Back up images on DVD

Question

I have all my images stored on an external hard drive. I want another back up so I am thinking to burn them to DVDs. I just wanted to know if I need to back up the originals and the photoshop ones that I have tagged and or altered. If so, how do I back up the altered or tagged images?
I am really hoping not to have to have 2 copies of every picture as they are 3MG and I have thousands of pictures.
Thanks
Julie

Answer 1

In message <[email protected]>,
[email protected] writes
>I have all my images stored on an external hard drive. I want another
>back up so I am thinking to burn them to DVDs.
A wise move, store the DVD's (or extra copies) elsewhere once you have
done them, in case the location with the computer and external hard
drive is hit by a flood/fire/they are stolen etc. (BTW, the statement
is unclear, is the external drive your working image store, or a backup
of images stored on the computers internal drive(s)
> I just wanted to know if I need to back up the originals and the
>photoshop ones that I have tagged and or altered. If so, how do I back
>up the altered or tagged images?
You need to backup every image file that you don't want to potentially
lose. If you want to keep files that you have edited, then yes you need
to back them up as well. Tags aren't stored in the images, they are
stored in the catalogue file.
This MUST be backed up otherwise you will lose your tagging, version
sets etc.
If you intend to use the Organisers built in backup function then it
will include the edited images included in the catalogue and the
catalogue file. but I prefer the flexibility of doing the backup
seperate from PSe with my normal data backup routines.
Otherwise just burn the images to the DVD as you would the rest of your
files.
>I am really hoping not to have to have 2 copies of every picture as
>they are 3MG and I have thousands of pictures.
>
Umm, don't really understand this, the point of the backup is to create
extra copies of the files for safekeeping. If you don't want backups of
all the files then you need to decide which ones you are prepared to
lose. I would say that 2 copies of a file is the very very absolute
minimum, personally I have at least 3 copies - often 4 (working files,
backup on external drive, secondary backups - on DVD - one off site -
often one in the house)
Though I'm starting to give up on DVDs and moving towards online storage
for my second line backups. Which hasthe advantage of being upto date as
it does it automatically, and I don't have to manage lots of DVD discs.
Basic backup services are getting cheap now. I use Mozy, which is US$ 5
a month for unlimited storage. I wouldn't feel happy as yet relying on
it for my only backup, but I only intend to access the backup if I lose
both my main computer HDD and the external drive (which is pretty
uncommon, unlike the main hard drive dying, which isn't IME). Though I
have found the 30 day version history of files that Mozy stores useful a
couple of times
Chris French