Backing up photos

[Storm1]

In order to save my photos from a "crash" which is the best & simplest way to do it.? Burn to CD, DVD, External Hard Drive. ? I will never be making slide shows for TV. :) I am looking not necesarely at the cheapest but also ease of use, because then I know I will Back up more often.
Thanks Storm

[Ward Grant]

My vote is External Hard Drive using Elements Backup with a Full Backup (sounds like the old Clue game-Col Mustard in the library with a knife).

You can set a reminder in your preferences to remind you to back up every so often.

[Wendy]

Hi Storm ...

I too think that an external hard drive is probably the best solution ..

They are so quick and easy to use for backing up :)

Wendy

[Russinator]

I'm with Ward and Wendy--an external hard drive is the best. Russ

[troush]

Absolutely go with the External Hard Drives. I have 2 that I swap from a fire safe monthly.

-Trish

[Storm1]

O.K vote is in so how do I do it simple baby steps please ? I do not use the Organizer at all too much to learn with Editor at same time . All my pics & PSD files are kept in My pictures Page Win XP What about the PSD files?
I am definetly getting a new Computer Desktop ,have a generous Son who is going to help me. It will be bought locally
If I use an External HD , DO i NEED A dvd Burner? I will never ever make any Slide shows. External HD's how big is practical ? I have a Card Reader/Writer which is plugged into a HUB usb, use this for my Camera
Trish why do you use 2 & keep swapping them ?
Thank you for any help given. Storm

[troush]

Storm,

The reason we use two is it never hurts. In our area we are prone to lightening strikes. We try not to have the computer up in storms, but you never know. So, if the house was hit, and we had the hard drive plugged in, at least we'd only lose a month of work. It's just good "back-up" safetyto have two to swap. A lot of people will take one drive into work or at a friends house, so they have an "off-site" back up that hopefully wouldn't get destroyed if their house burnt down or something like that. We don't have anyone convenient to swap with, so we keep it in a DVD/CD rated fire safe.

-Trish

[Storm1]

Thanks Trish for explaining. We are not prone to Lightning but are in a major earthqwake area. Thats a good idea. Things you can replace but not photos.
Storm

[Ward Grant]

Hello Storm
Glad you are thinking making backups-always nice in case of a crash.
I agree with Trish that External Hard Drives (EHD) are my preference for backing up.
Since you say you do not use Organizer much, you can simply use Windows to copy your files. Simply plug in your EHD and open Windows Explorer. Either Drag and Drop or highlight your My Pictures folder and then Edit/Copy, point to EHD, Edit/Paste.
This method will not copy any tags, collections, creations and stuff (all stored in the Organizer) but any edits (changed colors, added text, etc.) will be copied (stored in photo).
If you want to use the Organizer, there is a Backup command that will copy the photos and catalog to your EHD. However, you would first have to link the photos you want to copy (File>Get Photos). To bring these pictures back, you would then do a File>Restore.
When you get your EHD, you can test by just copying one folder to get some practice before doing your entire My Pictures folder.

[msbrad]

great tips and advice. Thank you
m

[Storm1]

Thank you Ward. Do I understand you correctly, that any Montages I have saved as PSD file I can copy over to EHD thro' WinXP.
My son is helping me get a new Computer. If I use EHD for backups is there any need that you can think of where I might need a DVD burner ? I will never make any slides for TV.
I am being given choices & I do not know what choices to make .:)
Thanks Storm

[troush]

Storm,

One thing I can think of... If your kid(s) wanted high-res versions of your photos and what not, you could burn them to DVD or CD (DVD's hold about 4 Gigabytes of data, where a CD only holds 700 Kilobytes of data) for them. Make sure you have at least a DVD-ROM (so you can play DVD's and install software from DVD's). I thought I wouldn't use a DVD burner, but last year I made a DVD for relatives we couldn't visit that year (videos of the kids opening their presents, playing, and photos). You never know. Plus, I can play DVDs on the computer - which has been nice, too.

-Trish

[Ward Grant]

I agree with Trish on the reasons for having a DVD burner/reader. Most units come with DVD burner already part of the setup package.

As for your montages, yes. A PSD file is simply one file format. It will copy very easily between a hard drive and an EHD.

[Storm1]

Thanks both Trish & Ward. I do hope my Son can sort it out . He keeps saying "but you're not going to be doing much Mum" each time I mention amt of Ram, size of HD & the Processor. :)
Thanks Storm