anyone looking to upgrade their backup setup can easily use both. I've stored data on this new RAID for about a month and haven't run into any problems yet. All of my data is perfectly intact and backed up, which I can also say for the OWC RAID I've been using for almost two years. Since using my first Mercury Elite Pro, I have yet to run into a single problem regarding data loss. That's two years ofconstant use; the drives are always on, and because they store my media, they're used on a daily basis, even if I don't touch my computer.It's more hardcore than an external hard drive, but if you have a lot of sensitive data youneed to store locally and securely, a Mercury Elite Pro might be a good investment. It's expensive, but you're getting a relatively simple solution to a very complicated problem: keeping your data safe.Other World Computing Mercury Elite Pro Dual 2TB (2x 1TB) RAID Storage Solution, $397.50, available at AmazonDON'T MISS:I've written about a lot of great tech, but these are the gadgets I use every daySEE ALSO:How the unlimited data plans from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint all stack upJoin the conversation about this story
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