Hi Folks,

Backing up precious photos

Question - Lately, many families have lost their homes to fire and flood. So when I have digital photos printed at Wal-Mart, I buy two photo CDs. I store one CD in the bank vault; the other I keep at home. I'm scanning old film photos. After I scan them, how do I put them onto a CD? Should I use a CD-RW or a regular CD? I also have fonts I would like to save to CD.

Answer - It's good that you're thinking about preserving your digital photographs. People too often wait until it is too late to worry about this.

By a regular CD, I assume you mean a CD-R. These discs can be recorded only once. CD-RWs can be re-recorded numerous times.

I would not trust my precious memories to a CD-R. They deteriorate over time. I have a tip that explains why. And I've found CD-RWs to be even less reliable than CD-Rs.

CDs are appealing because they are inexpensive and convenient. So, you may continue using them for your backups. If so, create a new copy of the CDs every few years.

Creating a CD in Windows Vista is easy. Create a folder with the photos you would like to burn to CD. Click the Burn button in the task bar. When prompted, insert a CD.

A wizard walks you through the process of creating the CD. It takes several minutes to burn a CD.

Things are slightly different in Windows XP. Start by inserting a blank CD. Windows should ask you what you want to do. Select "Open writable CD folder using Windows Explorer.&#xu201D; Click OK.

Drag your photos to the folder that opens. Then, click "Write these files to CD.&#xu201D; Follow the wizard to create your CD.

Windows might not ask you what you want to do with the blank CD. In that case, open your CD drive in My Computer. Then, open the folder containing the photos you want to burn to CD. Drag the photos to the CD drive. Then, click "Write these files to CD&#xu201D; and follow the wizard.

The process is the same for fonts and other files. When you download a font, put it in a folder on your hard drive. Then, follow the above steps to burn the folder to CD.

Now, let's look at a more reliable backup system. First, I would take advantage of online storage provided by photo-sharing sites. Many photo-sharing sites store photos for free. You can share the photos with others or keep them private.

Some sharing sites require a small purchase once a year. That shouldn't be a problem if you regularly order prints. I have a tip that covers some popular photo-sharing sites. It will help you choose a site that is right for you.

Incidentally, Wal-Mart will also store your photos for free. You must order at least one print per year. Even people on a tight budget can swing that: Prints start at 12 cents!

As you note, your house could be destroyed in a natural disaster. So you should store copies of important files in a different location from the originals. Photo-sharing sites are the perfect way to do this.

However, I would not rely solely on one of these sites. I've heard horror stories. Some small sites have gone out of business, taking customers' photos. Or, a glitch could wipe out data on a site's servers. You can minimize these risks by sticking with large, popular sites.

You should use another level of backup. You can continue to create CDs, backing them up every few years. Incidentally, some photo-sharing sites will sell you archival CDs. This may make things easier on you.

Personally, I prefer an external hard drive or a USB flash drive for storing backups. Flash memory will last longer than a hard drive. A hard drive should last longer than a CD. None are foolproof, though. In fact, I doubt any backup method will ever be foolproof. Even as technology becomes more reliable, there is still human error!

Keeping prints of photos is also a good way to preserve them. Just make sure the prints are archival quality. I have a tip that will help you find archival printing supplies if you print photos at home.

Coming up in Wednesday's Tip: Buying a USB cassette deck or turntable.

We'll be taking tomorrow off for the holiday. So don't look for the Tip of the Day. But we'll be back on Wednesday.

Lose weight. Make more money. These are some common New Year's resolutions. But what about your computer? Tune in to tomorrow's Kim Komando Digital Minute for computer resolutions you should make. Visit my site to find out how you can catch my Digital Minute.

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