[PDL]

The subject of how to backup images has been discussed in multiple ways here over the past few months. e.g.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/26322-folder-organ...archiving.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-accessories/32911-dvd-archive-purposes.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/27970-where-does-e...ir-photos.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/26322-folder-organ...archiving.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/everything-else/24628-raw-files-laptop-sm...e-what-do.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/general-talk/2344-how-do-you-backup-your-photos.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-camera-accessories/14643-photo-hard-drives.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/everything-else/14182-dvd-backup.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/general-talk/10951-raw-huge-how-do-you-ha...kups-such.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/everything-else/7216-backing-up-images.html

This list is not inclusive of all discussions but it serves to show that the subject is of interest to many of us.

So, to repeat myself.
RAID drives are not backups - they are fault tolerent systems the provide some assurance against data loss.
Backups are copies of data that are independently accessable and they are (hopefully) available in cases where the data on disk goes away. This maybe due to hardware failure, hardware/OS obsolesence, fire, flood, theft etc.
In formal data centers (where I work) backups are usually to tape with scheduled incremental, full data backups with off-site storage. (Where I work we have to be able to keep the data for 7 years -- after the sale of our last item/model) In my previous job we had to keep data as long as the object was still flying (hint - I work in the NW near Seattle -- and it fly's - three guess who that was) Some of these data sets are well over 40 years old - just try and find a 18bpi tape drive -- that works.

Anyway - if you store your information on magentic media - it will fail. Trust me, the most common component that fails on the servers I manage is hard drives. They usually will last for 10 years or so - but then they go south pretty quick. These are high end SCSI drives that never get turned off either. I have had USB drives that we bought for emergency situations where we copied data to them, let them sit on the shelf for 2 years and have them die when they are started again - pick your brand - portable USB drives last about 4 years - just beyond their warrentee.

DVD's are iffy - I would say that every 5 years you should re-burn them. Archive quality disks might last longer - but will there be a machine that will read them in 10 or even 5 years? Can you say HD-DVD or even Blu-Ray v2.0? Some Blu-Ray v2.0 DVD readers can refuse to read Blu-Ray v1.0 burned disks. ---- GO SONY.

Should you backup your images --- yes.
Should you back them up to USB or DVD's - yes, pick your poison.
Should you keep the backups in your closet --- no - they should be off site.
Will you or your offspring give a cr*p about your images in 30 years ---- don't know - beats me.

Remember MFM and RLE hard drives? Now that it is getting hard to find motherboards with IDE interfaces - when will next best thing after USB get noticed - when will you not be able to get to any of your drives?

Backups are important, just be aware that they need to be carried out with some regularity and not get stored in the same place where your machine is.

By the way -- my backup DVD's are in my closet - so I don't even follow my own advice on the matter.

The Elitist - formerly known as PDL

[George Lama]

When talking about CD/DVD burn speed, another important factor is the computer. An old P4 1 GHz will take longer to burn CD/DVD than a newer Dual Core or Quad Core processor based box.

I could do backups to DVD, but I just don't have the time nor the inclination to burn 2-3 DVDs after one shoot, at 20-some minutes each. What I would love to do is backup to tape - but I can't afford an ArcVault setup with a few dozen TB of backup space, lol.

So instead I backup to two external drives, plus an internal drive for current projects. I'm supposed to take one drive off-site, but since that sucker is almost full, I'm waiting to buy a couple more drives... never ends :ugh:

I'm exploring Blue-Ray DVD burning. NewEgg has the burners for $600 (ouch) and the media for $12 each (double-ouch) As expensive as that is, the media holds 25 GB on one DVD and specs are about 45 min - 1 HR for one full media! I can burn one full, completed project per media, let the sucker burn overnight, then store at the bank. Choices choices!

PDL, I remember MFM and RLL drives (5 Megs baby, 5 Megs!), and I also remember buying MFM drives and throwing them on RLL controllers just to gain about 50% storage, LOL.

[Parallax]

I store mine on external hard drives (drives. The key here is redundant redundancy.) Everything I have exists on at least three drives, one of which is at a different location.

[Wheatfield]

Just a general question.....not sure where to post it...figured general would be the best place to post!!

I'm sitting here, burning my photo's to CD, and it's taking a longggggggg time. A real longggggggggg time.

I smartened up a bit....and now I'm saving them to a USB drive.....still a little bit tedious, but it's faster than burning.

So...how do you people save your photos? If you burn them, is there a step I'm missing? Do you buy "special" cds???

Stephanie

I gave up on optical storage about the same time I bought my K10. Too many discs, not enough organization.
I built a computer last year with a built in RAID 1, and then this year I added a Drobo. This gives me enough redundancy. I don't worry about offsite storage, I'm not fooling myself into thinking my pictures are worth that much effort.

[innershell]

CD/DVD have a 5 year or less shelf life. They degrade over time. I would NOT consider using CD or DVD and find a different alternative altogether.

[Fl_Gulfer]

If you can get them to last till December 21, 2012 thats about all you'll need, since the world is going to end on that day anyway. lol


Good Luck
Jack

[Venturi]

If you can get them to last till December 21, 2012 thats about all you'll need, since the world is going to end on that day anyway. lol

The Illuminati will have come long before then to whisk us all away by then and they've got much better data storage tech.

Seriously though, I've been casually shopping around for a NAS type solution for photos and other important data as well. I like the "toaster" type boxes but the ones I have looked at tend to be pricey and proprietary. Building a full blown file server seems like overkill too.

[rfortson]

Hard drives are dirt cheap. I just keep my shots on a couple of different drives. I've got them on three different drives right now (original, plus 2 copies). When I fill that up, I'll probably spend the $75 or so that the 2 TB drive will cost then and start filling it up.

I never got around to copying to CDs/DVDs and with hard drives so cheap now, I'm glad I didn't.

[rfortson]

If you can get them to last till December 21, 2012 thats about all you'll need, since the world is going to end on that day anyway. lol

Skynet will become operational before then, so we'll all be running from the Kill-bots.

I welcome our robot overlords, BTW.

[George Lama]

Quality DVD/CD media can last dozens of years. Archival quality media can last 100 years, of course under ideal conditions (temperature, light, humidity, etc). The key is to not purchase generic brands where there's no quality control guarantee.

Venturi, building a file server is not overkill at all. Not if you have an old but usable computer around the house. NAS boxes and other network attached storage are typically nothing more than embedded linux on a board with the equivalent of a Pentium 3 processor. You can build your own if you're so inclined, or buy a Windows Home server setup and ready to go out of the box.

Resistance is futile... just send over 7 of 9.

[KA5TXL]

Skynet will become operational before then, so we'll all be running from the Kill-bots.

I welcome our robot overlords, BTW.

Russ, send some of that rain from Edwourd up I-45 to Dallas tomorrow

[KA5TXL]

Quality DVD/CD media can last dozens of years. Archival quality media can last 100 years, of course under ideal conditions (temperature, light, humidity, etc).

Let's see we had cd's and dvd's for what 15 to 20 years? So on what basis can someone legitimatley state that Archival quality media can last 100 years

[Wheatfield]

Let's see we had cd's and dvd's for what 15 to 20 years? So on what basis can someone legitimatley state that Archival quality media can last 100 years

Ah yes, the Wilhelm conundrum. But, it's partly why I've gone to hard drives. If the storage is gonna fail anyway, and I really can't predict when, I may as well use one that has a size to storage ratio that allows me to keep multiple redundant copies.

[Venturi]

Venturi, building a file server is not overkill at all. Not if you have an old but usable computer around the house. NAS boxes and other network attached storage are typically nothing more than embedded linux on a board with the equivalent of a Pentium 3 processor. You can build your own if you're so inclined, or buy a Windows Home server setup and ready to go out of the box.

A simple drive enclosure with 4 slots, gigabit NIC, a SATA or SCSI controller and embedded Linux would be perfect. Small footprint and built for one purpose. - you know, like a Dell MD1000... okay mebbe not.
Something like the D-Link DNS-343 would be about perfect really, but $400 is a bit much for an empty box, and I need it to be compatible with both Winbloze and Linux.

I'd have to build a box to make a file server as I don't tend to keep old puters and parts around much anymore. I used to but they were crowding me out of my home so I quit that aspect of being a packat.

[devisor]

I have them on a own disk in my computer.. but backed up on a network disk.. You newer know .