The lives of my wife and I were forever changed on November 25, 2010. At 5:15 in the morning, I got the phone call that no parent ever wants to receive. On the other end of the line, someone was telling me there had been an accident and our son was involved. I was not given any details of his condition, and we were asked to come to the hospital. Once there, we were given the news that our 23-year-old son had been killed in a head-on automobile collision. Our hearts were ripped out of our bodies, and the shock of that day remains with us.
My wife and I have always enjoyed taking pictures of our kids. We have many of our son and daughter together to give to our grandkids. Our son was an athlete from a young age, and we enjoyed photographing him at Little League, high school sports, and college baseball. We have thousands of photos and many videos of him, a treasure that must never be lost.
Digital photography, video recordings, and digital storage are all both good and scary. They are good because we can now capture more of our children’s activities than ever before. They are scary because digital media can and will fail; gone are all of our precious pictures, videos, and documents. Computers crash, hard drives fail, CDs/DVDs do not have the advertised life without special care, and storage standards change. There is no digital media that can be guaranteed to last forever.
Weeks after my son’s passing I realized that most of our photos and videos were not safe. Our original photos were spread over several computers and vulnerable to re and water damage. How do I protect them? I asked myself.
My system is not yet perfect, but here is what I do now.
I purchased three identical USB external hard drives. On one drive I backed up all of my photos, videos, and important documents from my desktop and notebook computers. Next, I used the second and third drives to make two complete copies of the first drive. I then placed drive one and drive two in separate re-resistant waterproof safe boxes. I keep the third drive near my main desktop computer, which is where I process most of my photography. This third drive is a working backup that I can quickly connect to my desktop or other computers. New photos placed onto my computers are backed up to this drive.
I regularly copy new files to the two drives that are stored in the safe boxes. Years ago I had a power supply go bad on a computer that destroyed the system hard drive, which is why I do not keep the third drive constantly connected. I like to keep it isolated from any potential problems.
I am considering getting a safe-deposit box at a bank or a safe box at a friend’s house to store copies at a location away from my home. The more backups you have, the better.
External hard drives have become inexpensive, and they allow for much faster backups. There is a downside. Hard drives are projected to last only five to seven years, and some can and do die quickly. One might be tempted to use only one hard drive as a backup, but if you do, your data will be at risk. Also, you can’t back up your files and then forget about it. Hard drives need to be turned occasionally to ensure that they work.
Many experts recommend backing up data onto DVDs, which are projected to last 50 years if handled correctly (keep DVDs in a protective case out of sunlight). In practice, DVDs may last only a few years. Backing up on DVDs can also be very time-consuming. I do keep copies of the really important items backed up on DVDs.
Another solution is online storage. While I do store some photos on such sites, I am not comfortable with them. First, you are allowing someone else to control your data. Second, will the sites always be there and available? And finally, will your data remain private? Even with those concerns, online storage is worth considering.
External hard drives range from $40 to $100 or more, depending on size and vendor. DVDs are cheap and can be purchased on sale from $10 to $15 for a pack of 25 or 50. Online storage can range from free for limited space to $60 or more for unlimited space. The cost of a resistant, waterproof safe runs from $40 to $100 or more. Whatever the cost, it is very low compared to the loss of your files.
The simplest way to backup files is to copy them from your computer to an external device. Copying may not be the most efficient method, but it is easy. Most image-viewing and processing programs offer a way to do backups of your photographs. There are also programs designed specifically for backups. With these programs, you can schedule backups to be performed without your presence. They also allow you to back up most everything on your computer.
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Finally, I know that not all people are comfortable with doing more than basic things with a computer. If you consider yourself to be in that category, please get some help. Find that computer geek in your area, ask a family member, or get a friend to help. Your precious memories are too valuable to leave at risk.
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