Recommendations for back-up hard drive

tony0778

What to you folks use/recommend for a back-up hard drive? I use PSE7 and have a 500gb hard drive. Also, do any of you use on-line backup applications such as photoshop.com, etc.? Sorry for so many questions but I want to spend my money wisely.

Pupator

tony0778 wrote:

What to you folks use/recommend for a back-up hard drive? I use PSE7 and have a 500gb hard drive. Also, do any of you use on-line backup applications such as photoshop.com, etc.? Sorry for so many questions but I want to spend my money wisely.

Tony,

A local, external, hard drive for backups is a good idea. Western Digital, Maxtor, and Segate are the main brands. You'll also find Hitachi, Iomega, and Samsung around. People's opinions on which drive is best will be based on their own experience. I don't use Maxtor anymore because I've had two crash. Other people swear by them.

A 500GB external hard drive is about $70-80 these days and you can find 1TB drives for $100.

In addition to that, you need an off-site backup. Sites like Mozy, Carbonite, or (my favorite) SugarSync offer backup space for a reasonable price. Smugmug also offers SmugVault for backing up for your photos.

Any of these are a good option you just need to look and see what features you need and what price you're willing to spend.

chrismoore

I use the Drobo at home with Seagate and WD internal drives- a little expensive but it makes redundant copies so if one drive fails all your photos are still intact. For offsite I use Mozy, which is basically my disaster plan that I hope to never have to use for recovery. It is only $4.95 a month for unlimited and I have about 700GB backed up with them. SmugVault (or Amazon S3) would be ridiculously expensive for that amount of data, though the interface is probably better.

ziggy53

I moved this to the Digital Darkroom, which is where we discuss computers and hard drives, etc.

I use an external SATA HD driven by a USB2-SATA cable converter to backup critical files. This is mostly RAW and original files as well as the finished deliverables. I often trash the intermediate files for event projects, but for "artsy" stuff that get's backed up too. The drive and controller transfer quickly enough for DV video projects as well.

I use a simple fan to keep the drive cool.

A DVD writer is also used for the critical files and for the deliverables.

Art Scott

I currently use a multi hard drive system to back up.
4 drives total, 1 interior mount drive + 3 exterior exact clone copies of "D" Drive......

I am looking at Mozy as an option due to price it looks real good.......I am waiting on a reply from Mozy concerning the storeage of RAW FILES.......if I can store them there then I will sign up with them......as mentioned above....Amazon and SmugVault is just way too expensive.

Newsy

I use the Vantec NexStar USB/eSATA hard drive dock but there are several versions out.

http://www.vantecusa.com/demo/front/product/pro_list/70

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Products.aspx?C=1346

I strongly suggest you try to use eSATA for connectivity even if it means adding an eSATA PCI card to your PC. The gain in speed (versus USB) will more than make up for the extra cost when you do something like a drive image or duplicate a smaller drive onto a larger drive when your storage needs expand.

Btw... I expect USB3.0 versions of these will be introduced in the new year.


There's a lot of different software out there to facilitate back ups. You should probably be considering:

1) a program that makes a drive image; i.e. Norton Ghost, Acronis TrueImage, Macrium Reflect

2) a program to mirror/duplicate internal drive folders/files onto the external in a readable windows/mac format rather than a compressed and encrypted proprietary format; i.e. Beyond Compare, SyncBackSE

I'm not a big believer in online backup sites. My key photos are already on SmugMug. Use the money towards an extra drive so you can keep a copy of your files in a safe deposit box at your bank if you have one or a drawer at work, relatives house, etc.

.

Art Scott

Newsy wrote:

I use the Vantec NexStar USB/eSATA hard drive dock but there are several versions out.

http://www.vantecusa.com/demo/front/product/pro_list/70

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Products.aspx?C=1346

I strongly suggest you try to use eSATA for connectivity even if it means adding an eSATA PCI card to your PC. The gain in speed (versus USB) will more than make up for the extra cost when you do something like a drive image or duplicate a smaller drive onto a larger drive when your storage needs expand.

Btw... I expect USB3.0 versions of these will be introduced in the new year.


There's a lot of different software out there to facilitate back ups. You should probably be considering:

1) a program that makes a drive image; i.e. Norton Ghost, Acronis TrueImage, Macrium Reflect

2) a program to mirror/duplicate internal drive folders/files onto the external in a readable windows/mac format rather than a compressed and encrypted proprietary format; i.e. Beyond Compare, SyncBackSE

I'm not a big believer in online backup sites. My key photos are already on SmugMug. Use the money towards an extra drive so you can keep a copy of your files in a safe deposit box at your bank if you have one or a drawer at work, relatives house, etc.

.

Oh crap....I forgot to stress that I wasn't using EXTERNAL drives per se.....I have a themaltake Black Widow Sata to USB2/esata dock and I am going to get a DUAL Vantec Dock so I can move files a lot faster. Internal drives take up less room for storage than externals.......

I do not use any back up soft ware......my way is a bit slower but I know everything can be used on computer in the future.....a back up software usually means having to make sure you always have a version of the software loaded to be able to access your back ups, that is why I do simple drag and drops of all my "new files" to the back up drives................

I have a 10" fan that blows across all my "external" drives to keep everything cool................

chrismoore

Art Scott wrote:

I currently use a multi hard drive system to back up.
4 drives total, 1 interior mount drive + 3 exterior exact clone copies of "D" Drive......

I am looking at Mozy as an option due to price it looks real good.......I am waiting on a reply from Mozy concerning the storeage of RAW FILES.......if I can store them there then I will sign up with them......as mentioned above....Amazon and SmugVault is just way too expensive.

Mozy stores RAW no problem.

Art Scott

chrismoore wrote:

Mozy stores RAW no problem.

Way cool THANXthumbbow

tony0778

Thanks for the help!
I am "blown away" by the support available on this site! This thread provided more insight that I could have possible received at any computer/electronic store.

I really appreciate your help!

Pupator

Art - you might also want to consider SyncBack. There's a free version that works really well and a paid version with some extra features. I used the free version for years but moved up to the paid version because I like the app so much.

It avoids exactly the kind of problem you describe. All the software does is copy the files and folders you specify from one place to another. No special software is required to recover the data. I have mine set to do this automatically every day at noon: It checks to see if there were any changes on my (data) drive and copies everything new or changed to my external (Thermaltake docked) hard drive. Every few days I swap out the drive in the Thermaltake for double protection.

Then I also use SugarSync and/or Mozy.

chrismoore

I do the same... I use Chronosync (for Mac), every morning at 9 it looks to see if any changes and then copies them to the Drobo volume, which itself makes redundant copies.
The weakest part of Mozy is their recovery system. Of course I hope never to have to use it, but I have done a couple of "test" recoveries to make sure it worked. The UI is not great and it is oh so slow. Unlike Amazon and SmugVault you do not get charged for bandwith during the upload or recovery process.

bike21

Anyone ever consider something like this?

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/Stora.aspx

Seems like you could pop two very large HDs in there and have access from anywhere since it can be networked. Then use externals to make mirrors of those primary backups to store off site perhaps.

I am working on refining my backup scheme which at the moment consists of a couple 'standard' externals.

...

On a separate note, anyone want to share their structure for backing up? In other words organization? I currently use...

year - category (wedding, event, travel) - description

I probably need to think 'bigger' for expansion down the road for growth. I have been using LR2 as of late and making sure I am keywording like crazy.

chrismoore

bike21 wrote:

Anyone ever consider something like this?

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Storage/Stora.aspx

Seems like you could pop two very large HDs in there and have access from anywhere since it can be networked. Then use externals to make mirrors of those primary backups to store off site perhaps.

I am working on refining my backup scheme which at the moment consists of a couple 'standard' externals.

I use Drobo, which is essentially the same thing. You do have to purchase an additional adapter to use Drobo as a networked volume and access it from the internet. I rarely have the need to do that, as file transfers over the web are extremely slow. I popped in 3 x 1TB WD drives and Drobo automatically makes redundant copies so if one drive fails, you just replace it and no data is lost.

On a separate note, anyone want to share their structure for backing up? In other words organization? I currently use...

year - category (wedding, event, travel) - description

I probably need to think 'bigger' for expansion down the road for growth. I have been using LR2 as of late and making sure I am keywording like crazy.

I use LR for editing but don't keep photos organized on it like most people. When I'm done editing I export it as a tiff. I can still search my drive for photos using keywords. Organization probably depends on what genre you photograph. Since most of my stuff is landscape, I have it organized by location. For example, North America-->United States-->Florida-->Jacksonville-->2009

bike21

chrismoore wrote:

I use Drobo, which is essentially the same thing. You do have to purchase an additional adapter to use Drobo as a networked volume and access it from the internet. I rarely have the need to do that, as file transfers over the web are extremely slow. I popped in 3 x 1TB WD drives and Drobo automatically makes redundant copies so if one drive fails, you just replace it and no data is lost.

Cool, I will look into Drobo as a possibility as well. The networked option appeals to me since I am on the road most of the time and when I get the idea for a new edit or need some old files that would be stellar. Can't carry my externals with me unfortunately.

I use LR for editing but don't keep photos organized on it like most people. When I'm done editing I export it as a tiff. I can still search my drive for photos using keywords. Organization probably depends on what genre you photograph. Since most of my stuff is landscape, I have it organized by location. For example, North America-->United States-->Florida-->Jacksonville-->2009

Do you keep your TIFFs along with your RAW files as well? Also do you delete your projects from the LR2 catalog? Sorry to bombard you with questions!

chrismoore

bike21 wrote:

Do you keep your TIFFs along with your RAW files as well? Also do you delete your projects from the LR2 catalog? Sorry to bombard you with questions!

After I export the tiff from LR I delete it from the catalog. I like having just one copy and not having to rely on the LR catalog integrity to keep my changes. I know this is different than most people, though.
I keep two folders for my images, one for the original unedited RAW files, in case I want to re-process one, and another folder for the finished tiffs. I have them backed up on Drobo, a hard drive I keep at the office, and Mozy.