JohnnyRottenNJ Loc: Northern New Jersey

Based on the Wabbit's findings, it would probably be a good idea to check your back up work on the CD's periodically. Most software for copying CDs and the like are fairly reliable and idiot proof these days, but there are always the few idiots that can even stump them as well. That isn't directed at anyone on this board, it's just that I have seen my share of idiots that could be candidates for the Darwin Awards.

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Hey Doc ..... disc rot information is all over if you look for it .....

here's an example .....

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/31/1043804519345.html

marcomarks Loc: Ft. Myers, FL

As I once recommended, keep files on your main drive, put copies on a backup drive, and put a second copy on a "cloud" backup service. You can't possibly lose all three kinds at the same time. CD's can get scratched, flash cards can get corrupted just as easily as a hard drive, and any physical storage device or media will melt in extreme heat of a fire, be ruined by water damage, and can be blasted by a lightning strike or other power line spike - thus the reason for the "cloud" backup of photos. The cloud can also backup your other documents and even your whole hard drive if you like, so it can certainly be worth $50 a year for something like Carbonite if your photos and documents are crucially important to you.

glojo Loc: South Devon, England

Folks are tending to dismiss or ignore my suggestion regarding NAS drives but to me they are without doubt worth serious consideration for those who rely on storing their files, no matter what they are.

NOTE
I am NOT suggesting my solution is the best, the worse, good, bad or the ugliest but like others have already pointed out. Having your eggs all in one basket is fraught with danger. Those that advocate hard drives never fail are not doing anyone any favours. My first computer was a 486DX and I cannot recall the real number of hard drives that I have owned that have gone to that large scrap heap in the Sky, but it is definitely more than a few and none have been your bargain basement type hard drives :(.

If you value your software then back it up and by all means, back it up on the computer (I do) Then for those really important files, back them up elsewhere.

If you want to pay a third party to look after them, then fine, but can you honestly know they will be in business tomorrow?

Do you work on your files daily and if so, do you religiously back-up your files every day? Do you?? The NAS drive does this completely independently, all you do is when you install its software, you let it know what folders you want backing up, how you want it backing up and what files to delete, modify, over-write or copy. The NAS Drive is stored well away from any computer although I like to be able to see the operating lights. This system is backing up folders from the computer so in effect it is at the very least duplicating, but me being me it is doing a darn sight more.

I set mine to copy the folders and files I download from the camera.

With the files that I download from my camera, I then sort into folders... 'Birds' with subsections of species.

Aircraft.

Family

etc etc and the NAS Drive will also back-up these folders which in effect means I am duplicating files, but that is my choice. I also back-up all my Microsoft Office files, phone book and music but I don't physically do that. The NAS Drive checks these folders every day at a time of my choosing and if ANY file has been altered, it will back it up. My choice whether it overwrites the old file or adds a new extension!

These drives are not expensive and come with extra empty trays so you can add more hard drives as you feel a need, plus of course as hard drives get updated,you can transfer data across to the new hard ware.

Am I saying my system is better than a CD\USB\DVD or external hard drive? Of course not, but if you are a professional photographer then your livelihood is your software..., It deserves looking after.

Thinking about this, my system is no better than any external hard drive, it simply does EVERYTHING automatically without ANY human 'reliability'
:twisted:

ragman101

Steve,
I use SanDisk memory vaults (16 GB) to backup all my save photos in addition to external hard drives where I keep all my photos.
Jack

Doris753

Onsite Backup, virtual machines backup, databases backup, offsite Backup and servers backup.
I use Ahsay Backup Software (http://www.ahsay.com/jsp/en/home/index.jsp?pageContentKey=ahsay_products_overview&r=1d). Try using it .

beverett Loc: los angeles

Just checked a CD recorded 9 years ago. Raw files. They all look good.