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Q: Online backup solution for iPhoto

Hi,

 

I have been shopping around looking for an online backup solution.  This is a hard process because many of the online vendors products are very similaer except for one or two features.  So it comes down to which is the best service (unlimited backup space, easy to restore and overall quality).

 

My main concern is my iPhoto and iTunes libraires.  I really want to have these backed up as losing them would be catastrophical.  Myy question regarding iPhoto is what service can do incremental backup of the iPhoto library?  I do not want it to be backing up the complete library every time it backs up since my library is abouut 30GB right now.

 

I would appreciate your thoughts and recommendations.

 

Thanks and I look forward to your replies.

 

...Bruce

iPhoto '11, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Mar 9, 2012 8:39 PM

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Q: Online backup solution for iPhoto

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Mar 9, 2012 8:44 PM in response to BGmail
    Level 10 (271,133 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 9, 2012 8:44 PM in response to BGmail

    Why not use Photo Stream since it's part of iCloud and iPhoto. If you are willing to pay the heft $25/year for iTunes Match then you can use that as your backup for iTunes.

     

    iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match Availability

    iTunes- How to add a computer or iOS device to iTunes Match

     

    iPhoto and Aperture- Using Photo Stream



  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Mar 10, 2012 12:16 AM in response to BGmail
    Level 10 (139,547 points)
    iLife
    Mar 10, 2012 12:16 AM in response to BGmail

    Bruce

     

    As the amounts of data are very large (30 gigs and growing in your case) online back up of the Library isn't really a runner unless you have very very good broadband indeed. We see reports on here from folks waiting days to restore a library backed up online. How long would it take you to download 30 gigs?

     

    That said, an off-site back up is a very good idea and if it's of any use, this is my routine:

     

    My Library lives on my iMac. It’s Backed up to  two external hard disks every day. These disks are permanently attached to the iMac. These back ups run automatically. One is done by Time Machine, one is a bootable back up done by SuperDuper

     

    It’s also backed up to a portable hard disk when ever new photos are added. This hard disk lives in my car. For security, this disk is password protected.

     

    I have a second off-site back up at a relative’s house across town. That’s updated every 3 or 4 months.

     

    My Photos are backed up online. There are many options: Flickr, Picasa, SmugMug etc. However, check the terms of your account carefully. While most sites have free uploading, you will often find that these uploads are limited in terms of the file size or the bandwidth you can use per month. For access that allows you to upload full size pics with no restrictions you may need to pay.

     

    Every couple of months I test the back ups to make sure they are working correctly. It’s very easy to mis-configure a back up application, and the only way to protect against that is to do a trial restore.

     

     

    Regards

     

     

    TD

  • by the loc-man,

    the loc-man the loc-man Aug 27, 2012 2:17 PM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (16 points)
    Aug 27, 2012 2:17 PM in response to Terence Devlin

    It’s also backed up to a portable hard disk when ever new photos are added. This hard disk lives in my car. For security, this disk is password protected.

     

    Can I ask please how do you password your external disk please? I'm wanting to do this with my external USB HDD to store my iPhoto and iTunes libraries as a offsite backup solution

     

    Bruce..did you get anything sorted? I'm still interested in this solution, although my libraries are now 100's of Gbs...

     

    cheers

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Aug 27, 2012 2:43 PM in response to the loc-man
    Level 10 (139,547 points)
    iLife
    Aug 27, 2012 2:43 PM in response to the loc-man

    Make an encrypted disk image and put that on the external disk.

     

    http://mactips.dwhoard.com/mactips/system/encrypted-disk-image

  • by the loc-man,

    the loc-man the loc-man Aug 28, 2012 2:25 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (16 points)
    Aug 28, 2012 2:25 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    Thanks, looks like I'll have to reformat the external drive and copy my data to it again.

     

    What encryption does it do? What level is it? It will only ever work with a Mac also?

  • by Terence Devlin,

    Terence Devlin Terence Devlin Aug 28, 2012 2:56 AM in response to the loc-man
    Level 10 (139,547 points)
    iLife
    Aug 28, 2012 2:56 AM in response to the loc-man

    All that is actually answered in the article linked to...

  • by the loc-man,

    the loc-man the loc-man Aug 28, 2012 8:26 AM in response to Terence Devlin
    Level 1 (16 points)
    Aug 28, 2012 8:26 AM in response to Terence Devlin

    Thanks I've re-read the article and spotted what I'd missed. Can I ask what the difference is between this disk image and if I format the external HDD with a "Mac OS journeled encrypted" type?

     

    Cheers