Author Topic: Backup methods  (Read 4150 times)

charlie

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Backup methods
« on: October 26, 2015, 23:24:09 »
My back up process is a mess.

My working library of photos are stored on internal hard drives and then I have external hard drives that I manually transfer files to so all of my NEF files are backed up shorlty after a shoot. Problem with this is when I edit a file some time later the TIFF/PSD files are not backed up unless I go back and find them to transfer them over or just transfer the whole folder over select 'do not overwrite duplicates'. This method is cumbersome and frustrating.

In the short term I'm looking for a software that can keep track of new files (the edited TIFF/PSD) and copy only those to my external hard drives. Any suggestions there?

Long term, there has got to be way than this. How do you do it?

I'm sure this topic has been beat to death but I haven't seen it here(?)

Bjørn Rørslett

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2015, 23:42:57 »
Lots of "sync" software available. The salient point is to ensure there are originals that never will be overwritten. And that they exist in independent locations.

pluton

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2015, 06:28:27 »
I am a small operator compared to the working professionals here.
Here's my very simple system.
 I export(output) "finished" files--JPEGs and TIFFs--to an existing or newly created folder on a certain hard drive, which we'll label #1 drive. 
Then I employ cloning software to copy the entire contents of that #1 drive onto clone drive #2.  Then, the #1 drive is itself cloned to a #3 clone drive.
The cloning software goes through the entire master drive, and actively copies only those files that have been added or changed.
As long as I maintain the #1 drive the way I want it, all of it's contents are smoothly copied/updated to the clone drives.
The cloning software can be set to always be running and to clone new data immediately onto the clone drives.  I do it manually, since I don't have very much to keep track of.
Tell me if this doesn't make sense...
Keith B., Santa Monica, CA, USA

charlie

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2015, 07:05:37 »
Makes perfect sense, What cloning software are you using?

Frank Fremerey

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2015, 09:06:18 »
I love and use Beyond Compare to mirror any internals to external twins

After a while I make another copy that goes to external storage.

Any deposit in External will be occupied by review and update.

After a longer while I buy bigger disks and copy historical drives to these.

The small 1TB and 2TBs are then reused for daily Backup.

PS. if you only have small amouts of Gigabytes you might consider storing TIFFs and PSDs in the cloud instead
of physical storage. I am a bit oldfashiond although I know media based backup is less safe than backup abstracted
from media.
You are out there. You and your camera. You can shoot or not shoot as you please. Discover the world, Your world. Show it to us. Or we might never see it.

Me: https://youpic.com/photographer/frankfremerey/

Jørgen Ramskov

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2015, 14:42:55 »
It's worth mentioning that sync/mirror and backup are different things. With sync, you usually don't have versioning, which means that if a file gets corrupted and then sync'ed, you'll simply end up with 2 corrupted files. Just earlier today, I helped a friend setup a proper backup of her documents. She was using Dropbox for "backup".

Before anyone can properly suggest an improved backup process, you need to tell us what OS and software you're using.
Jørgen Ramskov

Bjørn Rørslett

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2015, 14:56:03 »
That is why I strongly suggest the original version of any file never be overwritten. Store at least two copies of it. Then, any new versions with a version number or similar attached can be stored under a new name.

charlie

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2015, 16:54:46 »
Thank you for your responses.

That is why I strongly suggest the original version of any file never be overwritten. Store at least two copies of it. Then, any new versions with a version number or similar attached can be stored under a new name.

Agree'd, and that is similar to what I do now just in an unorganized fashion. NEF's get copied to a working drive and an external backup drive so there are multiple copies of the originals. I use Photoshop and Lightroom for editing so any Lightroom adjustments get stored in the Lightroom catalog which is set for weekly backup and also saved externally periodically. It's the photos that get exported from Lightroom to Photoshop and added to the folder of originals for further editing, TIFFs for example, that are slipping through the cracks. A recent hard drive failure brought this oversight to my attention. I had backups of the NEFs but not the edited TIFFs. So I am looking for a streamlined way to keep the TIFFs backed up as well. 


It's worth mentioning that sync/mirror and backup are different things. With sync, you usually don't have versioning, which means that if a file gets corrupted and then sync'ed, you'll simply end up with 2 corrupted files. Just earlier today, I helped a friend setup a proper backup of her documents. She was using Dropbox for "backup".

Before anyone can properly suggest an improved backup process, you need to tell us what OS and software you're using.

Of course, my fault. OS is Windows 10, photo editing software as mentioned above is Lightroom & Photoshop. So what might be a good solution to avoiding syncing potential corrupted files?

I love and use Beyond Compare to mirror any internals to external twins

PS. if you only have small amouts of Gigabytes you might consider storing TIFFs and PSDs in the cloud instead
of physical storage.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check into Beyond Compare. I have larger amounts of gigabytes so cloud storage is not practical though I do plan to put a smaller collection of 'portfolio' level files there as well.

Frank Fremerey

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2015, 17:13:38 »
It is absolutely correct: You have to be sure the files you sync are not corrupted.

I have another Superbackup that features all of my NEFs

In twelve years of digital photography the only source of corruption I did encounter though was in camera corruption through trouble with SD- and CF-Cards and Corruption trough dysfunctional Card-Readers.

When the files were on disk everything went smooth...
You are out there. You and your camera. You can shoot or not shoot as you please. Discover the world, Your world. Show it to us. Or we might never see it.

Me: https://youpic.com/photographer/frankfremerey/

pluton

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2015, 18:44:08 »
Makes perfect sense, What cloning software are you using?
Carbon Copy Cloner...but it's Mac only.
Keith B., Santa Monica, CA, USA

Bjørn Rørslett

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2015, 18:52:37 »
Have big enough disk drives and bit corruption of a single file is more than likely. I encounter the problem a few times now and then, but so far, always saved the day by having good extra copies elsewhere on the network.

Jørgen Ramskov

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Re: Backup methods
« Reply #11 on: October 28, 2015, 20:59:29 »
Of course, my fault. OS is Windows 10, photo editing software as mentioned above is Lightroom & Photoshop. So what might be a good solution to avoiding syncing potential corrupted files?
The key is to have a proper backup. As all the files goes through your Windows 10 machine, one option could be to use the built in backup feature in Windows 10 to backup regularly to a NAS.
Jørgen Ramskov