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Author Topic: Info on best way to back up digital images.  (Read 6629 times)

Jack Flesher

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Info on best way to back up digital images.
« on: July 12, 2004, 12:11:04 pm »

[font color=\'#000000\']I don't bother with DVD or CD backup since it's a PITA and longevity is suspect even with archival "gold" media.  And since hard drives can fail, I back up on dual, redundant 200G external drives.  When they fill up, I disconnect them, label them, keep one near the computer for file retrieval and store the other in a safe.  I then bite the bullet and buy two new ones to start the process all over again.  I copy my main working files to a separate drive on the computer, so effectively I have my BEST images stored on three separate drives -- enough redundancy for me and I maintain easy file retrieval.

Cheers,[/font]
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alte22a

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« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2004, 01:28:46 am »

[font color=\'#000000\']DVD or CD arent very good options for backing up cause its to do with error corrections on this medias.  HD are one of the best options.  But not many people consider DVD-RAMs.  Slow to write to but fast on retrieving.  The disk are expensive 20 dollars a piece last 20 years and rewrite able 100,000 times.  This is my choice of back, plus 6 120HD of stuff.  But I never keep all of my shots.  I mean I do an edit and only ever keep my final edit..  the others end being like negs that get stored away never to see light again.  Thats my stratgy for backup.[/font]
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Jonathan Wienke

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« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2004, 08:49:04 pm »

[font color=\'#000000\']I got a USB 2.0 external drive enclosure that can accept a CD-ROM drive. Instead of installing a CD drive installed a drive dock that accepts hard drives installed in an enclosed tray. I have 4 250GB drives I can swap back and forth in a few seconds without rebooting, and I can add additional drives to my collection at any time by simply buying additional drives and the docking trays.[/font]
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imagefinder

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« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2004, 10:21:44 pm »

[font color=\'#000000\']I shoot a lot of nature images, Canon Raw, conversions, etc., but don't know much about backup and how to secure them. Can you point me to a good reference (on the web or not) where I can learn the hands-on procedure of backing up (securing) my images on DVD or CD? I do have a Sony CD/DVD DRX500 rewriteable drive, but it really doesn't come with much "how-to" for the novice trying to safekeep his work.

Thanks in advance. (Wasn't sure where to put this post, so hope this category is OK.)
JL, imagefinder.[/font]
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Lisa Nikodym

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« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2004, 09:46:08 pm »

[font color=\'#000000\']Another recommendation for using some sort of external drive for backup instead of CDs or DVDs.  It's even better if you can keep the external drive off-site except when actually backing up, in case the building burns down or whatever.  As Tom said, the CDs/DVDs are considerably less reliable.

Lisa[/font]
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Wayne Fox

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« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2004, 01:35:37 am »

[font color=\'#000000\']I'm not sure the hard drive in 10 years will have any greater chance than a gold CD. I would question whether a hard drive that hasn't been spun up at all for 10 or 20 years would actually work.

this is a great question, and I'm not sure there is a perfect solution.  I know I use gold CD's and redundant hard drives, but I still live in fear of a problem years from now.[/font]
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eatstickyrice

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« Reply #6 on: July 29, 2004, 06:47:56 am »

[font color=\'#000000\']The key to backing up digital files of any kind is redundancy. One backup of any kind (CD, DVD, Hard Drive etc.) is not a safe way to go. There is a tutorial on understanding about RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives) at the following link: http://www.raid.com/04_00.html . RAID systems aren’t cheap, but in a world where most things are going digital, there is a need to be wise about how we backup what is important to us. It’s going to be sad for many families that are shooting all of their family photos on digital (Births, weddings, holidays etc.) when their hard drive or CD/DVD goes bad. If it’s important to you, go for some form of redundancy!

Rick[/font]
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Dan Sroka

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« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2004, 08:02:45 am »

[font color=\'#000000\']One of the best suggestions I have heard for this is to back things up twice on two different media: harddrive and DVD, for example. Then if one goes, you have a backup of your backup.[/font]
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boku

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« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2004, 08:28:26 am »

Quote
[font color=\'#000000\']One of the best suggestions I have heard for this is to back things up twice on two different media: harddrive and DVD, for example. Then if one goes, you have a backup of your backup.[/font]
[font color=\'#000000\']Absolutely. To that, I might add...

1) Every so often, go back over your archives and evaluate them for viability. If appropriate, transfer to newer media or technology.

2) Hopefully, someone will put forth a permanent online archive service that keeps one's life work preserved for posterity at a reasonable rate of, say, $1/GB/year (or even cheaper).[/font]
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Oh, one more thing...[b

Lin Evans

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« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2004, 07:48:41 pm »

[font color=\'#000000\']I really don't think anyone yet has addressed your original question. It seems it's all been off-topic giving advice on differeing media for backup rather than telling you how to do it with what you have now.

The "easiest" way to do it is to use a backup software which can "automate" the procedure. One of the problems frequently encountered is separation of your images so you don't risk overwriting because of duplilcate file names. If you shoot a lot, you will eventially begin to have duplicate file names. Also if you use more than one digial camera of the same make, you may experience this.

One way to start is to make a folder called "photos" or such. Inside this folder make folders for your images based on the date of their capture. I use a combo of names and numbers such as jan042004 or feb232004. This way you provide a single base folder which automated processes can access and simply pick up all folders within.

There are numerous good and inexpensive software programs available which will allow you to use your rewritable DVD or write once DVD as backup media. One I've used with removable hard disks and with CD/DVD media is Genie Back Manager which works well in my experience.

http://www.genie-soft.com/default.html

Once you have the fairly simple backup defined you simply put your backup disk in the DVD drive and start the program which mirrors the information for you to DVD or CD.

DVD/CD may not be the "best" overall solution, especially for the professional, but it's a darn site better than NO backup. The most "reliable" and longest archival backups are done to Magneto-optical media which have a shelf life of around 100 years. Next is high quality tape such as DLT, SDLT, Ultrium LTO, etc., which have around a 35 year shelf life. These, however, are rather expensive solutions. My own backups are done to both Ultrium LTO and Magneto-optical media, but my backup drives alone cost me around $8,000. Were I simply doing it for pleasure rather than professionally I probably would be quite happy with DVD.

Best regards,

Lin[/font]
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sergio

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« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2004, 09:08:33 pm »

[font color=\'#000000\']Iomega has a very interesting product which are HD that can be separated in 2 pieces. The disk itself and the writer/reader/spinning mechanical parts which is what can damage your disk. Check it out. I don't have experience with this product but someone else maybe has and can comment on it. The link is here.[/font]
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Tom Hill

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« Reply #11 on: July 10, 2004, 10:29:47 am »

[font color=\'#000000\']While I backup my images on CD and DVD, I don't consider them my "main" backups.  Their reliability is suspect and honestly I prefer to use external hard drives as my backup.

http://www.keiko-ni.com/keikosi....ng.html

Above is a link to an article I wrote on my website about how I setup my hard drives.  It's a bit dated--a year old--but the gist is there.

Cheers[/font]
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RockyMountainMommy

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« Reply #12 on: July 18, 2004, 11:48:39 pm »

[font color=\'#000000\']A hard drive does need to be accessed now and then in order to keep it from losing stability in the tracks and sectors. I'm not sure there is *any* 100% certain way to safekeep photos digitally.[/font]
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eibenr

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« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2004, 04:22:27 pm »

[font color=\'#000000\']I'd agree with diversity. All magnetic media self-erases due to the Earth's magnetic field and optical media erases due to rot. Duplication on different media is the way to go.

Rob[/font]
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Raoul

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« Reply #14 on: August 26, 2004, 08:13:44 am »

[font color=\'#000000\']Maybe have the pictures copied on film? Proven technology... [/font]
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