As a hobbyist with very modest goals and techno-knowledge, I realize that I have enough cherished images that back-up is finally essential. I've read parts of tutorials on the subject until my head throbs -- they're geared toward photogs with far loftier needs than mine. So, I would love to find a "backup blueprint" designed for my simple situation (and understanding).
Here are the particulars of what I currently do:
*shoot RAW, download into Capture One (all downloads remain on computer hard-drive -- and nowhere else) *process with PS/CS, then save decent images onto an external LaCie drive. (So, even with the extra drive, NONE of my files are backed-up; they are on one drive or the other, but not both) *I deal with only about 500 RAW images A YEAR -- not very many *My 150 GB external drive has TONS of room left -- space isn't the problem, but security is my concern. *both the computer and LaCie are long-of tooth, and will need replacing sooner rather than later.
I anticipate buying another external drive or two right away, but THEN WHAT? Can you give me some guidance into how I might configure the hardware and build myself a very simple (to figure out) safety net? THANKS!!
--Ron
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Well, here is a suggestion - it represents a small part of my backup process.
1. Keep all your images, RAW and converted, on your local hard disk. I do this in a file structure under 2 separate directories, "RAW Images" and "Converted Images". Not very imaginative I know. Under each of these I sort by date basically.
2. Your backup strategy then simply needs to copy all files in these 2 directories to the same named files on your external drive. This can easily be done with a batch file (see below). Multiple backups can be performed to different drives and stored elsewhere so that you are safe. Drives these days are cheap.
Here's a sample batch file you could edit for your own use - simply name it backup.cmd
@echo off
echo.
echo Backing up new or changed pictures from Drive E: to Drive X: ....
echo.
xcopy e:\"RAW Images"\*.* x:\"RAW Images" /s /y /c /D
xcopy e:\"Converted Images"\*.* x:\"Converted Images"\ /s /y /c /D
echo.
echo All done!
echo.
Simply change the drive letters to the appropriate ones in your machine. The xcopy switches are simple:
/s copies subdirectories
/y suppress questions
/c continues to copy through any errors
/D copies only newer (or new) files.
Hope this helps