# what method do you backup your photos?



## dallas_mike (Sep 13, 2006)

hi, all!
i know many of you have a lot of photos to be stored. and what method do you stroage your photos?
directly storage them in computer?
copy them at CD/DVD?
backup them at your SD Card?
or backup them at removeable hard drive?
at first i use the method that copy the photos at CD/DVD, but when i move my house, i lost a package of CD. it is so pity to me.
now i backup them at DriveHQ, so i dont worry about losting them again. 
so what method do you use to backup your photos?


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## kelox (Sep 13, 2006)

i have two hard drives i use to backup everything, then keep one with me and one at a friends house. this may be a bit extreme, but think of the feeling you'd get if you lost everything you had shot in just the last year.


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## Tiberius (Sep 13, 2006)

I have a RAID Server (1.2TB of RAID5 Redundant Storage, FreeBSD 4.10) that I use for backing up all my media, photos included.


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## JDP (Sep 13, 2006)

I utilize a Compaq Proliant DL580 with 4 10,000 RPM Ultra SCSI 3 300GB drives configured in a RAID 5 for 900GB of total storage. I then use the free version of SyncBack to automagically copy all new/edited files from my desktop to that server.
I also have a folder I call 'Critical Photos', they're once in a lifetime shots or once I think are really special - those I have syncback also copy over to an FTP server I have in a datacenter


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## nyyphan (Sep 13, 2006)

For most of the photos that I use on my website, I have in at least 2-4 different locations.  I think the best and safest place I have my photos stored is in our lockbox on DVD.  I usually update it every 3 months, but in late summer, I tend to do it every month.  Four years ago our house was threatened by wildfire and by putting it in with our other vital documents (passports, birth certificates, etc.) I know I'll never lose them.  Yes, its a bit overkill, but at least I know that _if_ something happens, I've got a backup.


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## PixelPerfect (Sep 23, 2006)

I use a external hard drive, burn to Dvd's and have them on a computer


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## ksmattfish (Sep 24, 2006)

External hard drives, and CD-R/DVD-R's.  You can save money by buying internal HDs, and an external HD case, and putting it together yourself.  If you can operate a screw driver you can do it.


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## usayit (Sep 24, 2006)

I too use mirrored external firewire disks with copies burned out to archival quality CD-Rs.  Every month, the entire contents of the disks are pushed out to old fashioned magnetic tape (DLT media).


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## Ab$olut (Sep 24, 2006)

just done a full backup of 650mb odd of pics from my last 6 months having the camera onto a cd as I don't trust flash memory


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## qdebruin (Nov 16, 2006)

There is now a site which provides a lifetime guarantee on all content they store. when you upload your content is mirrored on two servers in separate locations, then daily backed up onto tape and stored in a 200ft granite vault in the Rockies. Site is owned by a fortune 500 company so worth checking out. Here is a link www.qvteam.myphotomax.com.
Saves you time and disappointment - I swear by it now.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Quinton


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## Wolff (Nov 16, 2006)

I copy my photos onto an external hard drive and then burn two cd's, one for my house and one to keep at work (incase my house burns down or something).


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## fmw (Nov 17, 2006)

Hard drives do fail.  Every one at some point in time.  No exceptions.  I back up to DVD RW.  I make two copies onto two separate discs.

My business files are backed up to three different hard drives on my network.  I'm comfortable with that.  My business files only really need to be available for a year.  Then they turn to paper.  The paper is discarded after 7 years.  

I would be comfortable with that for my images as well except I see the DVD RW as being more archival than hard drives - if you can consider digital to be archival at all.


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## bitteraspects (Nov 17, 2006)

i delete most of my stuff. i have a bad habit of not keeping files. the ones i really like i save to my box till i have enough to make a disk.


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## Alex_B (Nov 17, 2006)

> directly storage them in computer?



yes, the most recent images are always stored on one of my two internal disks.



> copy them at CD/DVD?



would be too many DVDs And... CDs and DVDs can (and at some point will) fail, they are not 100% safe as they age!



> backup them at your SD Card?



Using CF cards in the camera ... but if I wanted to archive on SD or CF I would run out of money very quickly 



> or backup them at removeable hard drive?



yes!

ok, here in detail:

1. I have two internal disks with together 400 GByte .. those are to store the current images I still work with
2. Then there is one (small regarding physical size) external firewire/USB disk used as an archive (700GByte)
3. And there are currently 3 further external disks giving together 900 GByte used to backup for my external and internal drives. Two of those drives are full now and stored at a place 150 miles away 

So currently I have about 600 GByte of images, I would not want to burn those on DVD ... too mcuh work 

Also I think harddrives are a rather safe option if you include a backup. If the backup disks have a different age and are from a different maker, the probability of your backup AND your primary storage failing at the same time is very very low. Of course you have to replace the harddrives before they come of age and become more prone to failure.

The good thing is, that what fits on 3 harddrives today will probably fit on one harddrive in 2 years time or so. I've been practicing this hard drive archival thing for many years now, starting with what I thought at that time a tremendous quantity of data and today the data from those early times is hidden in a tiny corner of my smallest harddrive. Never lost any data for 7 years now even though I started the additional backup thing just 3 months ago.

I know of at least one case where a photographer could not serve a client with a print of an old file since he could just not read the file from that old CD anymore. This fear of data loss , plus the fact I would need 1000 CDs or well over 100 DVDs for my just my current data keeps me from using CD/DVD for archival. my current archive including the backup fits into a medium sized shoebox (well, alltogether 6 harddrives).


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## Alex_B (Nov 17, 2006)

fmw said:
			
		

> I would be comfortable with that for my images as well except I see the DVD RW as being more archival than hard drives - if you can consider digital to be archival at all.



Digital can be archival, but it requires more maintenance - always migrating to newer media every 2 or years, then it is rather safe.

Oh, and classic archives are by no means safe ... so much film from 100 to30 years ago has been rotting away in professional archives. Even my half cubic meter of slides has been suffering, and that is only 10 years old. I personally feel safer with digital.


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## usayit (Nov 17, 2006)

I always think in terms of tiers.  Each level provides increasingly more archival at the expensive of longer / less convenient recovery time.  Other work related items get treated in the same manner.  Mine works like this:

0)  On my compact flash card direct from the camera.  Copied to my scratch disk but not erased. 

1) On my scratch disk which is stripped for optimal perfomance..  Fast response, not reliable.  This is were I would do my photoshop editing.   My Workspace

2) Stuff that I'm done working on gets moved to my mirrored disks.  slightly more reliable but a bit slower data transfer.  At this point, I will erase the compact flash card if I need it for something else.

3) Once a folder on a mirror hits about 600mb, It gets burned to an archival quality CD ( I use gold efilm CD-Rs).  The burned CDs are stored in plastic jewel cases and outside world contact is kept to a minimum.  

4) Once a month my mirrored disk gets backed to magnetic tape... yes... old technology...  magnetic tape.  This is the most reliable of all the tiers but also can be a little bit of pain to recover.  ( both my jobs are in computer data disaster recovery so magnetic tape does not seem so odd/strange).  

Oh yes...  remember offsiting too..  2 month old backups on magnetic tape gets placed in my desk at work..

My strategy might be a little over kill for most but its good to think in terms of tiers with archival versus cost versus data value in mind.


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## f8lranger4x4 (Feb 13, 2008)

External hard drive!!!!!


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## rob91 (Feb 20, 2008)

Back them up on two harddrives.


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## domromer (Feb 20, 2008)

I ask Jesus to watch over my hard drive.


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## schuylercat (Feb 20, 2008)

I have a pair of 500MB internal drives, and I copy everything from the primary to the backup using a batch file that runs through a scheduler.  Since the primary drive includes edits with new file names, my backup scheme grabs all files available.  I frequently delete edits I don't like, so my "G" drive is filling faster than my "F" drive.  No matter - that way I have everything, and if I realize "hey, I kinda liked that edit I deleted last Tuesday..." I can go retrieve it.  Currently my backup drive states there are 74,000 files and it's 98GB in size, with basic image folders dating back to October 13, 1999 and some scans of slides from my Nikon CoolScan dating back to about 1992.  

Next plan: I'll burn DVDs and store them in a fire safe.


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