# Online File storage?



## ababysean (Sep 19, 2010)

Is there a free online photo storage website?
My hard drive is filling up and I do not want to buy an external right now, but I don't want to delete either... lol
I am wondering if anyone knows of an online file storage website?
Thanks so much
Crystal


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## mwcfarms (Sep 19, 2010)

Hey Crystal, I use Mozy online, its not free its 4.95  month but pretty darn close. I also burn to DVD's and an external HD. Im neurotic. Oh and I am paranoid about losing my files again. 

Oh I might have misunderstood. i use mozy to back up not to store pics. Sorry my bad.


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## lordfly (Sep 19, 2010)

Adrive.com apparently gives you 50 gigs of storage space for free.


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## cyngus (Sep 19, 2010)

dropbox


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## MrBarney (Sep 20, 2010)

Consider the network performance before deciding.  If you have an 8Mbps DSL connection, for example, then you're looking at:

8Mbps = 1MB/second 

50GB = 51200MB

That's about 14 hours to download.  If it's the same as the UK, then the upstream speed is much less - the best you could get here would be 1Mbps upstream, which makes it about 5 days to upload :shock:

I think external storage is the way to go.  USB hard drives are cheap.


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## Mbnmac (Sep 20, 2010)

I'll second dropbox, I don't use it but I know a lot of people in the .jpeg business that use it and rave about it


That's about 14 hours to download. If it's the same as the UK, then the upstream speed is much less - the best you could get here would be 1Mbps upstream, which makes it about 5 days to upload 


The thing is, you leave it running in the background, it'll get done when it gets done, then it'll constantly update as you go.

Although having an extra backup is also well worth it, an online file system means you can access anywhere in the world


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## MrBarney (Sep 20, 2010)

Mbnmac said:


> The thing is, you leave it running in the background, it'll get done when it gets done, then it'll constantly update as you go.


I think the OP is looking for some extra storage rather than a backup or archive solution.  I agree that as a backup or archive, online is just fine within practical limits.  Browsing or searching for files on this kind of setup will be a chore though.  I suppose if it's free then it's only your time to try it out, assuming you have true unlimited DSL; somethine which is a rarety this side of the atlantic.


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## Big Mike (Sep 20, 2010)

I personally wouldn't be comfortable 'storing' important data on-line.  If it's backup, that's OK...but not as your only version.  

As mentioned, hard drives are ridiculously cheap compared to what they used to cost.  You don't even need an external drive, if your computer has room for another internal one.  

I've been 1 tetrabyte drives getting down to around $100 CDN, so I'm sure you can find something cheaper in your neck of the woods.  

Although, the one thing that bothers me, is that it wasn't long ago that 300-500 GB drives were $100-$150.  But now that 1 & 2 TB drives are getting cheaper, I'm not seeing $50 500GB drives in any stores.  I know they are available, they are just hard to find.


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## MohaimenK (Sep 20, 2010)

send them to me Crystal I have like 5 TB of space in my server


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## lordfly (Sep 20, 2010)

Big Mike said:


> Although, the one thing that bothers me, is that it wasn't long ago that 300-500 GB drives were $100-$150.  But now that 1 & 2 TB drives are getting cheaper, I'm not seeing $50 500GB drives in any stores.  I know they are available, they are just hard to find.



Walmart was having a sale for 500gb external drives for $55...


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## supraman215 (Sep 20, 2010)

Big Mike said:


> I personally wouldn't be comfortable 'storing' important data on-line.  If it's backup, that's OK...but not as your only version.



Agreed. Off-site, or on-line, storage is not a good solution as the ONLY storage location for your data. Your data should always be stored in 2 places at the very least. Off-site backup is the industry standard for enterprise backup and the SAFEST way to backup data. 

Get a new HD to accommodate your files then go with Mozy, unlimited online backup $4.95/mo. This will not work as a storage location only as a backup, any file not on your PC is removed from mozy after 30 days. So if you accidentally delete a file you have 30 days to figure it out before Mozy removes it. 

Of course the first time you run mozy it may be slow, it took me more than 2 months on the first run 450gb, but now it runs nightly at 3:30am and since it's only doing a couple gigs at most is very quick.


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## JG_Coleman (Sep 20, 2010)

+1 for external disk drives over on-line storage.

When looking into online services some time ago, I found that there are also important size limitations for individual files. Certain places offer a whole lot of space but put a ceiling on how large any single file can be. Most individual photographs, including RAW files, will usually be small enough to fit. But when you start talking about stitched, full-res panoramas and rendered TIFF files... some services may not have you covered.

There is also the issue of whether or not you take videos with your camera, as these videos can easily be many times larger than a RAW photograph... even larger than a big 90MB TIFF file.

So if you _do_ go the on-line route, be sure to check out the maximum file size... it differs with each service.

External hard drives are remarkably cheap these days, as has been mentioned by others.

External hard drives offering 2TB can be had for between $130 - $170... and will hold an enormous amount of information.

Even if that size is a bit more than you really need, one can 320GB, 500GB, even 1TB drives for $60 - $100, respectively.

Self-storage is best policy, really... especially with how affordable external mass-storage has become.


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## supraman215 (Sep 20, 2010)

JG_Coleman said:


> +1 for external disk drives over on-line storage.



I don't really see it as an either, or. You need the space locally to store all of your photos, so external drive, flash drive, internal hard drive whatever doesn't matter. Online BACKUP not storage is the #1 way to protect your data. 



JG_Coleman said:


> When looking into online services some time ago, I found that there are also important size limitations for individual files. Certain places offer a whole lot of space but put a ceiling on how large any single file can be. Most individual photographs, including RAW files, will usually be small enough to fit. But when you start talking about stitched, full-res panoramas and rendered TIFF files... some services may not have you covered.
> 
> There is also the issue of whether or not you take videos with your camera, as these videos can easily be many times larger than a RAW photograph... even larger than a big 90MB TIFF file.
> 
> ...



Wow that sux. I know I have 4.7gb ISO files on Mozy so they don't have this limitation.



JG_Coleman said:


> Self-storage is best policy, really... especially with how affordable external mass-storage has become.



Unfortunately this is not true. You're not protected in the case of a disaster at your home (which of course I would hope would NEVER happen to anyone) but if there's a fire, hurricane, flood, break-in, you're external hard drive is not protected. If your home your #1 priority is your safety and family, pictures second. If you're not home your pictures are gone. Even as simple as a power surge Sure power strips offer a warranty and will replace your external drive but so what, and I would assume your external HD and computer would be plugged into the same power strip. What's $150 when you've got hundreds of hours of editing time and photo taking time into that drive. 

So while an external drive (assuming having pics stored on internal and external drives) is better then just having them on an internal drive only it only really protects you against physical drive failure.


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## JG_Coleman (Sep 20, 2010)

Indeed, multiple fallbacks are preferable to one. And if somebody wants to have a mass-storage external backup drive and also maintain a mass-storage online mirror of their files... more power to em. I'm on board with that idea, supraman.

However, in my experience, it's difficult enough to get people to back up their files, at all... much less convincing them to follow-through on maintaining redundancy. The ordinary person usually stops at a single backup... for better or worse. And if only one is going to be chosen, I would choose an external drive... for convenience, flexibility, and speed.

Granted, online storage does offer certain benefits not offered by self-storage... including, as you mentioned, protection against disasters that could destroy your hard drive. I just think that very few people are likely to reliably and consistently go through the work of maintaining both an HDD backup _and_ online backup.

If my house burnt down, my photo library would be missed... quite honestly, though, it would be the last thing on my mind when confronted with misfortune on that level.

So, I do agree... external hard drives paried with online redundancy is a great idea. Whether or not an individual will realistically maintain such a backup system is the real question, though. I foresee many people being unwilling to... and instead choosing one or the other, even if that's not the ideal way to go.

My method: redundancy on two external drives. If my house burns down... yeah, I'm screwed. Moreso cuz I'll have no place to live... much less so because my photo library will be gone.

Admittedly, for individuals that make considerable income from their photos, there may be more reason to protect their photo library against any and all possiblitity of loss. In which case, supraman's suggestion is the only way to go.


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## supraman215 (Sep 20, 2010)

No place to live would be temporary, the photos are gone forever. Assuming no one (or pets) is home and you have no other personal artwork in the house it would be the one thing you would miss the most. Every time there is a disaster and they interview the people the thing they always say first is photos. Everything else is replaceable, even a house, pictures aren't. 

I agree with you having the external HD backup and online might up might be a little much for most people. But if you backup online only there's no need for the external drive backup at all. Also with the online backup you could be on the road and backing up, i.e. vacation, without having to carry around an external drive with risk of it getting lost with your luggage or damaged in transport. The online backup I have is also completely automated, and runs on it's own. They have their own software and it's very easy to set up. 

If you're a pro I think we can agree it goes without question you NEED off-site storage. If you lose someone's wedding photos they will be pissed come their 5th or 10th anniversary and they want copies. But for a person just taking photos for fun, it would be about how important those photos are to you. If it's worth $60/year to you.


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## SecondShot (Sep 20, 2010)

look into Easiest Online Backup Service - Backblaze

5 bucks/month. I haven't taken the dive yet, but I probably will soon.


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## supraman215 (Sep 20, 2010)

SecondShot said:


> look into Easiest Online Backup Service - Backblaze
> 
> 5 bucks/month. I haven't taken the dive yet, but I probably will soon.




Looks pretty good! You can try our mozy for free also, they have a 2 gb max for their free service. So you can see how their interface works and stuff it's pretty cool. It mounts a "drive" to your PC so you can easily see what's backed up and restore it as if it were an external drive.


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## IceEateer (Sep 20, 2010)

Very simple answer.

Sign up for an online photo service like snapfish or walmart.   They let you upload as much as you want.  The only catch is you have to buy at least one print a year.  So 10 cent a year.


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## supraman215 (Sep 20, 2010)

IceEateer said:


> Very simple answer.
> 
> Sign up for an online photo service like snapfish or walmart.   They let you upload as much as you want.  The only catch is you have to buy at least one print a year.  So 10 cent a year.



eh, not really photo archival stuff here, from their site:

<li type="I">*Digital Image Storage*




[*]  Snapfish offers free, unlimited         storage of online photos to Members who maintain Active  Participation. There is no limit to the Content you can upload. When you  upload image Content to the Service, the original resolution of your  Content may be         affected depending on the upload speed you choose. *Further, if  you upload         an image with more than nine mega-pixels of resolution, Snapfish  may in         its discretion down-sample the image regardless of the upload  speed you         choose. *


[*]You should always preserve your original Content, or make back-up copies         of such Content, on your personal system. You should not use the Service         as the only repository or other source for your Content.
Also this:

*Photos*
*File type*
*Extension*
*Upload methods*      JPG
    .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe
    All upload methods      




Great for sharing not so great for archival.


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## DanFinePhotography (Sep 20, 2010)

I would have to recommend upgrading to your own hosting. You can NEVER rely on FREE online storage services. I have seen these come and go overnight through the years. Either #1 do as advised above and get a decent external hard drive, or get a decent plan on a well respected web hosting service in the 6-12 a month range , heck even host your website on it. Best bet do both use an external hard drive AND get paid storage. After losing a number of images in a major virus attack a couple years ago, i have learned the hard way NEVER rely on just the hard drive in your computer.


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## supraman215 (Sep 20, 2010)

DanFinePhotography said:


> ...get a decent plan on a well respected web hosting service in the 6-12 a month range , heck even host your website on it...



+1 anything to get it off site 1&1 is a well respected hosting company been around for a while and I'm sure are very reasonably priced.


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## Xavien (Jul 2, 2011)

*Hey ababysean I tried ZenOK Online Backup, it works quit good.
*


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## johnh2005 (Jul 2, 2011)

Big Mike said:


> I personally wouldn't be comfortable 'storing' important data on-line.  If it's backup, that's OK...but not as your only version.
> 
> As mentioned, hard drives are ridiculously cheap compared to what they used to cost.  You don't even need an external drive, if your computer has room for another internal one.
> 
> ...



Not sure if you meant online or in a local store.  Check Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb&#47;s 3.5&#34; Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive  $40 shipped to your door.  Can't really beat that.  Well, you probably can but I found that in like 30 seconds.


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## ann (Jul 2, 2011)

3-2-1 consider to be a Best Business option.  3 copies, 2 media, 1 off site.

As has been mentioned, external storage is cheap these days. I recently got a 2 T seagate for $84 including shipping.

Yes all this redunancy is a pain, and boring, but it is important.  Recently I had the dreaded computer melt down. It was a pain, but not a tragic loss as all important docs and photos are stored on 4 external hard drives.  In fact I keep very few folders on my hard drive as all that information slows down the computer. One copy is kept off site.

Backing up on line may be an option, and i am considering it; however, my most recent trip results in a folder over 50GB and backing up just that folder will be interesting, let alone all other folders.

In my classes I recommend two copies backed up, and non on the computer.  These are just average folks wanting to take better family photos, but those photos need to be available years from now. These files are not like a strip of negatives that can be thrown in  a shoebox to be retrived 20 years later to make some photos of your children as babies to be shown at their wedding shower.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Feb 17, 2013)

iCloud haters


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## nola.ron (Feb 17, 2013)

Google drive.  It will change your life especially if you have multiple pcs you want to access your files easily from. It puts dropbox to shame.


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## amethyst201190 (Feb 18, 2013)

MrBarney said:


> Mbnmac said:
> 
> 
> > The thing is, you leave it running in the background, it'll get done when it gets done, then it'll constantly update as you go.
> ...




What does OP stands for? Is it a website that serves as file storage too? I just wanted to clarify anything because I also find it interesting. My computer hard drive also is full so that is why I am looking for online file storage. Thanks!


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## Solarflare (Feb 18, 2013)

lordfly said:


> Walmart was having a sale for 500gb external drives for $55...


 Um, geht 2TB or 3TB drives.

Much cheaper money/storage ratio.

Unless we talk about those small ones you can put in your pocket. Then get the 1.5TB ones.

ALSO, online storage is NOT the same as external harddrives !

External harddrives can be stolen, burned, etc.

Online storage can do the same, but elsewhere. Unlikely that it happends both at your home and whereever "elsewhere" is.


P.s.: I also had it multiple times that external harddrives just died on me.


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## Mully (Feb 18, 2013)

&#8203;This thread is 2 years old


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## KmH (Feb 18, 2013)

Closer to 2.5 years old, which was before the Beginners forum description and policy change.

OP stands for Original Poster, or Original Post.

Note that the tread starters name is followed by OP in the first post and in any subsequent posts that member makes in that thread.


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