Beecher's Handouts /
Computer / 4.3 - Backup!
You're regularly backing up your photographs—right?
If not—you're not alone.
We're often fickle when it comes to backing up our photographs.
Why?
1) It's boring.
2) It's a task that has no reward 99.99% of the time.
Backing up is a task that pays off only if the hard drive on our computer crashes, the computer is stolen or destroyed in a fire, or if it comes back from repair without the data.
"That won't happen to me," we say to ourselves.
So, we forget to backup our photographs as often as we should.
There's a better way.
But, first, the inconvenient way.
Many people still use discs to backup.
Discs are fine, except that they require more effort than the method below.
First, something has to prompt you to do a backup.
Many people don't have an automatic tickler to remind them to do a backup.
Second, you've got to purchase discs, get them out of their case, put them into the computer, label them, and put them away.
Because of the effort required, photographs that should be backed up are less likely to be backed up.
If you're using an external hard drive, skip ahead.
If You Use Discs
Use the highest quality discs for backup.
Make two copies of each disc.
Check to make sure the files were properly copied, especially if you're going to delete the files from a memory card or hard drive.
Check the thumbnails, and open some of the files to make sure your photographs are there.
Store discs in a cool, dry, and dark location.
If possible, store discs in two locations, to protect from loss due to fire, burglary, or another calamity.
More Information about Discs
Go to CD & DVD Care.
Now, let's look at an easier way to backup.
External Hard Drives
The optimum backup method is to use an external hard drive with software that automates backups.
Why?
1) External hard drives hold many photographs and are reasonably priced.
2) External hard drives require no physical activity.
An external hard drive is always ready-to-go.
This encourages us to do backups.
3) You can use software with external hard drives to largely automate backups.
If we take ourselves out of the process, more backups will be done.
4) Hard drive technology is more stable than disc technology.
You may have photographs on CDs and DVDs.
Soon, you'll be using Blu-ray or HD-DVD discs.
That's four formats.
Eventually, a new computer that you buy won't have the hardware and software needed to retrieve photographs from all of these formats.
As disc technology changes, you have to migrate your photographs from obsolete discs to new discs.
When external hard drive technology changes, you can simply transfer the contents of your old external hard drive to the new one.
5) Discs are not forever.
Yes, hard drives crash.
Discs fail, too.
The discs that we burn use dyes that fade, unlike manufactured discs, on which the data is pressed into foil instead.
Eventually the dyes used in discs will deteriorate.
You have to periodically migrate photographs from old discs to new discs.
How often?
Nobody knows.
When you buy a new external hard drive, it's easy to transfer the contents of your old one to the new one.
How Big?
What size external hard drive do you need?
First look for how much is on your internal hard drive.
Windows
Go to My Computer, and right click on your C: drive.
Click on Properties, and the Properties window will appear.
Note how many gigabytes (GB) have been used, and multiply by 5.
That's the size of the external hard drive that you need.
In the example below, 18 gigabytes have been used.
Rounded from 18 to 20, and multiplied by five, the size need is 100 GB.
The additional space allows for the storage of incremental backups.
Mac
Open a Finder window for your hard disk by clicking the hard disk icon in a Finder window, or clicking the hard disk icon on your desktop.
Select Get Info from the File menu (Command + i).
The amount of hard drive space used appears in the Info Window for your hard drive.
Note how many gigabytes (GB) have been used, and multiply by 5.
That's the size of the external hard drive that you need.
The additional space allows for the storage of incremental backups.
Which One?
A Few Brands
Maxtor Bought by Seagate
Plextor
Reviews
External Hard Drives (01/06)
Keep a Backup Offsite
If there's a fire, burglary, or another calamity, the external hard drive sitting next to your computer may be gone or useless.
You may want to use two external hard drives, with one kept offsite.
Or, use a single external hard drive and online storage such as those listed here.
Third Backup
You may want to backup three times.
If you backup your computer hard drive, to an external hard drive, a virus could also go along for the ride.
Your backup could be corrupted, leaving you with nothing.
Therefore, consider doing three backups, with the third done less often, so that problems can be identified.
Included with the Hard Drive
Many external hard drives include backup software.
If the external hard drive you purchase doesn't include backup software, have a look at the following software.
There are two types of backup software.
Files Only
Most backup programs make a copy of your files.
They don't back up Windows and all of your programs.
Here are some examples.
Windows
SecondCopy (highly recommended by a student)
SyncBackSE (see their tutorial, The Backup Guide)
Windows XP Home Edition Backup
Mac
When your hard drive fails, your files will be intact on the external hard drive.
However, you'll have the onerous task of reinstalling Windows and every program.
Windows, Programs, & Files
A few backup programs copy Windows, including the registry files, and your programs, as well as your files.
These programs mirror your hard drive.
When your hard drive crashes, you can restore it quickly.
Here are some examples.
If you don't do backups, write down the phone numbers of the recovery services, such as these examples.
You'll need their phone numbers, because you won't be able to access their websites from your computer.
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