The Best Digital Photo Storage Options
There are several photo storage solutions, each designed for different purposes and photo quantities. These include writable media, external hard drives and online backup solutions. The reliability of a digital photo storage solution is only as good as its quality, however, so keep in mind you might need more than just one or two photo storage solutions to properly back up your library of digital photos.
Storing Photos on Writable Media
Writable media such as CD-R's, CD-RW's, DVD-R's and DVD-RW's will hold anywhere from several hundred megabytes of digital photos to several gigabytes. Burn your photos to one of these storage options and keep them safely tucked away. You can easily access the photos if you need to make copies or replace files on your hard drive. All you need in addition to the writable media is a CD/DVD drive that can burn discs.
Flash Drives and SD Disks
One of the quickest ways to store your digital photos is with a USB stick or an SD disk. This only qualifies as a backup if you put it away right after you copy the data and do not use it for anything else. These devices can also be used to easily transport digital photos from one computer to another or as you're traveling. SD disks also having a locking mechanism on the side to prevent accidentally deleting the data when it's plugged into the computer.
Data can become corrupted on these types of storage units, however. FreeComputerConsultant.com recommends using a photo recovery software for SD disks and similar portable media if you are unable to retrieve the data after copying it.
Network Attached Storage Units
According to 1nas.com, network attached storage units offer one of the most reliable ways to back up your data, or in this case, your digital photos. As more than just an external hard drive, you can access this data through a network as opposed to relying on your computer's hard drive, which bears a high likelihood of failing at some point. Because many network attached storage units come with several terabytes of storage capacity, you probably won't need more than one to store your photos.
Online Digital Photo Storage
There are two different types of online storage solutions for photos. The first type requires that you upload all your photos, either individually or in bulk, to an online domain. The second option is to download software that will constantly back up your data by sending it to an online storage facility directly from your computer. While the files will still be transferred via upload, you don't need to stand by the entire time and facilitate this process with online backup software.
Using an online backup is prudent, as you can access your data from another computer if yours is out of commission, but if you don't have access to a computer for a while, you won't be able to retrieve your digital photos. In this case, having your photos backed up locally will at least allow you to keep photos in your possession until your computer is up and running.
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