Riverrune

I keep my images on an external hard drive and need to back it up to another external hard drive. What would be the best way to do this? I use both an Apple I Mac and a MacBook Pro laptop, with Adobe Lightroom Classic. Thanks!

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

Just get another external drive. Connect it while you have your regular one connected and copy one drive to the other. You might want to consider a cloud backup as well. I use iDrive and have been pleased.

Riverrune

Thanks! That is what I was thinking to do but wanted to see if there were any other ideas or methods. I should look into the Cloud storage more as well.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Consider software like GoodSync or SyncToy. Once you have a copy, they keep track of additional changes as you go forward.

Jim Bianco

I use a1Tb external HD, plus I backup my good photos with a 32 GB flash drive, it works for me.

InFocusFl Loc: Kennedy Space Center, FL

Time Machine backs up my connected external drive (A) to another external drive (B), then I use Deja Vu to back up (A) to another external drive (C).

therwol Loc: USA

Make sure both ports are powered.

elf

A friend suggested that I get a solid state hard drive. Back up the external drive and then unplug the SSD so it won't get corrupted.
I like that idea.

therwol Loc: USA

I wouldn't do that. Although the information on the internet seems mixed, there are a number of articles that say that data on a SSD can deteriorate in 1-2 years if it isn't powered on every so often, and again, the amount of time for doing that varies according to who you believe. I just wouldn't do it.

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/205382-ssds-can-lose-data-in-as-little-as-7-days-without-power

https://blog.macsales.com/43702-we-bet-you-didnt-know-that-your-hdds-or-ssds-may-need-exercise-too/

If you never want to risk losing data, get an M Disk compatible DVD or Blu Ray burner and put your most important data on M Disks, having a life of up to 1000 years.

jtwind

Chronosync, great program to manage backups

cactuspic Loc: Dallas, TX

My main images are on a raid-like device, a Drobo, which automatically backs up to another Drobo on a daily basis. I use CarbonCloner which automated the process. I also have a backup Drobo that I keep offsite and switch the two backup Drobos out on a regular basis to keep the offsite Drobo current. CarbonCloner is able to determine the changes and the additions since the last update of the particular backup to make the system work.

Pumble

I have a WD My Cloud box. You can get them with various sizes. Although this is a bit more expensive than the cheap USB drives today, consider the benefits.

1. It is a raid 0 array, meaning it automatically makes a copy of anything you put on it. No more worrying about when the last time you duplicated, what photos got edited, added, what ones do you want to protect from overwrite, etc. There are two drives in the bay and their firmware takes care of the duplication. If you want a 4TB solution, the box comes with qty 2 - 4TB drives. You save a file and in the background it's copied to the other drive in real time

2. It is network attached storage (NAS), meaning you don't have to tether it to your computer's USB and no worries about multiple computers.

3. It has a cloud feature whereby you can get your files from anywhere without a $$ subscription, (including your phone or tablet, say you want to show a picture you don't have on your mobile device) it's your drive and your stuff. It has as much security as any other internet based source. It goes through mycloud.com to setup the internet path.

4. It has power settings that allow you to put it to sleep on the overnight or when you're not going to be using it.

5. It's performance is the same as if you had a file server in your own home or office. This was my biggest concern, but I will say it is as fast as the USB drive route. I use Wifi into my 1gb switch. If you are wired into your network, its even faster.

6. You can pick the size.

Hopefully this link works - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1224323-REG/wd_wdbvbz0080jch_nesn_8tb_my_cloud_ex2.html

Just my thoughts, I used to do the USB drive thing and got so tired of managing it. Then one of the drives quit, and although I had the backup that was only 3-4 weeks out of date, it made me realize how vulnerable this method is. I love the simplicity of how this personal cloud works.

Dave

Pumble

Agreed. Not only that there is a rating that is not widely publicized. That rating is how much data over time that you can write to the drive. Every time you write to the SSD, it is changing the solid state nano junctions to store it. These are akin to the old style E-proms where you could erase them and use them again. SSDs are nothing more than overgrown flash memory devices. Would you propose to leave your data on a flash drive forever? Over time, the junctions fail. Check out the "write cycle" rating.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I agree with both suggestions. Once you have a good backup system working, then you should have a third disaster recovery copy off-site. MDisks stored at a different location, unlikely to be affected by the same disaster, or a copy in a major cloud service are both good options. I love SSDs, but I wouldn’t leave one unpowered for extended lengths of time. It may be OK, but there are possible risks (I need to read up on the latest data on this).

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

This is a fine way to do things except for one side thought, fire destruction.

Not that it happens too often but one never knows.