Great.  Thanks for giving me some stuff to ponder.

I had to send my Synology back to them after, I think their mobo died, and got another hard drive and figured I might as well think about RAID now before it's too late.

X

I use a Linux system to back up my NAS drives.  CrashPlan supports backing up NAS volumes on Linux and Mac, but not on Windows due to the way Windows handles NAS drive mounting.

There is a janky Windows workaround here:

http://support.code42.com/CrashPlan/Latest/Backup/Backing_Up_A_Windows_Network_D...

Let me know if that doesn't work for you.


-b0b
(...runs into this same problem with commercial backup products.)

It's due to the way Windows handles permissions for mapped network drives.  Network drives are mapped with user account permissions, while CrashPlan runs natively as a service using the network service account.  Long story short, this prevents CrashPlan from accessing a drive mounted using a user account.

As iterated on the URL I posted and the URL you posted, the easiest way to get around this is to use a user account with administrative privileges to launch CrashPlan, then use that same account to map the network drive.


-b0b
(...or use Linux.)

Here is the batch file I use:

echo %date% %time% : "C:\MountBackups.bat" >> C:\StorageReports\NFSMount.log

net use X: \\TWN-SAN\Backup /USER:USERACCOUNT PASSWORD >> C:\StorageReports\NFSMount.log 2>&1 2>&1 

Change "\\TWN-SAN\Backup" to the appropriate NFS path.

Change "USERACCOUNT" to your user account name, add the domain name if necessary.  Also, change PASSWORD to the password for the account.

The entire first line and ">> C:\StorageReports\NFSMount.log 2>&1 2>&1" in the second line aren't necessary.  These just create a log file and append the data, time, and command output to the log.  Feel free to change the directory and log name as necessary.

Once you're happy with the batch file, create a schedule in Task Schedule for it.  Configure it to run with highest privileges under the SYSTEM account.  Configure it to trigger at system startup and configure that action to "start a program" pointed at your batch file.


-b0b
(...sorry for the delay!)

I use DownloadHelper, just avoid the skeezy conversion tool it wants you to download if possible.

Not sure what browser you're using these days, but here is the FireFox version:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/


-b0b
(...works for nearly everything.)

Are you speeds crappy in general, or just on certain sites (e.g. YouTube, NetFlix, Hulu, etc.)?

If you get decent throughput on bandwidth tests but streaming sucks, you might need a VPN.  I use (and swear by) Private Internet Access.  I get 75Mbps from Comcast, but can't stream a freakin' YouTube video at 720p during evening hours without a VPN.  It's not the local bandwidth that is causing the problem, rather it's Comcast not providing enough peering bandwidth at the edge of their network with the content distribution networks.  A VPN connection handily sidesteps the congestion and routes the traffic over different peering points.

It's also dirt cheap at ~$40 per year, or $60 for two years.


-b0b
(...still, we shouldn't have to do this.)

If your uploads are always terrible, it might be your connection itself, which means you're screwed.  Who is your provider?