Nervous Nelly and Backup problems

[Monica]

I can no longer complete a backup from the PSE 5 organizer.

I backed up to an EHD and encountered the problem; I just attempted to backup to DVDs (requiring 31 disks and an all nighter) and encountered the problem on disk #25.

I'd like to upgrade to PSE 6 but I'm reluctant to do so until I can get a full backup.

And regarding the EHD backup...I was trying to clean it up and had selected documents to delete, pressed the delete button and wham ALL but 1 folder disappeared. I ran my virus scan software and as it scanned that EHD, it displayed the document names as though they were still there. I have attempted to copy a single document to that EHD and the message said "A document by that name already exists." Yet I still can't see it.
Any suggestions about getting this EHD back to working order?
Do I need to reformat it?

Do I need to uninstall PSE 5 and reinstall it? What do I need to do to preserve my files?

I'm a nervous Nelly because I don't want to lose all the work I've done thus far.

[troush]

Monica,

The backup method used by PSE is confusing, and many people have reported problems with it. You should make sure you do a Reconnect Missing Files and File->Catalog->Recover before backing up - whether or not you use PSE or one of the programs below.

I recommend people use other programs. Some people use Acronis, others something called SyncToy. One of my external drives came with a program called "Retrospect" (it's pretty klutzy, so I don't recommend it), and I use it.

For backing up the files you need for PSE... You will want to find your My Catalog.psa file (for PSE 5.0, I forget the new extension used for PSE 6.0) - it is under C:\Documents and Settings\ - you will have to show hidden folders to find it. That file contains your tags. Then, you'll want all your photos, and all your kits.

My methodology is this: I have 2 external hard drives - one stays in a fire safe in my basement, the other in the office, but unplugged from the computer. At the beginning of the month I do a full backup of my entire system. Then, any time after I download new stuff, or upload new pictures, or do any work on the computer, I do an "incremental" backup - that just gets the stuff that has changed since the last backup. At the beginning of the next month, the disk I have been using goes in the fire safe, and the one from the fire safe gets cleaned off (usually just a delete, but I could do a format as well), and I do a full system backup and start over. That way, if the house burned down, hopefully I would only lose about a month of work. I only plug in the external hard drive when I am doing the backup. Where I live, power outages and surges are common as are lightening strikes, so I don't keep the drive plugged in - hopefully if the computer was zapped, the hard drive wouldn't be.

I don't know what is going on with your external drive.

[Monica]

Thanks for the quick response and recommendations.

Because my CPU is maxed on memory, I transferred my photos to a 500 gb EHD (through the PSE browser). While I can find my photos thus far without problems, is this a "practice" that is reasonably safe?

Regarding supplemental backup software, is it compatible (it must be since you're recommending it) with PSE? How does that work in place of the Organizer and the PSE backup?

Thinking about your methodology regarding two EHDs, what will you do when the volume of your photos is larger than the EHD capacity? What is your computer's capacity?

Thanks for sharing,
Monica

[troush]

Monica,

Any hard drive can fail. So, having your photos there is fine, as long as you backup that external hard drive, to either DVD or another external.

The other backup software I've mentioned doesn't work within PSE, they are separate programs that can backup your entire system. They don't replace the Organizer, and they are just a backup program. (You should still keep tagging your photos and scrapbooking kits with the Organizer.) As far as I know, they do not cause conflicts with PSE. You start the programs (usually making sure you've exited everything else), tell them what files you want to backup, and off they go. (That's very simplistic, but basically it.)

Right now, I have two internal hard drives. My main c: drive is about 80 gig. My second internal, where I keep photos is 190 gig hard drive. My backup hard drives are 300 and 320 gig each. Just enough to be just a bit bigger than what I have in hard drive space. If I fill up my 190 gig, then I will get a bigger drive, and two bigger externals. It's just like owning a car - you need new tires, brakes, and maintenance, and my DH and I budget for the car. We also budget for the computer.

With time, hard drive prices will continue to come down, especially, now that terabyte hard drives are available. My DH and I watch the Sunday ads for good deals all the time.

Another thing to consider, if you have DSL or cable broadband, is a system like Moxy or Carbonite. I know Carbonite will only backup your C: drive though, and not system files. I don't know about Moxy.

-Trish

[sueboop]

Monica,
Another thing to consider, if you have DSL or cable broadband, is a system like Moxy or Carbonite. I know Carbonite will only backup your C: drive though, and not system files. I don't know about Moxy.

-Trish

Trish, are you talking about Mozy. I have used Mozy for a month or so and I am pretty happy at this point. I have not had to recover anything yet. My son uses it and he is a computer person who specializes in backup and recovery (you'd think I would learn something, huh). He writes about it, lectures all over the world on it, and it is his career. He recommended Mozy to me. I went to it for the free version before my EHD crashed and I had some problems and I didn't do it. About a month later my EHD crashed. Now, I pay and it is unlimited. I am so sorry I was too cheap to do it right the first time. Some things on my EHD before the crash are gone forever.

[troush]

Thanks. Yep, I meant Mozy. I'm sure more of these types of services are going to become available as there is a huge need.

-Trish

[Monica]

Thanks for the info...very helpful.

Monica