It would be a good idea to get a second hard disk too. A 500GB external hard drive is cheap and it will be a very long time before you fill it. I keep two electronic copies (primary and secondary hard disk), and from time to time I make a DVD backup also of the best ones that I really want to keep.Best wishesMike..

I always have 3 copies of everything I do..

My photos (NEFs) get off loaded from the card onto a dedicated offload files on my D drive the renamed and copied onto dedicated offload files on my C drive then I try not to reuse the card until I have done all my processing and discarding at which point the photos go to event specific folders on the C drive and get backed up to my external USB drive. I then upload copies to Zenfolio..

Only when I have done all that do I empty my C & D drive dedicated download files and format the cards..

I never use CD or DVD..

Chris Elliott.

*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.

Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..

I never use CD or DVD..

May I ask why? Have you had problems with them? I haven't... yet...Best wishes.

Mike..

Whatever strategy you pick, just make sure it includes an offsite copy too. If your house burns down, it won't make a difference if you have 2 copies or 10 copies they'll all be gone..

Patrick Steele..

Quality prints from a good lab will last 100 years .

My first line of backup is an external HDD. It's quick and easy - very important because it means you're more likely to actually make a backup  and dirt cheap these days..

Second line - I periodically back up the lot (except for offline photos - see below) to DVD..

I'm not that worried about the expected life of a CD or DVD - reality is that I'm going to have to copy all the photos to some new medium within the next 5 years or so (remember floppy disks?) so I figure a projected life of 30 years for a DVD is pretty much irrelevant..

Finally, to ease the chore of backups I make use of offline storage - that is, I permanently migrate some photos to DVD to take them off my hard disk(s) and out of the backup cycle altogether. Usually I select photos that I am unlikely to want to access frequently and/or I am less concerned about losing - e.g. event photos where I have already given copies to other people..

My overall objective with the offline thing is to keep total online file space under 16or so GB - that's 4x DVD backup. If I were a pro and had a lot more raw files that would be a ridiculously low limit but it works for me..

Image control:Zoom outZoom 100%Zoom inExpand AllOpen in new window..

I have a copy on my computer, and a copy on my husband's computer. He burns DVDs when we have 4.7gb of new stuff (and when he gets around to it). I also use mozy (http://mozy.com) which is a commercial online backup service (2 gb for free, $5/mth for unlimited). I wrote about my experiences here: http://nothingedifying.com/2007/07/15/bad-day/ if you feel like checking it out. Only now I've backed up for 90gb of stuff. I really believe in backup! ..

Mike703 wrote:.

I never use CD or DVD..

May I ask why? Have you had problems with them? I haven't... yet....

Mike,.

A number of reasons.

1. I have heard suggestions that CDs/DVDs cannot be relied on to last for more than 2 years after which the dyes begin to degrade.

2. I find that it suits me better to back up to my USB drive after each major shoot. - If I fail to do so then my D and C drive dedicated folders are stll full when I next download which reminds me to do it. (I keep the USB drive switched off 99% of the time as a bit of extra protection).

3. I find that remembering to do something periodically but with no regularity is not my strong point. Sods law I would have a failure when I had been meaning to back up for months!.

4. I would have to store the backup DVD somewhere away from home to give best protection..

5. Having worked with DSLRs since 1999 I have seen how easy it is to end up with clutter and large numbers of photos with no real merit so I try to be ruthless from the start. Everything decent goes onto Zenfolio within a few days (some in galleries and sub-galleries not for public view) and I regularly empty my Recycle Bin of those that hit the "Cutting Room Floor"..

6 As a sub-strand of 5 above I still have the clutter of CD copies (not to mention endless floppy disks of Word files etc etc) going back over 10 years that have moved house with me twice. I promise myself I will sort and bin most of them one day but I expect they will move house with me again!.

7. The cost of online storage is very cheap. I may look to back up to a 2nd online facility chosen for it's cheapness rather than it's presentational interface as further insurance. At least that would not have to move house with me!.

As an aside having had the wearing task of clearing the homes of several close relations upon their death in recent years I have found myself thinking what might happen to my photos on my death. It is all too easy to envisage your PC tower on the local tip or gathering dust in someone's loft (or worse still being given to someone who wipes the hard drive!). A stack of DVD might fare better but which ones are the most recent backups and will they get viewed before they degrade and/or they are unreadable because PC towers no longer support the standard?.

I though I might make provision in my will (or during my life) for continued online storage after my death..

Chris Elliott.

*Nikon* D Eighty + Fifty - Other equipment in Profile.

Http://PlacidoD.Zenfolio.com/..

The ultimate backup scheme has four levels of backups (on your computer, on the network, not in any computer, and not in the same building). Pros call these the Online, Nearline, Offline and Offsite backups..

* online - on your hard drive ready to edit and use.

* nearline - on an occasional external drive or a read-only backup on your computer* offline - backup media stored in a place you can reach immediately* offsite - backup media stored in a different building entirely.

As you can see, the media for each can be different. It also depends on the amount you have to back up. Large image libraries can be backed up by dedicating a whole hard drive to the data (or even more than one), and the whole hard drive can be removed and stored in the bank vault..

You should still make at least make two permanent CD-ROM or DVD-R backups of those files, and put one of those copies at a friend's house or a safety deposit box. If your house burns down, you'll be thankful for that offsite backup..

[ e d @ h a l l e yc c ] http://www.halley.cc/pix/..