Best way to preserve pics

.retired. · 05-04-2010, 03:52 PM

Hey All,
just want to hear what your opinions are for keeping pictures taken with a P&S or any other digital image.
i have tons of pics in my computer HD, also used to print them out at stores but haven't done that for atleast a year already.

so, should be keep having them printed or just store in the HD or store them in some other media?

it really worries me when i think that someday my computer will just go crazy and loose all the pics.

all ideas/recommendations welcome

TIA

PNF · 05-04-2010, 03:59 PM

buy more hard drives...

Pics are getting so big that i cant put them on DVDs.. there would be hundreds of them..

so I have 2 of 2TB HDs..for backup of photos. and a couple other older 250 and 500GB, both are for daily use, editing, what nots.

in the future, I'll just burn them on 50 GB BD discs, organize by months.

.retired. · 05-04-2010, 04:11 PM

^so basically i'll just get external HD to store photos only,
should be a good idea, since its only photos, it will have a lesser chance of me messing it up.

iBoost · 05-04-2010, 04:40 PM

^Exactly what I do

radiantm3 · 05-04-2010, 07:58 PM

Backing up to hard drives isn't really enough depending on how important your data is. You should be backing up online as well. What happens if someone steals your HD's or there's a fire? There's a lot of cheap online backup services available these days. Checkout something like http://www.backblaze.com/

I'm surprised that so many people don't backup their computer data these days.

PNF · 05-05-2010, 09:40 AM

I was going to say online backup, but based on past experience, not worth it.

I think Data backup is important, but not ALL data are needed to back up 3 times IMO.

i back up the most important ones in both extra 1 TB, and many I just back up in 1 of them.

Online is good, but you pay quite a bit of money, depending on the size of your storage and the credibility of that site.. i can just buy a $150 1 TB HD and use it forever.

Mind you, barring any fire/stolen/what nots, these HD would last YEARS and YEARS, even with constant usage. These HD are strictly backup, so I dont use them a lot and I only backup once a couple weeks or so, depending on how much i have to backup at the time.

Going forward, when the Blu Ray discs drop even further in price, I'll probably backup the most important memories in those 50 GB discs and the rest just in HD.

- Paul - · 05-05-2010, 02:12 PM

Backup to at least two other hard disks and keep one out of your home (or wherever the photos are normally kept)

If you're a pro on flickr - you can also dump them all on that. Might take a while though!..

radiantm3 · 05-05-2010, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PNF

I was going to say online backup, but based on past experience, not worth it.

I think Data backup is important, but not ALL data are needed to back up 3 times IMO.

i back up the most important ones in both extra 1 TB, and many I just back up in 1 of them.

Online is good, but you pay quite a bit of money, depending on the size of your storage and the credibility of that site.. i can just buy a $150 1 TB HD and use it forever.

Mind you, barring any fire/stolen/what nots, these HD would last YEARS and YEARS, even with constant usage. These HD are strictly backup, so I dont use them a lot and I only backup once a couple weeks or so, depending on how much i have to backup at the time.

Going forward, when the Blu Ray discs drop even further in price, I'll probably backup the most important memories in those 50 GB discs and the rest just in HD.

Yea backing up everything multiple times is definitely not necessary. I have 1 backup of my whole system and 3 backups of my work. The bottom line is, if it's important it should be backed up.

While HD's could potentially last years, they can fail for no apparent reason at all. I've had brand new drives fail in 6 months while others last many years. Doesn't matter which brand either.

ichiban · 05-05-2010, 09:06 PM

RAID 1. Plus online back up for the important stuff.

TL · 05-05-2010, 11:55 PM

I backup my stuff onto DVDs and an external hard drive

Chewy734 · 05-15-2010, 10:46 PM

I agree with others... RAID 1 if you have less than 2 tb of photos you want to back up. Otherwise RAID 5 or 6 if you need a more space.

If you want something with a longer shelf life that holds a lot of data (relative to cds/dvds), then get an internal blu-ray burner and some dual-layer BD media which holds up to ~50 gb per disc.

05-04-2010, 03:52 PM	#1
.retired. Captain 75 Rep 934 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Dallas Ft. Worth iTrader: (1)	Best way to preserve pics Hey All, just want to hear what your opinions are for keeping pictures taken with a P&S or any other digital image. i have tons of pics in my computer HD, also used to print them out at stores but haven't done that for atleast a year already. so, should be keep having them printed or just store in the HD or store them in some other media? it really worries me when i think that someday my computer will just go crazy and loose all the pics. all ideas/recommendations welcome TIA
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05-04-2010, 03:59 PM	#2
PNF Colonel 175 Rep 2,355 Posts Drives: 15' YMB F80 M3 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Wayne, PA / Taipei iTrader: (4)	buy more hard drives... Pics are getting so big that i cant put them on DVDs.. there would be hundreds of them.. so I have 2 of 2TB HDs..for backup of photos. and a couple other older 250 and 500GB, both are for daily use, editing, what nots. in the future, I'll just burn them on 50 GB BD discs, organize by months. __________________ 2015 F80 Fully loaded (minus the CCB) YMB M3 / Individual Amaro Brown BBS \| KW \| Vorsteiner \| IND \| Akrapovic \| BMW CF Performance Interior \| Brembo \| Eibach 2008 E92 335i (sold)
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05-04-2010, 04:11 PM	#3
.retired. Captain 75 Rep 934 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Dallas Ft. Worth iTrader: (1)	^so basically i'll just get external HD to store photos only, should be a good idea, since its only photos, it will have a lesser chance of me messing it up.
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05-04-2010, 04:40 PM	#4
iBoost Retired e90post Member 135 Rep 3,038 Posts Drives: real slow Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Las Vegas iTrader: (13)	^Exactly what I do
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05-04-2010, 07:58 PM	#5
radiantm3 Apex Everything! 1006 Rep 4,378 Posts Drives: 2007 Honda S2000, 2017 GT350 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Cedar Park, TX iTrader: (6) Garage List 2011 E92 M3 [9.35] 2014 BMW i3 [10.00]	Backing up to hard drives isn't really enough depending on how important your data is. You should be backing up online as well. What happens if someone steals your HD's or there's a fire? There's a lot of cheap online backup services available these days. Checkout something like http://www.backblaze.com/ I'm surprised that so many people don't backup their computer data these days. __________________ 2011 E92 M3(Sold). 2007 Honda S2000 (Track Car). 2016 Cayman GT4 (Sold). 2017 Shelby GT350 (AKA Crowd Killer). My pet project: https://stickershift.com
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05-05-2010, 09:40 AM	#6
PNF Colonel 175 Rep 2,355 Posts Drives: 15' YMB F80 M3 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Wayne, PA / Taipei iTrader: (4)	I was going to say online backup, but based on past experience, not worth it. I think Data backup is important, but not ALL data are needed to back up 3 times IMO. i back up the most important ones in both extra 1 TB, and many I just back up in 1 of them. Online is good, but you pay quite a bit of money, depending on the size of your storage and the credibility of that site.. i can just buy a $150 1 TB HD and use it forever. Mind you, barring any fire/stolen/what nots, these HD would last YEARS and YEARS, even with constant usage. These HD are strictly backup, so I dont use them a lot and I only backup once a couple weeks or so, depending on how much i have to backup at the time. Going forward, when the Blu Ray discs drop even further in price, I'll probably backup the most important memories in those 50 GB discs and the rest just in HD. __________________ 2015 F80 Fully loaded (minus the CCB) YMB M3 / Individual Amaro Brown BBS \| KW \| Vorsteiner \| IND \| Akrapovic \| BMW CF Performance Interior \| Brembo \| Eibach 2008 E92 335i (sold)
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05-05-2010, 02:12 PM	#7
- Paul - Major General 752 Rep 7,308 Posts Drives: see above. Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Yorkshire, UK iTrader: (5) Garage List 2005 320D SE [10.00] 2005 645 [9.00]	Backup to at least two other hard disks and keep one out of your home (or wherever the photos are normally kept) If you're a pro on flickr - you can also dump them all on that. Might take a while though!.. __________________ My Photos
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05-05-2010, 09:06 PM	#9
ichiban Colonel 98 Rep 2,012 Posts Drives: 08 135i Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bay Area, CA iTrader: (2)	RAID 1. Plus online back up for the important stuff.
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05-05-2010, 11:55 PM	#10
TL Brigadier General 284 Rep 3,102 Posts Drives: Happy on H&R coil overs Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: The Hub iTrader: (3) Garage List 2008 335xi [1.00]	I backup my stuff onto DVDs and an external hard drive __________________ 2008 E92 335xi ------->Links to my Mods: H&R Street Performance Coil Overs \|\| 19" Alufelgen CS7 \|\| Interior Swap: Black to Coral Red My Website \|\| My Flickr \|\| My Tumblr \|\| My Twitter\|\| My Facebook\|\| My 500px
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05-15-2010, 10:46 PM	#11
Chewy734 Major General 490 Rep 6,798 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW 330i ZPP, ZSP Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: LA, CA iTrader: (15)	I agree with others... RAID 1 if you have less than 2 tb of photos you want to back up. Otherwise RAID 5 or 6 if you need a more space. If you want something with a longer shelf life that holds a lot of data (relative to cds/dvds), then get an internal blu-ray burner and some dual-layer BD media which holds up to ~50 gb per disc. __________________ Currently for sale: [19" Linea Corse LC818 wheel], [19" Fallen FK452 tire]
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