DIGITAL STORAGE OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS

[peter j. fitzpatrick]

Hello folks
I am transferring all my photos to a new applemac and have found that some of my old compact flash cards are not working
These date from 2008 as when I did take photos on them I tend to keep the cf cards or the sd cards rather than re-use them
I must say though the higher end cards are far better than the earlier cheaper cards I have
I have duplicated all my photos to other computers and drives just in case anything fails
I am also going to copy all my photos to another user , and as I specialize in Greek ports my complete collection will be held in Greece
Let me know your thoughts on this matter and how you go about saving all your hard earned shipping photos
Kind regards
Peter j.fitzpatrick

[Pilot Frans]

Hello Peter,

I have a NAS with 1 on 1 copy each HD is 1TB.
In case of failure off one of the Harddisk I will get an email message and then it's time to replace the hard disk.

regards
Frans

[itsfoto]

For some major libraries it is standard procedure to copy all their digital stuff every five years or so. A huge workload, and expensive, but ment to preempt possible data loss caused by deterioration of the media used.
We may be living in the "information age", but we won't be around to hear future generations comment on how we handle and store information - maybe just as well.
cheers
Uwe

[Michael Wirth]

I am also using a NAS with 2 x 4TB in RAID1 configuration (1 on 1 copy like Frans said).

But I have to add that this is NO BACKUP!
There are still some things that can go wrong, and then the files on both drives are lost.
There are many storys I could tell about this, I am working with this stuff since 1993.
These Raid systems are meant for high data availability, they are not designed as a backup solution.

Most NAS systems come with the possibility to backup the contents on an external hard drive - you should USE this feature (especially if the NAS is not that big and as the prices for usb drives are quite affordable).

If you really want to be on the safe side, then from  time to time store a copy of your most valuable data in a DIFFERENT LOCATION!

I had customers with very sophisticated backup solutions - which proved to be completely useless as they were all in one place and swept away together when the water came in ...


Best regards,

Michael.

[peter j. fitzpatrick]

Good morning gentlemen
I think your right Michael
Storing a large collection in a different location is a good idea
Most hard drives are affordable these days so it's not a major problem to copy collections
Everyone has friends that would be willing to hold a collection for safe keeping
It's also good to publish work here on shipspotting as it can act as a great archive providing that data cannot be lost
Slides and negatives are still around but even they can deteriorate over time
There must be another solution out there
Peter

[Michael Wirth]

I forgot to add one tip if using NAS systems:

- buy a system with two drives in RAID 1 for example
- after some time (I usually wait about a year) replace one of the disks with a new one (same model)
- format the disk you have removed from the NAS, put it in an external case you get for a few $ and use it as a backup attached via usb to the NAS

Why?

Now you have a NAS with two disk which are not from the same production run and one is younger than the other (so it is unlikely that they both fail at the same time) - plus a backup disk.

I had systems where one disk failed and after I replaced it and the data was synchronised (which takes quite some time and stresses the remaing original disk) the other (old) disk failed during the process, too.
In this case your data is lost if you don't have a backup.


Best regards,

Michael.

[CedricH]

If you have a Mac the iCloud Photo Library is also very easy to set-up and has worked very reliably for me.

Kind regards
Cedric

[Michael Wirth]

Cloud services are an esay to use option, yes.

But ... and there is a big BUT at least for me:

they come and go, so you must be ready to move so to speak.

In the past I used quite a few of them (from Kodak to Ubuntu among others) - all were shut down.
Usually you are noticed in time and there is time to retrieve your files, but when it happens the former convenient service is suddenly not convenient any more.

Apple is no exception - they started the .mac service a few years ago with a big advertising campaign and shut it down two years later.

For me this is a big drawback so I stick with my own cloud (most NAS systems have this feature in connection with Dyndns or a similar service).


Best regards,

Michael.
 

[Tom Walker]

I find the simplest way to safeguard pictures is:

1) copy from card to your computer, and retain on card for a specified period - I tend to keep for 12 months.

2) back up from the directory/folder which contains the pictures to a 'transportable' disc (backup disc), making sure that the backup disc is sufficiently big enough to hold three copies of the backup.

3) after the third copy has been backed up to the backup disc, delete the oldest, and continue this cycle on a monthly, six monthly or annual basis, whichever you think is appropriate.

4) if you can afford it, you can extend this strategy to using more backup disks, rotating them.

5) try and keep one of the backup disks at another physical location.

Using this method you should be able to restore from either the original cards or the backup if required.

Best regards to all,

Tom

[itsfoto]

Spot on Tom