File storage

tresguey · Feb 16, 2010

I have over 45gigs of photos I have taken in the past few years. I would like to back them up on something other than my computer. I was starting to transfer to DVDs but this got way too time consuming. I was just sending files Direct to DVD under my computer so it was a pain. I was thinking of getting an external hard drive but really don't want to spend money on that yet. I would like to find a freeware program that I can just copy my entire picture file folder and it would tell me how many discs it would take and all I would have to do is through in DVDs until its done.

Big Mike · Feb 16, 2010

Hard drives are getting very cheap, seems like a much easier solution than continuing to use DVDs.

tresguey · Feb 16, 2010

I have been really thinking of a hard drive, but i have an unlimited sorce of DVD's I can use from work. I am saving up for a f1.4 50mm prime. So this is why I don't want to go hard drive yet.

myfotoguy · Feb 16, 2010

I agree with Big Mike. I would save a bit more for an external hard drive. I think they are more reliable than DVD's. You could also check out Carbonite, that's an online backup service. Also, if you have an online unlimited gallery (ie: Zenfolio, Smug Mug, etc.) You could archive your stuff there too.

The problem with the online stuff is what if they go out of business? I'm not to owrried about it, but it is an issue. That's whay I backup to external hard drive AND to an online service. I guess my Zenfolio gallery becomes the third backup solution since a bunch of my photos end up there.

Sorry, you asked about DVD freeware and I don't have an answer for that. I have personally gone back to CD's and DVD's that I burned only to find the disc unreadable, kind of unrelieable. However, maybe today's technology and media burns more reliably.

TiaS · Feb 16, 2010

I have had the displeasure of losing photos in the past due to the fact that discs can lose data over time. I now back all of my photos up on an external harddrive, discs, and online. For my online storage I use Picasa. Also you can store photos online with SkyDrive which is connected through a hotmail account. Also Flickr and My Space can be used for photo storage. With online storage, you can make it so the pictures are not available for the public to see, obviously.

kcmo al · Feb 16, 2010

external drive. It'll be a very good investment. 1.5 Gig, 2 Gig drives are now available for under $200. I have myh files on an external drive attached to my desktop, a portable drive attached to my laptop and the laptop itself.