bwcolor
Veteran
I've taken hard knocks in my office when my staff member tried to conceal her destruction of lots of data by trying to recover files, but she overwrote multiple backups with corrupted data. At home, I lost all of my kids photos/videos from birth to four years old when I was transitioning to a new backup scheme. I intentionally destroyed my backup drive data while configuring it for the new software. My computers hard drive completely died. No way.. bad timing. Luckily, I was able to piece together everything, but it took me months.
Ubuntu Linux servers are inexpensive to put together. I'm no expert, but redundant commercial drives, gigabit networking and little Atom 330 processor/motherboards give me great backup solutions. I get 80GB/sec local transfer rates and solid service. My office server backs up to my home server and the reverse is also true. All of my home computers backup to local drives, home server and business server. Each computer uses three separate programs and backsup to three destinations. Maybe overkill, but then again, I seem to like destroying my own data.
Don't trust one backup program to one destination.
Ubuntu Linux servers are inexpensive to put together. I'm no expert, but redundant commercial drives, gigabit networking and little Atom 330 processor/motherboards give me great backup solutions. I get 80GB/sec local transfer rates and solid service. My office server backs up to my home server and the reverse is also true. All of my home computers backup to local drives, home server and business server. Each computer uses three separate programs and backsup to three destinations. Maybe overkill, but then again, I seem to like destroying my own data.
Don't trust one backup program to one destination.
Al Kaplan
Veteran
Lately I've been posting photos on my blog from the 1950's through the 1970's, and because it's just plain easier, I've been posting off of my "back up data". Yup, I've been scanning from the contact sheets rather than the negatives. http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com
No, don't tell me that I should get everything, all my negatives and slides, scanned. I probably won't live long enough to finish the job and still leave time for other pursuits.
No, don't tell me that I should get everything, all my negatives and slides, scanned. I probably won't live long enough to finish the job and still leave time for other pursuits.
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Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I have offsite copies off all my external hard drives that i archive my finished work on.
majid
Fazal Majid
Same here. I documented my backup strategy here. I use a Shuttle KPC running Solaris and rsync over a 20Mbps Internet connection. I have 4 different copies for my photos, so I guess I am even more paranoid than you.
pesphoto
Veteran
my negs are safely tucked away in their binders
ZeissFan
Veteran
I don't consider anything in a digital form to be permanent. It won't be today, tomorrow or next month or even next year, but that data will one day be lost.
My photos aren't so great that they require a safe deposit box.
Plus, I'll be dead one day, and you can't worry about it when you're dead.
My photos aren't so great that they require a safe deposit box.
Plus, I'll be dead one day, and you can't worry about it when you're dead.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
There is also a big no-man's-land between caution (backups on external drives) and paranoia.
Cheers,
R.
Cheers,
R.
degruyl
Just this guy, you know?
My backup strategy:
1. Local copy to external disk
2. Local copy to another local computer
3. Remote backup through [offsite backup provider].
4. Locally stored negatives.
What this does not provide is a archival record. In other words, if I screw up a file, or it gets corrupted, I can't fall back to a previous version. This scheme is only for "catastrophic failure"
On the other hand, a time machine disk might come in handy, but would have to be huge. MF scanned images are huge, and photoshop makes them several times bigger if I use smart objects. That is something I live with.
Am I worried about something after I am dead? Not in the least.
1. Local copy to external disk
2. Local copy to another local computer
3. Remote backup through [offsite backup provider].
4. Locally stored negatives.
What this does not provide is a archival record. In other words, if I screw up a file, or it gets corrupted, I can't fall back to a previous version. This scheme is only for "catastrophic failure"
On the other hand, a time machine disk might come in handy, but would have to be huge. MF scanned images are huge, and photoshop makes them several times bigger if I use smart objects. That is something I live with.
Am I worried about something after I am dead? Not in the least.
peter_n
Veteran
I use backup software called Retrospect that backs up a number of machines across my LAN to a tape drive. I use a rotating tape system with some stored on-site, some off-site. In the 8 years I've used this system I've needed it once, I had a development server get corrupted and I had to completely rebuild it. The OS rebuild was no problem but restoring the data & dev files back from the tape was a nice experience. 
It's an old-fashioned system but it works.
It's an old-fashioned system but it works.
degruyl
Just this guy, you know?
Tape systems work great, but are only useful if you have the fortitude to keep up with them. In other words: you have to change the tapes, and take the offsite copies somewhere else, etc.
They are faster than wire based offsite backups, though.
They are faster than wire based offsite backups, though.
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
At home I have a copy of my stuff on a network attached storage unit and I'm backing that up to an LTO-2 tape drive.
200 GB on a relatively rugged, low-priced tape that lasts thirty or so years and is omnipresent enough in datacenters that there's reasonable hope of eventually finding someone with a reader seems enough for me at present.
200 GB on a relatively rugged, low-priced tape that lasts thirty or so years and is omnipresent enough in datacenters that there's reasonable hope of eventually finding someone with a reader seems enough for me at present.
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
Given that I have survived some five generations of dead tape drives, I don't believe in backups any more. If it is important, print it, or shoot film...
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
yanidel
Well-known
I upload all my pictures to Flickr. Full res JPG. No raw files but better than nothing in case everything goes into flame.
Al Kaplan
Veteran
There is no reason why a wife should need more than one pair of high heels and one pair of flats. Get a big box and get rid of all that clutter in the bedroom closet! Then you'll have plenty of room for negative storage. Offer to make digital pix of them before they go off to Goodwill. "Shoe back-up!"