What Everyone Ought To Know About Photo Backups on a PC

Photo Backup Is A Necessary Yet Simple Part Of Photo Sharing

In your excitement to get those brand new images onto the Internet from your camera or camera phone, it's easy to forget to save them. While your images are probably relatively safe once they get onto your photo sharing site, it's still essential to do a regular photo backup. (Plus if you are a more advanced photographer and shoot RAW, it's essential you make a backup of the originals since many photo sharing sites don't save RAW files.)

We recommend that you have your photos in at LEAST three places: your own computer drive, some kind of backup at home (like a CD or DVD), and on a photo sharing website or two.

Here are some things you need to keep in mind when doing a photo backup.

If you set your computer to run an automatic backup, it's important to make sure your "My Documents" folder in Windows is included in that computer backup.

Consider, too, where that backup is being saved. If it's in your computer, and something happens to your system, you won't have access to those photos. Plus, hard disk drives fail. Google recently did a study and found that hard drives fail in an average of three years. So, it's best to do a photo backup from your computer to a portable storage system.

For most people, this means copying them to a DVD or a CD. What most people don't realize, however, is that these media also have a relatively short life expectancy. Temperature, dampness and other environmental conditions can cause DVDs and CDs to lose their information. Storing them too close to a magnetic source, such as a running computer, can damage them, too.

Time alone can cause DVDs and CDs to deteriorate. That means your photos and anything else you stored on that media will be lost. This includes your photo backup disks.

Your online images also can be at risk if anything happens to the server on which they're stored. By running your own photo backup, you can be sure to have copies in your possession.

There are several simple ways you can safely store your precious photos for the future.

1. Keep CDs and DVDs protected from the environment. Put any photo backup disks in their cases, free of dust and moisture, and don't touch the flat surfaces of the disks when using them. Oils on the hands can damage the storage area.

2. Place your disks at a safe distance from magnetic objects including computer monitors, printers and hard drives. Protect them from static electricity.

3. Do a regular photo backup from the Internet and from your computer. It's a good idea to do this once a month or whenever your photo collections change.

4. Once a year, make a copy of everything you stored on your photo backup disks. Disks can begin to break down after a few years.

5. Consider using archival gold DVDs to store your images. There are more expensive than regular DVDs but last longer. They are available from your local computer store. These systems are more secure than a regular CD or DVD.

Follow these simple guidelines to ensure your images in your computer, in your camera phone and on the Internet will always be available. Set out a simple schedule for doing your photo backup and you'll protect your precious memories for a lifetime.