Guys,

I seldom back-up my photos on CDs/DVDs -- yeah I know this is the perfect recipe for disaster. :D What I currently do is simply store my photos in my home PC and my work PC (as back-up). But the thing is.... the 2 HD drives of my 2 PCs are almost full already - makes my PCs sloooooowwwww. Aside from this, I also want a more stable/safer way to store my photos - now whether they are worth storing or not is another matter. :Grin:

I'm now looking to purchase an external storage device where I can store my stock photos, important files, music, porn videos, porn videos, porn videos, etc etc... :Grin:

So what should I be looking out for in an external HDD? What brands do you recommend? Price?

Chuck (external storage newbie)

a friend of mine bought a portable hdd for 3500 and the portable casing for 1200...

pa burn ng porn..:Grin:

I use a 250gig Iomega external harddrive. I love it and it works great.
I suggest sticking to well known brands such as Iomega, Lacie, etc. just to be on the safe side. Some would also buy Harddrives and then an external case, but I know little about this :)

I too don't back up most on CDs, but I keep them in my Hard drives. Im still otganizing them so i'll get to sort them properly when i burn them to CD :)

Guys,

I seldom back-up my photos on CDs/DVDs -- yeah I know this is the perfect recipe for disaster.

Chuck (external storage newbie)

Hi Chuck,
I'm just curious on what you mean by this.
Bad experience of lost discs?

Hi Chuck,
I'm just curious on what you mean by this.
Bad experience of lost discs?

I believe he means that since he doesn't backup using CDs its a perfect recipe for disaster cause his computer and hard drives containing his Images can crash. CDs/DVDs don't crash so these are the safer/better alternative to storing images. :)

OT: Which is better when it comes to reliability DVDs or CDs?

I've gone through 3 external hard drives over the past 4 years - and each one of them eventually failed me. One lesson I learned is to not transport them - just keep them on your desk and you'll be fine. I've decided to use a dedicated PC as a NAS or file server with 4 hard drives configured as a RAID10 array. Important images are saved twice on different DVD brands.

Hi chuck, Im using a generic HDD casing and Seagate HD for the past 3 years and so far, didn't encounter any problem....

I believe he means that since he doesn't backup using CDs its a perfect recipe for disaster cause his computer and hard drives containing his Images can crash. CDs/DVDs don't crash so these are the safer/better alternative to storing images. :)

OT: Which is better when it comes to reliability DVDs or CDs?

Yup this is what I meant. None of my PCs have crashed yet...... But when the time comes and it happens, I want to be prepared.

Hi chuck, Im using a generic HDD casing and Seagate HD for the past 3 years and so far, didn't encounter any problem....

Edlin, thanks. I'm also looking at this "generic solution" - getting a Seagate HD separately + generic casing. How much did this cost you?

Did some window shopping last night: branded Seagate External HDD 160GB (the one with Seagate casing) - Php 6,800.

I used a generic solution but ended up losing some precious music. Just stay away from the PROLIFIC chipset when choosing your external casings.

Was earlier looking for a second hard drive to complement my Intel Mac mini's LaCie mini hard drive and hub (http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10462) and almost considered the NewerTech miniStack V2 (http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/MS2F7250G16/) but when I found out about the Prolific chipset used even for USB, had to stay away from it. Now am sticking to another LaCie to stack with my mini.

i also use an iomega 250gb external HD.

try to buy at least 200Gb of space... the 160Gb you're considering is way too small for today's files. you'll end up buying more HDs:) . i think i bought mine less than 6 months ago and the 120gb is down the drain...hehehe

havent used the generic solution... might try it out once im down to the last 50gb of my external HD.

good luck sir

my first casing was matrix. had a very bad experience with it. keeps on shutting down all of my usb connections.
i replaced it with astone. so far so good.
for back up, i simply use briefcase feature from windows explorer.

my first casing was matrix. had a very bad experience with it. keeps on shutting down all of my usb connections.
i replaced it with astone. so far so good.
for back up, i simply use briefcase feature from windows explorer.
hmmm bee using matrix external hdd / cd / dvd enclosure for almost 2 years already...
installed is a 200GB Seagate...

planning to buy another one for my online storage, but will try the 300++Gb if there are available...
a friend of mine advised me to look for firewire ready casings so I can daisy chain them in the future...

CD-R King is selling a "phillips" brand, dunno if thats really the brand or just the box...cost is PhP950.00 for hdd only...

My last laptop crashed twice. On the first one, I hadn't backed up properly and lost some photos (nothing too important). On the second crash, the laptop died but the HD survived so it's now one of my backup usb HD. I back up to DVDs every so often. I also have a 250 gig seagate usb hd where I immediately copy my raws after downloading them to my laptop.

Anyone use a network HD like the LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini? Does it work well via WIFI?

Although I have an exteral HD myself, I'm thinking of getting a 2nd backup solution like this especially since there are 3 laptop users in my house.

:)

Does Iomega still sell tape drives? Tapes are still the safest way to go actually when it comes to archieving...

hmmm bee using matrix external hdd / cd / dvd enclosure for almost 2 years already...
installed is a 200GB Seagate...

planning to buy another one for my online storage, but will try the 300++Gb if there are available...
a friend of mine advised me to look for firewire ready casings so I can daisy chain them in the future...

CD-R King is selling a "phillips" brand, dunno if thats really the brand or just the box...cost is PhP950.00 for hdd only...

Kix,

I have been using matrix for over a year. Also no problems. It gets dirty on the outside easy, however. The bag is a nice touch, though.

I just got the philips from CD-R king. I have had it for a week. It's ok. Nice. I miss the lights of the matrix though. This one has the entire front panel blinking blue when the drive is being accessed.

What I like about the philips is that it's well made. The finishing is smooth and clean. It looks and feels solid, unlike the matrix. It doesn't get dirty that easy too. And you can have the drive stand on its side. And the on-board swith to power it on. No bag though.

I'm thinking of getting another one of the philips though I want to try out a firewire enclosure. Know of a good brand and where to buy it?

.

To all,

Just got a generic firewire-usb2.0 combo yesterday at Compex for P1,350. It was a disappointement. Firewire wasn't any faster and in fact, the usb 2.0 performend better. I think the chip was really a usb 2.0 but transposing firewire so there isn't really any speed improvement.

Using HD Tune, the firewire was steady at around 32Mbit/sec both on min, max, and avg transfer. CPU usage was even higher than the usb. The usb avg 35Mbit/sec but can hit 45Mbit/sec tops, though the Minimums can go as low as 1.5Mbit/sec. Even the cpu utilization was low.

Overall, using real files and doing time benchmarks, the usb was much better. So, I got a usb-firewire combo and the firewire part wasn't really that fast. I still have to try daisy-chaining the firewire (2 x 6-pin out) and I don't know if it will work. I might daisychain y videocam just to see if it will work. If it does, it's something to behold, though, at that bitrate, I might compromise file transfer on video though and have some drop-outs. With 3-4x USB ports, it doesn't make much sense to go this route, unless you use it dedicated firewire or the other device does not move lots of data continously.


The unit comes with 6-6 firewire cable and a usb cable. Had to buy a 4-6 firewire cable for my notebook for P150. At least they don't charge P400 for the cable anymore.

That Philips I got for P990 looks might good now. Unfortunately I'm stuck with this thing so I will have to use it. Just letting others know so they can make a more sensible purchasing plan.


.

If you plan to get a firewire enclosure, make sure the chipset is the Oxford 911. It has the best cross platform compatibility. As I mentioned in another thread, stay away from any Prolific chipset cases.

Kix,

I have been using matrix for over a year. Also no problems. It gets dirty on the outside easy, however. The bag is a nice touch, though.

I just got the philips from CD-R king. I have had it for a week. It's ok. Nice. I miss the lights of the matrix though. This one has the entire front panel blinking blue when the drive is being accessed.

What I like about the philips is that it's well made. The finishing is smooth and clean. It looks and feels solid, unlike the matrix. It doesn't get dirty that easy too. And you can have the drive stand on its side. And the on-board swith to power it on. No bag though.

I'm thinking of getting another one of the philips though I want to try out a firewire enclosure. Know of a good brand and where to buy it?

.

Hi im a newbiee here and im base in dubai... im having my annual leave and going to philippines... btw im from marikina... :)

Now i would like to ask what Portable storage that i could directly copy from my CF. Bring laptop would be a big hassle..

Your options:

1. Epson P-2000
2. Epson P-5000
3. Creative Zen something
4. Compactdrive
5. Go to any photo store to have your photos in your CF burnt into CDs or DVDs.

Digimate III+ :D

i got to test a new portable storage device yesterday owned my forum member, mark bustamante, called digital foci picture portrait elite. you may want to PM him regarding this device.

so far (although holding and playing around with it for 10 minutes), i'm impressed with the speed of the picture portrait elite plus the fact that it plays my AAC's (since i only convert to mp4) was an added bonus. a bit lighter but bigger than the p2000, but quite faster in all aspects.

Buy more CF cards? :Scared:

@Brent

Robert needs a storage device to upload his CF card's contents to. So, out na the CF option.

Happy new year!!!

Just bought a P-2000 apparently P-5000 is not yet available here. Very well satisfied w/it.

P-2000 is good enough.

i found this software by slysoft.com that allows you to convert DVDs to fit the screen of the P2000. now, instead of downloading photos, its my travel player.

@Nino

But doesn't the movie drain your battery? do you have an extra battery?

it doesnt eat that much battery life as i expected it to be. a two-hour movie, one battery charge. no extra batt rin. im still waiting for epson's reply.

i'm due to by an external hard drive. before i do.. i wanted to ask for some tips to look out for.

i'm thinking of buying the seagate 250gb (i'm in a budget). hehe. and if there are cheaper but reliable ext hd... please let me know.

oh.. btw.. i believe my laptop does not support firewire. what do i need to get the port? and do you have any idea how much it costs?

and where is the best place to buy them? thank youuu!
:Grin:

thread merged.

yeah thats a good idea bro.

stick with seagate they have the longest warranties for their products.

i think 5yrs for internal and 2yrs for external nothing in the industry beat that so far.

get the push button back up its ventilation is better so your HD will last longer.

in regards to firewire, i think you will only feel the limitation of USB when your editing videos.

if your not planning to do any of that just get the USB. USB+Firewire versions are much more expensive.

using a seagate 200 gb hard drive onboard a transcend external casing so far no problem.

using a seagate 200 gb hard drive onboard a transcend external casing so far no problem.

how much is the transcend ext casing? oh.. and why do hds need an external casing?
:Grin:

can anyone recomend a portable storage device that can play mp3s?
how much and where can i find one? i was thinking of a digimate but it can't play mp3s, hard disks for it are sold separately too... :(

in my opinion... if you're gonna get a storage device its ok if you can't view your jpegs but i'd like for it to have more than just one use for it. a psd that can view jpegs/raw will have a colored lcd and that will jack up its price. i can use my dslr's lcd to do that.

once dumped onto the psd, is there a way to copy files from it to cf/mmc/sd?

I guess the new Epson PSD's are out of the question...

http://www.digitalphotographer.com.ph/forum/showthread.php?t=934

can anyone recomend a portable storage device that can play mp3s?
how much and where can i find one? i was thinking of a digimate but it can't play mp3s, hard disks for it are sold separately too... :(

in my opinion... if you're gonna get a storage device its ok if you can't view your jpegs but i'd like for it to have more than just one use for it. a psd that can view jpegs/raw will have a colored lcd and that will jack up its price. i can use my dslr's lcd to do that.

cf/mmc/sd?

but the digimate can... :) check out digimate V, aside from being a photobank, it can view your files too (including raw) AND it's an mp3/mp4 player also! :)

Digimate V

http://www.etmag.com/showcase/china/company/Anpson/Digimate-V.jpg

Model No.: Digimate V 2.5"TFT LCD Display Databank with MP3,MP4 player
Support CFI/II, MS,MD,MS Pro,MS Duo,SD,MMC,RS-MMC,XD
2.5"TFT LCD Display
Plays picture,video,MP3
Support AV out and remote control
3D Speaker


Digimate V-plus
http://www.etmag.com/showcase/china/company/Anpson/digimate-V-plus.jpg


Model No.:Digimate V-plus

Support CFI/II, MS,MS Pro,MS Duo,SD,MMC,RS-MMC,Mini SD,XD
2.5"TFT LCD Display
Super digital TV partner
Plays picture,video,MP3,MP4
Support Video recorder,full of video&audio player
Support TV in/ out
3D Speaker

I have the PDX70 and it works well for me. It doesn't have a lcd or can it play mp3 but works well as portable storage and an AA battery charger also. You can also upgrade the storage since it uses standard laptop harddisks.
Nols

can anyone recomend a portable storage device that can play mp3s?
how much and where can i find one? i was thinking of a digimate but it can't play mp3s, hard disks for it are sold separately too... :(

in my opinion... if you're gonna get a storage device its ok if you can't view your jpegs but i'd like for it to have more than just one use for it. a psd that can view jpegs/raw will have a colored lcd and that will jack up its price. i can use my dslr's lcd to do that.

once dumped onto the psd, is there a way to copy files from it to cf/mmc/sd?
You can try the new Creative Zen Vision:W
It has a 4.3" wide screen lcd display and plays mp3's, videos and can even view your photos. I've ordered the 60gb version already and its coming here this April or May. You can also partition this so that it becomes your mobile hard disk! :D for me this is a good choice

http://images.creative.com/iss/images/products/headers/prod15752_hdr_1_6_1.jpg

Robert,

I don't know the newer PSDs. I have the almost 2 year old PD-70x. It does not let me view the image, or play mp3, or movies. But as an event shooter, what I need is speed and reliability. It means, that the PSD must backup the CF quickly and it must not corrupt or fail in that backup. The reason for backup is backup. It is to provide redundancy to your important photos in the field.

Yes, sure, it would be nice to have an mp3 player, a review of the shots, a video playback, but if the backup process itself takes a long time, then I am tying up my CF dangerously.

I have had Imagetank II prior to my pd-70x. Another thing to consider is batteries. The Imagetank II still works. But the problem is the lithium-ion batteries is proprietary. So, now, I can't use it. You might get stuck with a PSD in 2-3 years whose batts won't charge. The PD-70x uses AA batts. The only problem I have with it is the batt door is flimsy and breaks off easily. But mine still works and is cosmetically not ok anymore. Functionally, it still works, and that is what is important.

So fair warning to those getting PSDs. Make sure that its primary function of backup (speed and reliability) must first be solid. Otherwise, you are not buying a PSD, but an mp3 player or some video player. And make sure that the battery can be replaced easily in the future.

I almost forgot. Make sure that storage slots support the most popular formats, even the one you don't use yourself. In the field, I often have to deal not just with my own CF, but backing up some SD or XD or MS.

I'll be needing one of these as well soon, isn't there a CF/SD to DVD device out there? Alteratec used to have one (Lightscribe manufacturer), but now they only have the CDR option and they're pretty expensive.

@noli: PDX70, what model is this and how much?

I'll be needing one of these as well soon, isn't there a CF/SD to DVD device out there? Alteratec used to have one (Lightscribe manufacturer), but now they only have the CDR option and they're pretty expensive.

@noli: PDX70, what model is this and how much?

I bought mine online from an australian outfit (forgot how much - sorry). You can try Aperture Trading in Banawe. Their website shows they're marketing the PDX 70 hyperdrive. You can buy it empty(supply your own HD).

Nols

Noli: Thanks, man...

Hi guys, just wanna share another option.

you may want to try 'Vosonic' ?
here is the link http://www.vosonic.com/

my friends says its really good.
almost the same feature as Creative Zen Vision:W in one look, but check the specs, it has more..
it plays mp3, movie, FM radio, mobile backup(yes it has a multicard reader), replacable HD (yep, you can have more than 120GB), and it supports RAW...

but its a little bit expensive than creative though.. :)

Digimate V

http://www.etmag.com/showcase/china/company/Anpson/Digimate-V.jpg

Model No.: Digimate V 2.5"TFT LCD Display Databank with MP3,MP4 player
Support CFI/II, MS,MD,MS Pro,MS Duo,SD,MMC,RS-MMC,XD
2.5"TFT LCD Display
Plays picture,video,MP3
Support AV out and remote control
3D Speaker


Digimate V-plus
http://www.etmag.com/showcase/china/company/Anpson/digimate-V-plus.jpg


Model No.:Digimate V-plus

Support CFI/II, MS,MS Pro,MS Duo,SD,MMC,RS-MMC,Mini SD,XD
2.5"TFT LCD Display
Super digital TV partner
Plays picture,video,MP3,MP4
Support Video recorder,full of video&audio player
Support TV in/ out
3D Speaker

I have an Epson P3000 but I find this device more practical in terms of cost and portability,where can I buy this unit?

Yes... im a victim too... :(

too lazy to do regular backups.. my HD crashed a week ago... circa 2004-2007 worth of images. all the travels that i did... all the studio shoots that i made... all the commissioned work... all gone.:(:(:(

sure i probably made some back up from 2004 to 2006... but i dont think i made one for 2007 (ironically was a good year for me in photography... tsk..tsk)

anyway, im sending my HD to a professional group this week. hopefully they would recover the files in my HD. wish me luck!

any suggestions or help from you guys are greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

Levi

Oh my, it's HDD crash month...

Did you print your works??

@ David

i know...just read melvin's post...:(

@ Miguel

not as much as i would have liked.

if ever my files are recovered... thats the first thing im gonna do.. print my damn work.

i guess thats the best 'backup' one could ever do.

got my HD crashed to 2 weeks ago... dont have a backup for 4 days shoot!!!! hay.... im doomed pag bumalik na ung client to check it out... im still hoping for it to be recovered.. will send it tom to greenhills... my 1st attempt to recover it didnt work...

@levi what is the cause of the crash? is it noisy? nakikita pa ba siya ng bios mo?

External HDs can be a good investment... :)

oh man levs!:Shock: I do hope you recover 100% of your files. keep us updated.

External HDs can be a good investment... :)
yeah... have external HD backup and DVD backup as well... pero unfortunately 4 days lang ako di nag backup bigla na nag crash!!!!

It only took one HDD crash to convince me to backup my files. Thank God I only lost photos from my pre-DSLR days and I really wasn't into photography yet at that time. Nowadays, I back up my photo files about once a month and everytime I have to format my cards. Gives me peace of mind. Sorry to hear about your bad luck, Levi.

@ charles

im not quite sure whats the cause of the crash.... but i dont hear any noise when the HD is attached to my laptop. and it still can be detected as an external HD (but no files are reported).

where are you bringing your HD for recovery?

good luck man.

@ Nino

Thanks man. I do hope so too... im praying they would recover my 2007 files.. as i have backup of the past 2-3 years...

@ enzo

it was my external HD that crashed... bought one again already last week to possibly transfer (recovered) files... :(

@ giovanni

thanks for the input man.

seeing your post made me remember my work in bora when we met you.. tsk...tsk...

well i guess this is a very good excuse to go back to all the places that ive been to to snap it off again...hay...

@ giovanni

thanks for the input man.

seeing your post made me remember my work in bora when we met you.. tsk...tsk...

well i guess this is a very good excuse to go back to all the places that ive been to to snap it off again...hay...

That IS indeed a good excuse to revisit those places. :D

oh my... thats bad. Hope you can recover it... What external hd was it? I'm using a Lacie 100 GB. So far so good...

@ Enzo

Thanks man. My external HD was an Iomega 250Gb.

I bought a Seagate this time.

Bro, sorry to hear about your predicament. That is such a bummer. :( I do have your funranch pics if you want it. I believe it's part of your circa 2007 pics :D

@ ian

thanks chief. would appreciate that.

i'll contact you just in case my HD is declared officially dead :(

Did you print your works??
This is really the best way to preserve your best digital images. Print them in archival ink on archival paper and put them in a dark, cool, and relatively dry place. CDs, DVDs, and hard disks can and will eventually go bad. Even if only a few bytes fail, they could ruin the whole image.

When digitally stored images fail, they fail suddenly. Poof! They're gone. Paper records however go bad slowly. They can fade, get scratched, etc, but the image should still be discernible and can be reconstructed by a competent photo restorer.

Another thing to consider is file formats. They can and will be obsolete in the future. It may not happen in your lifetime. but if you are conserving your images for your grandchildren and their children, JPGs and TIFs may no longer be supported by the computers and/or programs currently available in their lifetime. However, a physical copy of your image on archival paper, even at a hundred years old, will preserve the original image, if properly cared for.

Just a question guys....which is more safe and secured as a "back-up" media, store it in an external HDD or store it in a CD/DVD media??? Thanks

Just a question guys....which is more safe and secured as a "back-up" media, store it in an external HDD or store it in a CD/DVD media??? Thanks

why not both, I do backup my images in an external HDD and DVD, sometimes I do 2 DVD backups (I recommend branded DVDs than generic ones) for more important images.

why not both, I do backup my images in an external HDD and DVD, sometimes I do 2 DVD backups (I recommend branded DVDs than generic ones) for more important images.

This is a very good idea. I back up files using an external hdd and burn 2 dvd copies ( 1 stays with me, the other I send to my sister for safekeeping)

On backing up to hard disks, I suggest that you use a stationary or deskbound unit, rather than a portable one that you bring around -- there more prone to mechanical failure when subjected to the rigours of a mobile lifestyle.

why not both, I do backup my images in an external HDD and DVD, sometimes I do 2 DVD backups (I recommend branded DVDs than generic ones) for more important images.

How about a double sided or a dual layer DVD??? Do U have any experience withis this??? Thanks:)

guys, should I be worried if I hear some kinda noise from my external hd? one of my externals is making a strange noise....

oh and on dvd's and cd's... i checked out my old discs (5years old) and some of them cant be opened anymore. so dont rely on burning on cd's/dvd's either.

Time to send more files to miguel for printing..especially my travel, family photos which are priceless!!

i put all my images on my ipod ( thanks 160gb ) and also i burn them on dvds,, hope that's enough :Grin:

hope you recover your photos sir levi :)

i checked out my old discs (5years old) and some of them cant be opened anymore. so dont rely on burning on cd's/dvd's either.


i think dvds have a lifespan of 5 years while cds have a shorter lifespan,, :(

I thought you were able to recover all your files... partial lang pala. I hope you'll be able to recover all. No back-up for 2007... bummer, esp wilth all your travels this year. :(

oh and on dvd's and cd's... i checked out my old discs (5years old) and some of them cant be opened anymore. so dont rely on burning on cd's/dvd's either.



Someone told me that you have to re-burn DVD back-ups every 2 years to make sure you can still open the files. :Thinking:

Another thing... if your external HD won't turn on and you hear a sound, stop trying to turn it on as this will damage chances of recovering your files. :)

Someone told me that you have to re-burn DVD back-ups every 2 years to make sure you can still open the files. :Thinking:

what a pain in the butt!!:Angry:

WOW...with all the comments made on HDDs, CDs and DVDs...it makes you wonder what more is left out there to secure Ur data. I sometimes think that FILM is much more secure and safe than digital. Sorry Im being PARANOID na...:(

[quote=Pilar Tuason;269389]
oh and on dvd's and cd's... i checked out my old discs (5years old) and some of them cant be opened anymore. so dont rely on burning on cd's/dvd's either.

quote]
Just found out that i can still open my back-up Cds of 2003 ( pre-DSLR and point and shoot pictures). Do U think I still have to re-BURN or back-up this CDs????:(

guys, should I be worried if I hear some kinda noise from my external hd? one of my externals is making a strange noise....


Ma'am I would be careful with this already especially if the noise is now more prominent than before... (knock on wood) but it may be a sign of things to come :Scared:

OH MY GOSH!!! im not alone!!!!!!!!! i lost all my photos last week!!! ever single one!!!!!!!!!! all i have are low res copies which i used to upload to the web and of course my film negatives from before i went digital! wahhhhh!!!

im gna try http://www.xyon.com.ph/index.html soon if my own efforts to recover my drive are fruitless. they recover hard drives for P7,000. i've heard only praises for them at philmug

Hey Levi... I think we're in the same boat man. Fortunately for me, my personal files (e.g. photos, mp3s, movies) are on a different HDD. In fact, I believe I'm doing a better job of backing up my personal stuff (HDD + 2 CD copies) than my actual work files (never backed them up, left uncopied on my laptop). I received some great tips from the guys here in DPP on possible ways to recover data. I'll share them with you via PM.

guys, should I be worried if I hear some kinda noise from my external hd? one of my externals is making a strange noise....

oh and on dvd's and cd's... i checked out my old discs (5years old) and some of them cant be opened anymore. so dont rely on burning on cd's/dvd's either.

Time to send more files to miguel for printing..especially my travel, family photos which are priceless!!

Ma'am, I think you should be worried. If you are hearing a screaching or ticking noise, then I would immediately back them up and have my HDD looked at. Before my laptop HDD crashed, I was hearing a weird continous ticking noise for weeks. Before my HDD finally crashed (and I saw the "BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH"), my HDD was making screeching noises like those old dot-matrix printers.

Pilar, if in doubt, get a new drive :D

(Levi's and Melvin's thread got me paranoid and i bought a 500gb maxtor this morning hehehe)

hi melvin! mind sharing your tips to us too? :)

@David - same here Bud, I am buying later another external HDD. I'll make two back ups hehe :D

@David - same here Bud, I am buying later another external HDD. I'll make two back ups hehe :D

Hello Ivan...." the prodigal son"...on the spending spree uli...hehehe ( joke lang). wla ba tyo shoots this weekend?:)

Hello Ivan...." the prodigal son"...on the spending spree uli...hehehe ( joke lang). wla ba tyo shoots this weekend?:)


I got paranoid on what happened with Levi and Melvin.. So I decided to back up as well my external HDD, two backs na!!! Better safe than never :D.. I've had my fair share of CD and DVD back ups, after a few years, can't read them anymore..

Shoot? how bout roadtrip? :)

David, Forwarded to me this site: http://www.cbltech.com.sg/

I believe they specialize in this sort of issues however, their price range is from 300-3000SGD!!! (almost worth my whole laptop)... Although they are good, I'm still thinking if its worth it. 3000SGD is worth a lot of money! :)

Yikes!

i'm updating my anit-virus first then backup my files..

what a wake up call!

OT: Did you know that I was on my way to CDR-King Goldcrest (just a few steps from the Glorietta 2 entrance) last Friday to buy blank DVDs? God is good!!! I missed that explosion by an hour.

Anyway, I need to buy blank DVDs to back up all the photos taken in the last month.

@ Melvin

thanks man. im on my way to xyon. hope they would be able to come up with something.

@ Tok

you better do that man.

@ charles

im not quite sure whats the cause of the crash.... but i dont hear any noise when the HD is attached to my laptop. and it still can be detected as an external HD (but no files are reported).

where are you bringing your HD for recovery?

good luck man.



sa v-mall, katabi ng gilmore shop dun... hay.... wish us luck.. pero di ko pa madala dami work... can you update me about your recovery status? sabi kasi nila basta nakikita siya kaya daw eh..

sa v-mall, katabi ng gilmore shop dun... hay.... wish us luck.. pero di ko pa madala dami work... can you update me about your recovery status? sabi kasi nila basta nakikita siya kaya daw eh..

Interesting... What do you mean "basta nakikita kaya daw"? Because I reconnect my crashed HDD to another laptop. It can detect the HD (it appears on the My Computer Window), but when I try to open the HDD it goes into error. Or as if the HDD does not exist. Is this what you mean???

Melvin: There's a "ask for a quote" link there, could be the 3000 price tag is for mainframes na or something hehe. They look "serious", though...

@ levi and charles

Try calling this guy to recover your files.

Christopher Tan, Owner of XYON Inc. (Tel. 441-8941). He specializes on HD recovery. Apple center recommended him to me last year when my ibook G4 crashed (2002-2006 of files). Apple technicians cannot fix it so I have no choice but to go to him. Recovered all my files, took him only 24 hours to do it. Charged me 6K. Its all worth it. Now I have an iomega back up.

Its worth the try. Good luck.

Interesting... What do you mean "basta nakikita kaya daw"? Because I reconnect my crashed HDD to another laptop. It can detect the HD (it appears on the My Computer Window), but when I try to open the HDD it goes into error. Or as if the HDD does not exist. Is this what you mean???

@ melvin

i believe what charles is trying to say is that - as long as your computer 'reconginizes' that a HD is attached... there's a shed of hope that our files would be recovered. based from other feedbacks - HDs that are NOT recognizable have slimmer chance to be recovered.

@ rex

thanks man. yes, im planning to visit xyon (hopefully today once the rains stops :()

hopefully they wld recover majority of my files. thank you.

Levi...sorry to hear that. If it's any consolation, I've experienced a more painful experience when 2 weeks ago, my HD containing both corporate work files and & personal files went kaput. I work for product development of a car manufacturing company and a lot of the files that were lost pertain to studies & specs of new car models that will be launched in our country 5-8 years from now.

What made it more painful was I lost pictures of my family...pictures from my wedding, pictures of our trips, pictures when my wife was pregnant, and the thing that really makes me weak at the kness....pictures when my daughter was born...from the delivery room, to her first walk, first birthday, lots of firsts...all down the drain. I just want to bang my head on a wall again :(

Interesting... What do you mean "basta nakikita kaya daw"? Because I reconnect my crashed HDD to another laptop. It can detect the HD (it appears on the My Computer Window), but when I try to open the HDD it goes into error. Or as if the HDD does not exist. Is this what you mean???


yep... sabi ng taga v-mall... basta kita daw sa bios.. kahit hindi kita sa windows.... btw ang rate nila is 1500.... not sure if its "no recovery no pay" so un... ill try it tom di ako makaalis ngaun...

Levi...sorry to hear that. If it's any consolation, I've experienced a more painful experience when 2 weeks ago, my HD containing both corporate work files and & personal files went kaput. I work for product development of a car manufacturing company and a lot of the files that were lost pertain to studies & specs of new car models that will be launched in our country 5-8 years from now.

What made it more painful was I lost pictures of my family...pictures from my wedding, pictures of our trips, pictures when my wife was pregnant, and the thing that really makes me weak at the kness....pictures when my daughter was born...from the delivery room, to her first walk, first birthday, lots of firsts...all down the drain. I just want to bang my head on a wall again :(

NO WAY MAN!!!!!! dude sorry to hear that... grabe.... wala na atang katumbas ung sayo.. did you recovering it? even with professionals? me i only lost 4 days of pictures... pero mabigat na kasi pag hinanap ng clients.... but what makes me sad also is my grandma's photo is included on the same dates.... but again my situation is no match from yours.... i hope you recover your files.

Levi...sorry to hear that. If it's any consolation, I've experienced a more painful experience when 2 weeks ago, my HD containing both corporate work files and & personal files went kaput. I work for product development of a car manufacturing company and a lot of the files that were lost pertain to studies & specs of new car models that will be launched in our country 5-8 years from now.

What made it more painful was I lost pictures of my family...pictures from my wedding, pictures of our trips, pictures when my wife was pregnant, and the thing that really makes me weak at the kness....pictures when my daughter was born...from the delivery room, to her first walk, first birthday, lots of firsts...all down the drain. I just want to bang my head on a wall again :(

So sorry for your lost man...

Fortunate for my case, I have a seperate system for my personal and work stuff. I don't want to have my personal stuff mixing with my messy work stuff, but I can definitely relate to what happend to you. This particular incident sets me back at least 2-3weeks. I have several design documents that needs to be reconstructed immediately. :(

If you think about it, losing your HDD is almost equivalent to your house getting burned (lesser degree of course). Just imagine all the lost memories, all the rebuilding effort to get back where you are, cash-out just to get a new "home" for your files, etc. Its both irritating and pathetic that we humans have become so attached to our machines, that when murphy's law hits us, we find it in a high-level of tragedy. I think Asimov's prophecy is indeed coming true.... :(

yep... sabi ng taga v-mall... basta kita daw sa bios.. kahit hindi kita sa windows.... btw ang rate nila is 1500.... not sure if its "no recovery no pay" so un... ill try it tom di ako makaalis ngaun...

Its worth a check... I'm very desperate to get my work files back. I'll be cutting over my project next november, and I don't have a single document about it (I was almost 80% complete before this stupid HDD crash hit me).

Thanks for the tip, man!!! :)

@ charles

im not quite sure whats the cause of the crash.... but i dont hear any noise when the HD is attached to my laptop. and it still can be detected as an external HD (but no files are reported).

where are you bringing your HD for recovery?

good luck man.

@ Nino

Thanks man. I do hope so too... im praying they would recover my 2007 files.. as i have backup of the past 2-3 years...

@ enzo

it was my external HD that crashed... bought one again already last week to possibly transfer (recovered) files... :(

Levi, if the disk still gets recognized, there's a good chance you can recover your files assuming you haven't written on it since the crash. What do you mean by no files are reported? If you experienced a crash and the disk is still working, normally what you end up with is a disk with garbled files and directories. It's also possible that it is just a FAT or partition table problem. I would suggest Ontrack's EasyRecovery Professional. The trial version allows you to examine your hard drive and reports the files that you can recover. You have to purchase the retail version to be able to recover the files.

Cheers,
Norman

@Charles...yes way sir! It happens....and it happened to me. :(

@Melvin...i should have done that way back. I was in financial bind hence I wasn't able to prioritize those little things and just kept on shooting and shooting...i haven't even told the wife yet. Might try those suggestions posted earlier.

Levi..sabay tayo sir!!!

@ norman

thanks for the tip. ill try to check that out too if xyon wont be able to address the issue.

very frustrating.... hope this doesnt happen to anyone here in dpp anymore.

@ allen

man, i feel for you chief. was able to go to xyon tody because of the rain. but i might go tomorrow morning. i was able to cal though and according to the girl i talked to - they would be able to know if my HD is 'recover-able' or not within a week.

you may want to check it out man. nothing to lose here.

good luck to us. lets stay positive :)

trying to stay positive..

My laptop can't detect one of my external drives, tried it on some computers too and same result. When I plug it in, I can feel and hear it running pa naman, and it lights up din, but it does not appear on my computer. Hoping it's a casing problem lang. Sayang naman yung files ko.. :S I'm a bit worried. :(

Sorry to hear that, i think most of us undergone this kind of delima. I already experienced this on my two external HD, fortunately the first one was partially recovered but the 2nd HD is totally damage but this time I've learned my lesson well, i have a backup. Since then i'm very careful. Unless of course stolen or lost, that's another story.

just like to give you guys an update on what happened to my HD.

sent my HD to Xyon (a local company who specializes in data recovery). unfortunately they were only able to recover 120Gb of the 200GB++ contents of my harddrive. the sad thing though... the most important folder was not recovered - photos from all of my trips, commission work and personal projects - ALL GONE:(.

now Xyon suggested i send my HD to the US (Seagate) as they dont hav the facility to do it here. The quote that they gave me is $1500.00 (as for the recovery service). that does include vat!!

so now im saving up ... need to have those photos back :(:(:(

and as a result.. have to say goodbye to Fuji S5/D200/D300.

back up your work guys.... it takes a lot of time its all worth it.

sorry to hear that bro,you should have saved it on dvd disc and kept it in a safebox.

sorry to hear that bro,you should have saved it on dvd disc and kept it in a safebox.

Thanks man. i did back them up.. well some of them... :(

still hoping they would still be recovered.

Levi...you just gave me hope. I'll try that shop you posted earlier.

OT...I grabbed a copy of a Mabuhay magazine from my sister in law's house. I flip through the pages and who's photos do I see? Yours bro...those were pretty mean. I'm referring to your boracay set. :)

Levi...you just gave me hope. I'll try that shop you posted earlier.

OT...I grabbed a copy of a Mabuhay magazine from my sister in law's house. I flip through the pages and who's photos do I see? Yours bro...those were pretty mean. I'm referring to your boracay set. :)

@ allen

Good luck sir. Hope you'll be able to recover your files.

OT.... thanks sir. Appreciate it. Those images I (luckily) still have... but for the rest of my travel for 2007 (currently) are all gone...Im still positive though.

Glad you like the feature.

I just got a Digimate III Portable drive (portable photobank/card reader) for less than P2,000. and a separate 160 GB Western Digital 2.5 IDE hard disk (cost me P3,950) installed inside the Digimate. The total cost was only a little less than P6,000 which is still very cheap.
In my own opinion, I think the Digimate is a very practical and less expensive alternative for quickly transferring your files without bringing your laptop or computer. If you want one with a picture viewer then the Digimate V can do that at a much higher cost.

where can you buy this digimate?

If you want fast transfer rate from CF to imagebank i highly recommend PD70x. nothing fancy but does the job very well :)

where can you buy this digimate?

You can buy the Digimate at www.tipidpc.com, then go to the For sale items under the Portable drive category. Price is less than P2,000 and shipping is already included in the sale price.
I was able to test my Digimate III today at an event. It took more or less 5 minutes only to transfer a total of 2 GB jpeg files from the CF card to the Digimate. I think this is fast. :)

Digimate III
http://i19.tinypic.com/4dciqeo.jpg

i got my PhotoBank at Cdrking for P880 then i just install my 2.5 inch 80gig hd..work like the Digimate
http://www.cdrking.com/local/products/index.php?action=&temp=2&typeno=6824425-652202-835025400-9162003&prod=Cd-r King&prodcode=3822408-632277-182906330-1248070

You can buy the Digimate at www.tipidpc.com (http://www.tipidpc.com), then go to the For sale items under the Portable drive category. Price is less than P2,000 and shipping is already included in the sale price.
I was able to test my Digimate III today at an event. It took more or less 5 minutes only to transfer a total of 2 GB jpeg files from the CF card to the Digimate. I think this is fast. :)


Hi WEna:

Can this device store pictures in RAW and sRAW formats?

Thanks

Troy

Can this device store pictures in RAW and sRAW formats?
Troy
Yes, I already transferred jpeg and raw files from my CF cards to the Digimate and then downloaded and viewed the transferred files to my computer. I think you can transfer any files from your cf/sd cards to the Digimate. I think what's important is that you have the necessary software or application to view those transferred files in your computer. :)

Yes, I already transferred jpeg and raw files from my CF cards to the Digimate and then downloaded and viewed the transferred files to my computer. I think you can transfer any files from your cf/sd cards to the Digimate. I think what's important is that you have the necessary software or application to view those transferred files in your computer. :)

Thank you Wena.

Great Info, so it breaks down to these three products:

Photo Bank (CDR-King) 880.00 + 4,000.00 = 4,880.00
http://www.cdrking.com/local/products/index.php?action=&temp=2&typeno=6824425-652202-835025400-9162003&prod=Cd-r&prodcode=3822408-632277-182906330-1248070

Digimate III (tipid.com) 1,600.00 + 4,000.00 = 5,600.00
http://www.tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=1422319

PD70x (Aperture ?) 6,800.00 (not sure) + 4000.00 = 10,800.00
http://d30.info/reviews/PD70x/

*4,000 is an 2.5 120Gb 2.5 hard drive

I think the issues when considering these items are:
1. Battery lifespan, rechargeable built in? non-replaceable?
2. Transfer rate, from Flash Card to Portable Storage
3. Cost.

can they really read raw files? are nikon NEF files supported? that'd be pretty cool

More on Digimate III Portable drive
[available from Cleveland at www.tipidpc.com just search at Portable Media Drives under the for sale items]:

You can transfer raw and jpeg files. The transfer rate is fast. For a 2gb it takes approximately 5 minutes. Its cheap at only Php1600.

The Photobank at CDR king is also cheaper at Php1,080 only but what i like about the Digimate is its Color Display.

I got the 160 2.5" IDE Western Digital hardisk same with laptops for only P3,950.
Then you have to format the hardisk to Fat32.
I had mine formatted into Two partitions 80 Gb each (you can have it also single partition), at Abacus Microcomputers at V-Mall Greenhills for just P50.00. It only took 5 minutes to have it formatted at Abacus and they didn't use Magic Partition to format it.

Other Features:
Power supply:
- Internal changeable 3.7V Lithium-ion (1200mAH) Rechargeable Battery

Flash memory cards supported:
Compact Flash Card type I, type II (CF)
Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro (MS/MS PRO/MS PRODUO)
Secure Digital Card (SD)
Micro Drive, Mini SD, RS-MMC Card
Multimedia Card (MMC)
Hard disk drive: (not included in package)
Form factor: 2.5 inch
Capacity: suitable for 10GB, 20GB, 30GB, 40GB, 60GB, 80GB, 120GB and 160GB

File System Support:
Support Unicode
Long File Name FAT32 support for hard disk drive
FAT12/16/32 support for memory cards

More on Digimate III Portable drive
[available from Cleveland at www.tipidpc.com (http://www.tipidpc.com) just search at Portable Media Drives under the for sale items]:

You can transfer raw and jpeg files. The transfer rate is fast. For a 2gb it takes approximately 5 minutes. Its cheap at only Php1600.

The Photobank at CDR king is also cheaper at Php1,080 only but what i like about the Digimate is its Color Display.

I got the 160 2.5" IDE Western Digital hardisk same with laptops for only P3,950.
Then you have to format the hardisk to Fat32.
I had mine formatted into Two partitions 80 Gb each (you can have it also single partition), at Abacus Microcomputers at V-Mall Greenhills for just P50.00. It only took 5 minutes to have it formatted at Abacus and they didn't use Magic Partition to format it.

Other Features:
Power supply:
- Internal changeable 3.7V Lithium-ion (1200mAH) Rechargeable Battery

Flash memory cards supported:
Compact Flash Card type I, type II (CF)
Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro (MS/MS PRO/MS PRODUO)
Secure Digital Card (SD)
Micro Drive, Mini SD, RS-MMC Card
Multimedia Card (MMC)
Hard disk drive: (not included in package)
Form factor: 2.5 inch
Capacity: suitable for 10GB, 20GB, 30GB, 40GB, 60GB, 80GB, 120GB and 160GB

File System Support:
Support Unicode
Long File Name FAT32 support for hard disk drive
FAT12/16/32 support for memory cards

might try this out.. thnx wena :)

Hi im a newbiee here and im base in dubai... im having my annual leave and going to philippines... btw im from marikina... :)

Now i would like to ask what Portable storage that i could directly copy from my CF. Bring laptop would be a big hassle..

ei robert,
try looking at plug-ins, saw one there but try to find find the product by yourself 'cause the salesperson there, ironically, dont know what i was trying to buy..... try DG Sharaf too, they have a wide range of gears & electronic equipments...

merry christmas!:Grin:

More on Digimate III Portable drive
[available from Cleveland at www.tipidpc.com (http://www.tipidpc.com) just search at Portable Media Drives under the for sale items]:

You can transfer raw and jpeg files. The transfer rate is fast. For a 2gb it takes approximately 5 minutes. Its cheap at only Php1600.

The Photobank at CDR king is also cheaper at Php1,080 only but what i like about the Digimate is its Color Display.

I got the 160 2.5" IDE Western Digital hardisk same with laptops for only P3,950.
Then you have to format the hardisk to Fat32.
I had mine formatted into Two partitions 80 Gb each (you can have it also single partition), at Abacus Microcomputers at V-Mall Greenhills for just P50.00. It only took 5 minutes to have it formatted at Abacus and they didn't use Magic Partition to format it.

Other Features:
Power supply:
- Internal changeable 3.7V Lithium-ion (1200mAH) Rechargeable Battery

Flash memory cards supported:
Compact Flash Card type I, type II (CF)
Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro (MS/MS PRO/MS PRODUO)
Secure Digital Card (SD)
Micro Drive, Mini SD, RS-MMC Card
Multimedia Card (MMC)
Hard disk drive: (not included in package)
Form factor: 2.5 inch
Capacity: suitable for 10GB, 20GB, 30GB, 40GB, 60GB, 80GB, 120GB and 160GB

File System Support:
Support Unicode
Long File Name FAT32 support for hard disk drive
FAT12/16/32 support for memory cards

What's the difference between the Digimate III and the CD-R King Photobank, other than the color display? transfer rate? card compatability?

Thanks

For the Cd-r king Photobank you can check the features at their site at www.cdrking.com or you can also view this link, http://www.cdrking.com/local/products/index.php?action=&temp=2&typeno=6824425-652202-835025400-9162003∏=Cd-r%20King&prodcode=3822408-632277-182906330-1248070 (http://www.cdrking.com/local/products/index.php?action=&temp=2&typeno=6824425-652202-835025400-9162003&prod=Cd-r%20King&prodcode=3822408-632277-182906330-1248070)

http://www.cdrking.com/images/products/Others/pbank00.gif

Some of the features: (based on the www.cdrking.com)
Standalone copy/backup contents of flash memory cards to Photo Bank - no computer needed
Backup your digital photographs, video, audio and data files while on the road without a computer
480 mbps maximum transfer rate
high-speed USB 2.0 portable hard disk
Product Feature: Compact Flash Card type I, type II or Hitachi Micro Drive
Flash Memory Cards Supported: Smart Media card , Memory Stick Pro, secure Digital Card, Multimedia Card, XD Card
Power Supply Internal Lithium-ion: rechargeable battery
Charging time: Automatic Led green when full charge
Battery life: 2hrs
USB Interface: USB 2.0 (up to 480Mbps, USB 1.1 compatible)
File System Support: FAT32/16 support for hard disk drive, FAT 12 support for memory cards
Copying Files CF 2gb: 17 minutes
Copying Files 2gb: 36 minutes

CF-sized microdrives at 30 & 40Gb is now available from Samsung. Check this out:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/06/samsung-spinpoint-a1-resurrects-1-inch-microdrive-format-with-30/

It should be enough to replace all your CFs :)

i'd still be worried about the moving parts of the micro drive... but the price is very competitive... i hope the prices of compact flash cards would follow suit (trans: hope it gets even cheaper... and cheaper :) )....

oh... and having all my pics in on cards actually worries me.. the largest i use is an 8gig CF....

always nice to see advancements in technology... usually means things will get cheaper...

thank you for sharing the link sir

Hi Wena,

In the spec sheet it seemed that to transfer a 2gb Compact flash (card speed not specified) it would take you 17 minutes but you have tried it and it only took 5 minutes? Wow (what CF card speed did you try it with?) this is interesting.

"You can transfer raw and jpeg files. The transfer rate is fast. For a 2gb it takes approximately 5 minutes. Its cheap at only Php1600."

Hi Wena,

In the spec sheet it seemed that to transfer a 2gb Compact flash (card speed not specified) it would take you 17 minutes but you have tried it and it only took 5 minutes? Wow (what CF card speed did you try it with?) this is interesting.

"You can transfer raw and jpeg files. The transfer rate is fast. For a 2gb it takes approximately 5 minutes. Its cheap at only Php1600."

The 17 minutes transfer rate spec is the Cd-r kings specs.
What i own and currently using is the Digimate III. The Digimate III seems fast enough. The 5 minutes transfer rate was for a 1 gb Cf card and it took me less than 10 minutes to transfer 2 GB jpeg and raw files. Btw, im using Sandisk Extreme III 4 GB Cf card.

Okay thanks, so its about 10+ minutes for the 2gb card. Actually while browsing in the internet I find that the CD-r King "Photo Bank" came from the same manufacturer as the Digimate III, only its one of their earlier model (Digimate II):
http://www.asia-product.com/divx-player-digimate-digimate-photobank-c-4_22.html?osCsid=158e169fb0f950258e9d35207ab3acfd

Thanks so much Wena for sharing...

At TipidPC(Cleveland) i got the HDD Player which also double as SD card copier..although it doesnt have the lcd display of Digimate 2 and 3 and CDrKing Photobank i can play videos directly from my tv.

take the NEXTO. check the description on this link http://www.eastgear.com/shop/index.php?cPath=17

where can I buy digimate V here in the phils. Isn't avail at tipidpc. How about at Gilmore? anyone knows how much does it cost? I dont want Digimate III for I want to view my stored pictures on my portable device like Digimate V

Are the Epson viewers still available in the Philippines? Where can they be purchased and for how much?

Thanks

Troy

Infomaxx has had them in the past.

Infomaxx has had them in the past.

thanks arthur

Im about to post new thread on "what is the best external HD to store photos?" and this thread came out. The last post here was January 2007. Any updates? Im planning to buy between WD and Seagate but some of my officemates told me WD is vulnerable. So which is best? Please help me decide. I want 500G of size. TIA

Im about to post new thread on "what is the best external HD to store photos?" and this thread came out. The last post here was January 2007. Any updates? Im planning to buy between WD and Seagate but some my officemates told me WD is vulnerable. So which is best? Please help me decide. I want 500G of size. TIA

Western Digital. Seagate isn't that reliable for external storage as 4 drive failed me.

Western Digital. Seagate isn't that reliable for external storage as 4 drive failed me.

Thanks Nin.. I'll consider that. I think WD My Book or Passport is for me. :)

Im about to post new thread on "what is the best external HD to store photos?" and this thread came out. The last post here was January 2007. Any updates? Im planning to buy between WD and Seagate but some of my officemates told me WD is vulnerable. So which is best? Please help me decide. I want 500G of size. TIA

Mine's a 500 WD myBook Home ed 500G, and it seems ok for me. I am enjoying every inch of it :D

Mine's a 500 WD myHome 500G, and it seems ok for me. I am enjoying every inch of it :D

Thanks Dan! Big help...

Thanks Dan! Big help...

Your very most welcome sir! :) If you're planning to get a higher capacity then, there are 750GB and 1 TB availabe for WD MyBook, sorry for an error, mine's a Home edition WD MyBook :D

Western Digital My passport Essential - 250gb

i now use two 500gb WD mybook studio eds and a 320g iomega.
These drives are pretty stable as long as you don't move them around.

Although sometime in the future i'd like to have a drobo :)

Thanks for the tips guys! Exactly the thread I was looking for. I guess I'll be trying out the MyBook from WD.

My files are currently backed up with Apple's Black 160GB external HD (my iPod ehehe). =P

i now use two 500gb WD mybook studio eds and a 320g iomega.
These drives are pretty stable as long as you don't move them around.

Although sometime in the future i'd like to have a drobo :)

Plus one to that. I like to have a Drobo too. The self healing is cool! :)

For the past month I've been storing everything from my camera on my office laptop (not mine). This morning I got a Buffalo MiniStation HD-PEU2 (http://www.buffalotech.com/products/external-storage/ministation/ministation-cobalt-portable-usb-20-hard-drive-hd-peu2/), 250GB. Everything came off the laptop and into this little baby.

When I can afford to be really paranoid I'd probably get an Iomega. :Grin:

Lacie is the brand for me. I have 2 500gb external drives, 1 320 gb and 2 250gb and all are working excellently.

Tried seagate before but I'm not too happy with it coz there are times when I need to access some of my old pictures and the drive suddenly can't be accessed.

It's getting harder and harder to look for Lacie external hard drives locally that's lower than 1 TB though.

Question, are there different types of external hard drive? Or all hard drives in the market are compatible in all computer generations?

file system > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_system

Digital cameras record images using some form of storage media card, and just like any other data storage device, they must be formatted before they could be used.

My question, How do you format your memory cards? Do you use the in camera format utility or do you format them on a computer and what file system you use.

I think all digital camera supports FAT16 as file system and is usually the default file system on a memory card. However, there is another file system which most digital cameras support and that is FAT32. FAT32 is basically an enhancment to FAT16 and is more efficient in data storage.

To give you an idea about the efficiency, I have compared the two file system on my Canon 450D.

This shows how much images can be stored on an empty 2GB SD card on different resolutons.

image quality (resolution) vs. number of images

In Camera format utility (can only be formatted using FAT16)
L 445
L2 855
M 748
M2 1427
S 1152
S2 2220


PC format utility (formatted using FAT32)
L 445
L2 863
M 750
M2 1437
S 1169
S2 2258

@robert
i appreciate the comparison; won't risk practicing it though. the risk of corrupting your SD is greater than the small gain in storage space. i always 'camera-format' the SD after dumping all images to the PC/external storage, minimizing the probability of cross-linked files/data corruption.

Cheers!

Just resurrecting this thread.

If you are like me and think that the Epson storage units are expensive, take a look at other manufacturers like Jobo, Wolverine or Hyperdrive.

I just picked up a Hyperdrive Colorspace UDMA to replace my Epson P-4500. The benefits of the Colorspace are that the hard drive can be replaced (with a SATA laptop hard drive), unlike the Espon, and the card readers are UDMA enabled. The UDMA feature allowed me to transfer approximately 4GB of photos (from my Lexar 300x UDMA CF card) to the Colorspace's hard drive in 2 minutes and 16 seconds. This task would have taken me over 30 minutes with the Epson!

Hi everyone,

Where do you store your photos? What's the ideal hard disk drive capacity for photographs?

Will portable external HDD suffice?

Are there ideal storage solutions for photographers?

Hi Unicka (sorry is this your name?). Welcome to DPP! For storage requirements, that will depend on how often you shoot and how many files you upload.

If you're an active shooter, then you'll probably run out of space on your PC or laptop at one point in the future.

I keep only the active files I'm working on in my laptop/PC. Files that are months or years old are transferred to an external hard disk drive (HDD). External HDDs with large capacities are now affordable and they're portable too.

Burning old files to CDs and DVDs are good but that's time consuming and for me, copying archiving files to an external HDD is more convenient and faster. An external HDD is not without its disadvantages... mainly, one day it will also fail because of tear and wear. But for me, it's the best way to go.

I'm sure the others will chime in. :)

what i normally do is dump all new images into my external hdd. they stay there until they are processed. once the images are post processed, they're either posted online or copied for the clients. then i make one more final copy in batches onto a dvd-r for archiving before i delete them from my external hdd.

i also pick a few shots for saving onto my pc or laptop so that i have a set of photos that i can show as a portfolio without the need to access my external hdd or pop in one of my archive dvds.

Hi everyone,

Where do you store your photos? What's the ideal hard disk drive capacity for photographs?

Will portable external HDD suffice?

The safest way of storing Digital photos is thru online (Photobucket,Shutterfly,ZoomR etc.)The beauty of storing digital medias online is that you can always access your precious files wherever the earth you are, as long as there's internet connection, a 1600 -pixel resolution is fairly enough to minimize upload times :D External HDDs aren't always that reliable, My 1 Terabyte iOmega HDD just died barely a week ago,from a simple bump, it lasted me for only six months.

Storing photos online are practical. In case I needed an image outside my home, I'll just get it from the site.. My only problem with having to upload online is the copyright. I'm not sure if I'm just being too paranoid but I heard once you use free hosts, they already own your content and they can make money out of it even without your permission.. that true? :Scared: Or am I just selfish or protective?

I run 3 systems for backing up, I have online storage, CD's, and a drobo with 4TB of storage (gotta love that even with drive failure my data is safe, I've lost way too much data with so many other kinds of external drives). I'm really anal about my backups.

The Drobo is quite expensive, but well worth it.

What's Drobo? What do you mean, you're protected by drive failure? Is it a network storage with backup software or technology? How does it work?

Well, I know a cousin who has a network storage with "RAID" but it's Buffalo. According to him, it's cool. There's also remote access of your files from home. Might try that too. But I don't know how it can protect you from drive failure just like what Drobo can do. Interesting.

Question, are there different types of external hard drive? Or all hard drives in the market are compatible in all computer generations?

Well, I believe hard drive compatibility vary according to product, feature and brand. There are different types of external hard drive or portable hard drives, mostly depending on feature or size or technology.

Size: 2.5" or 3.5"
Interface: There's SATA / SATA II, I don't know what that is anymore :)
Features: There are those that come with hardware encryption, some are shock absorbers, etc.

There are portables / mobile and those external HDD for desktop.

I heard lately that there's network storage too. Something like a hard drive that can be accessed by many PCs, Macs or other devices within a network.

For the past month I've been storing everything from my camera on my office laptop (not mine). This morning I got a Buffalo MiniStation HD-PEU2 (http://www.buffalotech.com/products/external-storage/ministation/ministation-cobalt-portable-usb-20-hard-drive-hd-peu2/), 250GB. Everything came off the laptop and into this little baby.

When I can afford to be really paranoid I'd probably get an Iomega. :Grin:

Try MiniStation PXT one.. that's shock resistant.

anyone here knows where I can find a good photobank?
I have a digimate II but its IDE, and limit is only 32GB. im hoping to find another photobank with SATA HDD.

thx

consider using a NAS (network attached storage) capable of 4gb to 8gb depends on the model.

+1 on NAS, If you really need to back up a lot of data. You can swap drives if one fails unlike portable HDD. Also if you are considering NAS might as well wait for the support of usb 3.0 before building one. 1TB HDD is a pain in usb 2.0

Also consider backing up online. Remember to keep 3 copies of the same file and 1 of them being off site.

Hi! I would like to ask you guys where do you usually store your pictures? I heard photobucket is not good because it reduce the quality of pictures. Please advise J

harddisks/portable storage/optical disks

flickr.com
multiply.com
facebook.com

Hi! I would like to ask you guys where do you usually store your pictures? I heard photobucket is not good because it reduce the quality of pictures. Please advise J

Do you mean where we post or where we store? If store then I download it to an external HDD and burn them to DVDs. I don't delete the photos from my memory cards until I have a copy on BOTH an external HDD and DVDs... Store the HDD and DVDs on separate locations...

You mean online storage? flickr is best, multiply also.

Do you mean where we post or where we store? If store then I download it to an external HDD and burn them to DVDs. I don't delete the photos from my memory cards until I have a copy on BOTH an external HDD and DVDs... Store the HDD and DVDs on separate locations...

Sorry for the confusion what I meant was where do you usually save your photos online?

I'm also planning to buy external HDD, any idea how much it would cost?

Sorry for the confusion what I meant was where do you usually save your photos online?

I'm also planning to buy external HDD, any idea how much it would cost?

Hi, Benjie,

I have a 1 TB My Book Essential HDD by Western Digital. Got it for Php5k. This is the non-portable type. Hope this gives you an idea of how much one would cost.

Cheers!

shutterfly :)

hard drives are the best storage then backup with dvd's.... dont forget to backup....

I honestly don't trust any hard drive in restoring my pics. I often burn my works on dvds. haha. :)

External HDD: Western Digital or Seagate.. :)

for online, flickr.com :)

Hi! I would like to ask you guys where do you usually store your pictures? I heard photobucket is not good because it reduce the quality of pictures. Please advise J

Try Flickr. You have to purchase a Pro account for you to store and retrieve hi-res images, though.

Sorry for the confusion what I meant was where do you usually save your photos online?

I'm also planning to buy external HDD, any idea how much it would cost?

You can get a 2TB for Php 4,500 from an online store abroad.

Drives: WD 320gb passport & WD 1TB My Book
Online: Flickr & Multiply.

I honestly don't trust any hard drive in restoring my pics. I often burn my works on dvds. haha. :)


dvd's are easier to damage than hard drives

but thats just me.. idk how you handle yours

dvd's are easier to damage than hard drives

but thats just me.. idk how you handle yours

Well if you always use the DVD then yes it is prone to scratches... I like to backup on both media (HDDs and DVDs). HDD is easier to access since you don't have to load each DVD to find what you need... The DVDs are mainly for archiving that I will only access if I lose (for whatever reason) my photos stored in my HDDs. Although the HDDs of today are a lot more reliable than before, the possibility of a crash/failure is still there especially as the HDD ages (maybe 1 in a few thousands but still you can become the unlucky one). Just store the DVDs in a cool but not humid environment and it should last (well not sure how long but some of my DVDs have lasted for 2 years now).

Honestly there's no storage devices that are actually safe and reliable, already mentioned DVD's CD's Blue Rays can be easily damaged if not stored properly, these media's are easily portable thou, hard drives are the same, though they are protected and some are shockproof it can get damaged electronically or through static or viruses. Online storage is somewhat an option if you have a steady internet fast connection or have signal if broadband. All we can do is just have multiple copies or backups, I have stored photos in DVD's and a back up hard drive...now that memory cards are getting larger capacities and cheaper am thinking of using them as backups also. if SDHC cards reaches up to 100GB capacity i think memory cards are the best choice for backups.

I always keep at least 2 copies. Given that they are getting too huge for DVDs to handle, I am migrating them to 2 HDDs. Last month, I bought a 1.5TB Seagate for only P5k. Its now very easy to backup since its only a few clicks to do.

Harddisks are getting cheaper and more reliable. My 320GB WD has been with me for over 4 years (pressed, dropped and thrown along with my laptop) and has never let me down.

Current harddisks also have software that will autodetect new or modified files and will autobackup. If you get that, then you don't even have to click anything. It will pull your new/modified files from your laptop and back them up.

Hope this helps.

I just bought yesterday a WD Elements 320GB for only 2.2k at Octagon. I think they still have it in sale until Jan 31 ;)

Hi! I would like to ask you guys where do you usually store your pictures? I heard photobucket is not good because it reduce the quality of pictures. Please advise J

pixi.me - is where I store my images using Gallery 2 (open source) and use rsync to stream backups to my Mac mini - I also have a few Samsung STORY 1TB drives and use DropBox for cloud storage.

I have two western digital externals, one failed already so I'm brought a seagate... the seagate's usb interface became loose... now I don't know who to trust anymore =/

Anyone of you guys using Buffalo external drive? any feedback on this? I saw this in one of the computer stores here in Robinsons and it's on sale for 1995pesos for 320gig, is it good to buy?

I've gone through 3 external hard drives over the past 4 years - and each one of them eventually failed me. One lesson I learned is to not transport them - just keep them on your desk and you'll be fine. I've decided to use a dedicated PC as a NAS or file server with 4 hard drives configured as a RAID10 array. Important images are saved twice on different DVD brands.

for real, 3 external hard drives? I'm curious to know what brands have you tried? I'm using an external hard drive my self to store my photos and this raises a flag knowing that the same thing might happen to me. :Scared:

When My Hard Drive Fails!

This is what left of my 4 year-old Seagate 320GB powered external hard drive. Together with 300GB of photos, documents, music and video files, it's going down the bin for an early burial. The bloke that tried to resuscitate it gave me a heart-attack-inducing quote of £ 350.00 (around Php 26,000.00) to try to recover the files inside it. I'm keeping it and will be sending it back to Manila for a much-cheaper data recovery rate :) .

It's where most of my RAW files are nicely tucked, catalouged, filed and organised for the last 4 years of my computing life.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu106/jeaniefitch/DSC_5027.jpg
...fortunately, I backed-up all my files to two hard drives - a 320GB Fujitsu and a 2nd 320GB Western Digital.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu106/jeaniefitch/DSC_5006.jpg
This is my new 500GB WD My Passport USB 3.0-ready external hard drive. A replacement for the good-old but faulty Seagate, got this for a bargain - £50.00 (around Php 3,700.00) in my local computer shop, 5 quid cheaper than Amazon UK.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu106/jeaniefitch/DSC_5013.jpg
It's USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatible on Arctic White glory.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu106/jeaniefitch/DSC_5019.jpg
Slighty smaller than my iPhone4 but a tad wider - it packed a 3x faster rate from the usual USB 2.0 enabled hard drives

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu106/jeaniefitch/DSC_5015.jpg
My 3-hard drive-backup-system - Fujitsu 320GB (black), WD Passport 320GB (red) and this new baby - WD My Passport 500GB (White)

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu106/jeaniefitch/DSC_5025.jpg
All my RAW files now go to my black Fujitsu drive, then 2 x jpeg files (high-res and low-res files) dumped to the 2xWD (red and white) hard drives as back-ups. All colour-coded and tagged as necessary.

:)

I have 2 internal 500 hdd for my back up..

I just plug it when I do my backup sched..

much cheaper..