Back-up digital photos with ______?????

[loveysbydesign]

What's the best way to back-up my digital photos?
I've been using cd-rom's and my hard drive but I'm sure there's gotta be a more efficient better way!
I was thinking of getting one of those things...unsure what they're called that you just plug into the USB port and it can hold alot of info. ...it's smaller than a cd. Anyone know what they're called and if they hold alot of photos? Then I can keep it in my fire safety chest.
Any advice?

 

[Cricket2]

Back-up digital photos with everything you have.

 

[shancan911]

I have most of my photos on cd or dvd, but we also have ALL OF THEM on an external hard drive. CD's and DVD's can go bad and ruin photos. Yes, a hard drive can go, but if you're only using it for photo back up, there's a slim chance of that, and you can always use a data recovery system in the event of something awful. We have a Western Digital and are very pleased with it.

 

[ukcatfan]

I have most of my photos on cd or dvd, but we also have ALL OF THEM on an external hard drive. CD's and DVD's can go bad and ruin photos. Yes, a hard drive can go, but if you're only using it for photo back up, there's a slim chance of that, and you can always use a data recovery system in the event of something awful. We have a Western Digital and are very pleased with it.

Not at all to be rude, but the hard drive is much more likely to fail than the CD/DVDs going bad. We bought a new Acer laptop last October and the hard drive failed in 26 hours!!! I have had five hard drive failures in the past ten years. That said, it is always a good idea to have more than one backup method. I have a second drive that mirrors my main one. It is the one I share on our home network so the kids cannot accidentally delete something. I also backup to DVDs about every two months unless I shot something very important and that I backup right away. Another word of advice; do not keep all of your backups at home. If there is ever a total loss of your home, then all backups are also gone.

Kevin

 

[manning]

Not at all to be rude, but the hard drive is much more likely to fail than the CD/DVDs going bad. We bought a new Acer laptop last October and the hard drive failed in 26 hours!!! I have had five hard drive failures in the past ten years. That said, it is always a good idea to have more than one backup method. I have a second drive that mirrors my main one. It is the one I share on our home network so the kids cannot accidentally delete something. I also backup to DVDs about every two months unless I shot something very important and that I backup right away. Another word of advice; do not keep all of your backups at home. If there is ever a total loss of your home, then all backups are also gone.

Kevin

And I had one crash on me after a month of light usage.

Also note on the CD/DVD the date you burned it. The coating on there is chemical and it is being found out they are breaking down after about five years. You may want to reburn them about every 3-4 years. There is also archival CD that look gold that is claimed to last 100 years.

The problem is all of these have not been around very long and no one really knows how long they will last.

 

[ukcatfan]

And I had one crash on me after a month of light usage.

Also note on the CD/DVD the date you burned it. The coating on there is chemical and it is being found out they are breaking down after about five years. You may want to reburn them about every 3-4 years. There is also archival CD that look gold that is claimed to last 100 years.

The problem is all of these have not been around very long and no one really knows how long they will last.

Maybe I am a little wasteful, but I re-burn all of my images every two months or so. With DVDs at around $0.25 ea. it is not exactly expensive. I will keep the old copies around for a few cycles before destroying them.

Kevin

 

[YEKCIM]

I keep the originals on an external HD, plus burn a DVD backup, periodically, that stays in our safe deposit box. I also keep the edited copies that I make 4X6 prints from on a CD, which I keep at home. Also, if you want to count it, I have lower-res copies of most of the keepers on photobucket.

~YEKCIM

 

[skr8pn]

Don't forget about offsite backup. If something we're to happen to your home (break in, fire, flood) you possibly couldn't recover them. Though I haven't yet, my thoughts are the pictures/files you absolutly can't live without should be backed up not at your living quarters. A bank safe deposit box or at a realitive house or something similar. My engaugment and wedding pictures will be in at least 3 sperate places when I get done. They could never be replaced and besides that they cost to much the first time.

 

[boBQuincy]

I talked with a fellow I work with who used to do fire investigations. He told me the best place for the fire safe is on the lowest floor and in a room with an outside wall. That should be the least hot place if a fire were to occur.
The garage is not good since it usually has a large quantity of flammables inside.

I also burn CDs / DVDs for my photos but re-burning them every few months or even every year is not viable, there are far too many. No one really knows how long CDs will last, all testing has been done using Highly Accelerated Life Testing, which is not always the same as real long term usage. Even a freshly burned CD may not be good, and we rarely check them.

Besides CDs / DVDs I keep all photos on a hard drive, a hard drive on a server, and an external hard drive. I keep the external hard drive in a fire safe and will place it somewhere downstairs.

 

[Cricket2]

I talked with a fellow I work with who used to do fire investigations. He told me the best place for the fire safe is on the lowest floor and in a room with an outside wall. That should be the least hot place if a fire were to occur.

I have to deal with Federal examiners and they won't let us store data on the lowest floor because the threat of water damage is vastly higher there and flooding is a higher threat than fire. I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Nothing is perfect.

 

[loveysbydesign]

wow...you guys have some great info.!
````what about using a memory stick???

 

[Anewman]

wow...you guys have some great info.!
````what about using a memory stick???

Well Lets put it this way.

4gb memory stick = $50
Blank DVD(holds 4.4 GBs) = 25 cents


while I do agree with everyone about the possibility of hard drive failure, there have also been cases of Hard drives lasting a very long time. IMO an external hard drive combined with an internal hard drive is a very good start.

IMO $70 for a 250gb External Hard drive is a great deal(frys) and if those same files are also backed up on the PCs hard drive(and very cheap to upgrade), odds are that they will not both fail at the same time.

And as someone else mentioned in another thread on the topic, once Blu-ray or HD-DVD media and burners become more consumer friendly, we can start backing up 20 plus gigs to one disk.

 

[ukcatfan]

wow...you guys have some great info.!
````what about using a memory stick???

I would not use any solid state memory like a flash card as a backup. It is too volatile and is not intended for long term storage.

Kevin

 

[loveysbydesign]

What abput the thingie that plugs into the usb port...some are on keychains...what are they called...AUGH I can't think of they're name!

 

[Anewman]

What abput the thingie that plugs into the usb port...some are on keychains...what are they called...AUGH I can't think of they're name!

Flash Drives
Thumb drives
Jump sticks
etc...

Depending on Brand(marketing).

They are all the same thing.

Price per GB does not compare to other forms of back up, plus I have lost more of those than I care to admit.

 

[ktulu]

What abput the thingie that plugs into the usb port...some are on keychains...what are they called...AUGH I can't think of they're name!

A jump drive? Nope, don't trust them. Best advice I can give is to use cd or dvd. I'm actually archiving about 20G of photos from the past 2 years onto DVD's. I wish this laptop had a dual layer burner, it'd go twice as fast The new one I'm getting will, but it doesn't help me now!

My wife won't let me get automated tape backups, otherwise I'd also do that

 

[skr8pn]

Well Lets put it this way.
And as someone else mentioned in another thread on the topic, once Blu-ray or HD-DVD media and burners become more consumer friendly, we can start backing up 20 plus gigs to one disk.

...and to quote an old saying. "You don't want all your eggs in one basket." Which, with that said, I probably end up putting 20+ gig on one disc also. I had 200 CD's stolen out of my truck one night. I'm a big fan of multiple backups at multiple locations.

 

[YEKCIM]

What abput the thingie that plugs into the usb port...some are on keychains...what are they called...AUGH I can't think of they're name!

Those are flash memory cards, too...just configured to plug straight into your usb port. IMO, making duplicate copies and storing them in separate locations is your best insurance against losing them. I would not use the "keychain thingy" since they are intended, as mentioned, for short term storage and are NOT very cost effective. An external HD (which need not be powered up all the time, btw) and/or optical disks represent the most cost effective longer term option, IMO. Again, multiple copies is an inexpensive and safer option.

~YEKCIM

 

[Anewman]

...and to quote an old saying. "You don't want all your eggs in one basket." Which, with that said, I probably end up putting 20+ gig on one disc also. I had 200 CD's stolen out of my truck one night. I'm a big fan of multiple backups at multiple locations.

Yup that is why they are referred to as "BACK UPs" instead of "only existing copy".

Regardless of the method used, something "can" happen.

 

[RBennett]

You know I had the thought of putting an external HD in a firesafe box because those are often waterproof as well and sticking the whole box in my storm cellar. It's about 6-7 feet below the house level in the back of my house. I figured that would be about as safe as it gets. Also, to do like everyone says and backup all photos onto cds/dvds and do multiple copies and place them at work, with relatives, in your doghouse, under the birdfeeder, and with your next door neighbor. Just to be safe!!!