What's better works for backup HDD or CF/SD cards

joeblack2022 wrote in post #15461231
Only an archivist, and I have it on good authority that they spend a lot of time migrating data onto newer formats before the existing ones disappear.

And, they also spend a lot of worry-time (at least) with the issue of file format. For example, while RAW files may contain all of your original data, they depend on software to read them, and that software is generally manufacturer/vendor-specific, and changes fairly rapidly over time with new camera models, etc. For this reason, TIFF, PNG, or even JPEG may be a better archival format choice for photos.

I have photos on my computer, backup on a 1tb has, and I upload full sized processed jpgs to my smugmug account which has unlimited storage....

I used to have a 1tb web space account that was about $80 a year... upload was slow but it was affordable online storage that was backed up....

My photos are only important to me... as a large majority is family photos... if I lose the raw files it would suck, but at least I have the JPEG...

My (poorly executed) plan is to rotate USB hard drives from my office, which is 20 miles from my house and on the 4th floor. What actually happens most of the time is all 3 copies of my photos sit within 2 feet of each other.

tkbslc wrote in post #15462800
My (poorly executed) plan is to rotate USB hard drives from my office, which is 20 miles from my house and on the 4th floor. What actually happens most of the time is all 3 copies of my photos sit within 2 feet of each other.

We all start out with the best of intentions, then the rest of our lives gets in the way of rotating backups. That's why I do an online backup too. It might not be perfect, but it gets done.

tkbslc wrote in post #15462800
My (poorly executed) plan is to rotate USB hard drives from my office, which is 20 miles from my house and on the 4th floor. What actually happens most of the time is all 3 copies of my photos sit within 2 feet of each other.

I completely understand, which is one of the reasons I use CrashPlan... I know I am just not disciplined enough to implement a do-it-myself off-site backup plan.

BTW, if your office has a computer connected to the internet, you can use the CrashPlan application to do your own off-site "cloud", and it is free. Connect your off-site USB drive to your office computer, install CrashPlan on both your home and office computers, and direct your home computer to backup with your office computer as the destination. Whenever both computers are on and connected to the internet, the backup will happen automatically, and this mode of using CrashPlan requires no subscriptions. It is completely free.

RTPVid wrote in post #15462848
BTW, if your office has a computer connected to the internet, you can use the CrashPlan application to do your own off-site "cloud", and it is free. Connect your off-site USB drive to your office computer, install CrashPlan on both your home and office computers, and direct your home computer to backup with your office computer as the destination. Whenever both computers are on and connected to the internet, the backup will happen automatically, and this mode of using CrashPlan requires no subscriptions. It is completely free.

The only problem I see here is bandwidth. Your IT folks may have a problem with you using bandwidth for this purpose.


Is anyone using Flickr as a backup solution? Like most I am using an external hard drive but definitely want something online.

See if these guys need some beta testers:

http://www.scientifica​merican.com …ht-last-300-million-years

Otherwise CrashPlan is great. It just might take a month or so to get everything uploaded initially.

patrick023 wrote in post #15463792
See if these guys need some beta testers:

http://www.scientifica​merican.com …ht-last-300-million-years

...

From the linked article:

Which of these does not belong?

I gather the author is not a technical expert!

HaroldC3 wrote in post #15463788
The only problem I see here is bandwidth. Your IT folks may have a problem with you using bandwidth for this purpose.
.

I work in IT, and yes, we don't like personal data on our network/shares or employees hosting their own backup servers by opening up connections via the web.

I need long term storage. I have 3 backups and this is not an issue, I just need something what can safe my data for long period of time let say 10 years if not 20. My question is: HDD or CF/SD or maybe other option ?

I see excellent answer about CF/SD and their "shelf life" 10 year about... what about HDD and other options..

Just use hard drives. Every 5-10 years, re install your 'archived or old one' and move the contents to a 'newer' drive that is currently on the market. Rinse and repeat. Not a big deal really.

That's what I'm talking about straight clear answer ! thx

Sure no problem. I think people over think data, storage and backups. The only real issue comes into play when technology advances and you dont have up to date ways to retrieve old technology.

But again, its fairly simple. Heck, every year you can just add a new external or internal hd and pull your old one to archive. Whether that is off site or by another means. Then just add a new one and off you go.

npompei wrote in post #15465193
Just use hard drives. Every 5-10 years, re install your 'archived or old one' and move the contents to a 'newer' drive that is currently on the market. Rinse and repeat. Not a big deal really.

after 5-10 years of just sitting, many drives would never start up again. I agree with your logic, but I'd do at worst annual refresh to make sure the drive is still working and data is there. And just to keep the bearings from seizing up.

my backup system is leaning more on immediate than long-term backup...
come home from wedding, cards get backed up to laptop... cards set aside and not reused until wedding is delivered... new laptop images get backed-up to RAID box....
so before I start editing, I have 3 copies of the wedding... once wedding is edited and delivered, I'm down to a copy on the RAID box...
Once a year and/or whenever I remember and feel like it, I copy all the current year (or as far back as the last time) on a new drive and get that dropped off at my mom's place, which is pretty far away) so eventually that wedding is now at 2 locations... but that 2nd location doesn't happen sometimes until a year later (or more... I think my last offsite was 14 months ago now)
uploading, and potentially recovering gigs to/from the cloud isn't feasible for me