Anyone know a easy way (or program or app) to be able to backup just your pictures on cd's?

Question

I take alot of pictures with my cam and my files are huge and the files are large ... Any help would be greatly appreciated.. Just dont want to lose all my images again, because I get the feeling ym PC is gonna crap out.

Answer 1

put all your pic files in folders. then put in a black cd. open the cd file through my computer, and window will pop up with nothing in it. then open the file that has the folders your pictures are in, drag them to the cd folder. when you are done there is a opition to the left to burn. click on that and yoru done : )

Answer 2

First of all, find all of your images by using "search" "find" to find all files ending in .jpg, .tif, etc. (assuming that they are not in the same directory - if they are use explorer).
Don't forget any you may have altered and have a different file type that the editing software uses.

If the total is more than will fit on 1 CD then try splitting them by file types or dates. To do that in find/explorer - click on the column that you want to sort on. you may have to click it twice to change the sort direction.

While holding down the shift button - click on the first file, go down a ways and click on a second file - it will pop-up a total size
If it doesn't pop up a total size, right-click on the highlighted files and choose properties to get the total size.

If the size is less than - but near either 650MB or 700MB (depending on whatever size of CD's that you're going to be copying to) - right-click on the still high lighted files and choose copy.

Go to your CD-writing program (make sure you are making a "ISO" format CD) and click paste. Burn the CD with verification enabled. Create a temporary directory and attempt to copy every file from the CD to there. Open up a couple and make sure that they are ok. If they're OK - then continue.
Go back to the CD-writing program burn another copy of the exact same one, the same way and put it another pile.

Label both with a felt-tip permanent marker.
For example, "aardvarks-churches" or like 4/20-/2004-7/15/2004.
Repeat as needed until they are all backed up.

Take the duplicate set pf copies and store them in a separate building or safety deposit box (or friends house). This is known as "off-site storage". This is is very important because in case of a disaster (fire, flood, etc) - these might be the only photos that you have.

Actually, I would probably write the each set on a different brand of CD, but that's just a thought.

If you're going to replace the PC, your new one will likely come with a DVD drive. These hold 6 times the amount of data that a CD does (roughly 4500MB instead of a CD's 650-700B) for just a little more cost (usually 20-25 cents each).

You might wish to purchase a DVD drive now. Even if you replace the PC, a second DVD drives handy for copying or making backups easier (you set it up to write to both drives, so you only have to put in new disks every 20-30 minutes or so).

If you think your computer's gonna die - there's other things (like my documents) that you should also backup. A DVD drive ranges from $30 and up, but a "superdrive" (able to read & write all formats) can be had for $42 in a "bare" drive.
That's just what it sounds like - no box, no cable, no manual.
You may need a dual drive disk cable (which has 3 connectors - 1 each that are blue and black in color) & DVD burning software (may have to dig around on the internet for some freeware).

You can purchase a kit which will have some type of software (usually very basic) and maybe a cable for about 25%-40% more at a store like Walmart. 50-75% more at Staples (and they don't know much more about them than Walmart - IMHO

I assumed you were using Windows and I tried to make this super-generic so it would work on any Windows computer and the resulting CD would also be readable on any computer (Windows, Mac, Linux - any version.)

If you want to use a more specialized program, want to have a searchable index of the CDs, or have any questions or need more information feel free to email me.

Answer 3

I assume you have a CD writer on your computer. If that is the case, just put a blank CD into the drive. Open up the location where your pictures are. Click on each file or folder in turn and you will see a number of options down the left hand side of your screen, one of which is 'copy' Click that, it will ask where you want to copy them to. It will give you options, one of which will be the CD in the drive. Click that and 'copy' at the bottom of the dialogue box. You don't need any other program or app to do this. Oh yes, finalise each CD at the end of a session, otherwise you may have problems reading them later.

Answer 4

I purchased an external hard drive of 80GB to store all my photos off my computer's hard drive -- and I've burned CD's for all the images as well. You can use the external hard drive to work on the photos so you don't lose any access - it connects to the computer via a USB port, and you can leave it unplugged until you are ready to use it. If you take lots of photos like I do then it's worth it to spend the money. Office Depot and Office Max often put them on sale so you can just wait until a good deal - I've seen 160GB for around $100. And you can also use it to create a back-up for all your computer files.

Answer 5

I make my backups online with the free Mozy. Maybe this can help you too:
https://mozy.com/?code=94HW8M