Sorry to hear of your loss Steve, and your timely reminder should be heeded.

I maintain the attitude that 'everyone will have a turn at a disk crash - sooner or later'. Being prepared is vital.

The age of a disk is unfortunately no guarantee of it's reliability.

I back up frequently to both fixed and to removable USB drives (more than one which I rotate) and also store off-site as an extra precaution.

I use a program called Synchronize It! Very Versatile, can be set to only update files that have changed, and can backup individual folders, or save and use a 'Project' which backs up multiple folders that you have predefined. It includes masks and multiple filter options, can be used as an 'unattended backup' and to restore data also. It makes the job easy.

BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones