alt Hacker NewsDoes anyone use it for family photo backup for generation to pass on? I am struggling to come up with a good back up solution that last ages.
Replies
jordand • today at 10:28 PM
Blu-ray drives are becoming increasingly rare sadly, so it's not great to hand over to others in the years ahead. An external hard disk drive kept safe and secure might be your only option. I had the same issue 6 years ago winding down my company and archiving data. Only sensible options were M-DISC and external hard disks.
WalterBright • today at 10:40 PM
Buy a new hard drive every year, make it your primary drive. The previous one becomes your backup.
Or just keep it attached to your system, so spyware, adware, and the NSA will make free backups for you!
comboy • today at 10:26 PM
get some used LTO-5 / LTO-6 drive if you have some desktop/server to plug it in
➕ show 1 reply
I do this, alongside other methods.
The problem with archiving data is you always need to be prepared to use the "next big thing" once your preferred method becomes unobtainable.
I currently have :
- Photos in iCloud (Live working copy)
- Backup at home on NAS (updated nightly, snapshots)
- Backup in pCloud (lifetime, mine or theirs, no illusions, hopefully lasts a couple of months if I die unexpectedly)
- Yearly archive on external HDDs, identical copies stored in separate locations, clearly labeled "Photo backup". No encryption, no archiving, just plain APFS formatted drives that can be plugged into a computer and read.
- Yearly archive M-disc blu-ray discs, again, identical copies, stored in separate locations. One disc per year labeled as such, ie. "Photo Backup 2020". The idea being you restore them in chronological order and have a complete set.