Catalog Backup

[James26286381wsci]

I have my LRC catalog and all images stored on my SanDisk SSD, so nothing after import is kept on my MacBook Pro, well, sort of? So after taking images, I connect my external SSD to my Mac, I connect my card reader, insert my SD card and of course import all images.

Now, where I get confused is that once each week LRC asks me if I want to back up my catalog. I select yes and it puts a folder onto the desktop of my Mac. I now have 36 folders on my desktop. So the questions I have are: How many of these folders should I actually keep over time, should they be kept somewhere else besides on my desktop and if so should it be on my external SSD along with my catalog and how to set that up?

I have also been advised to make another physical backup of my external SSD drive onto another external SSD. What is the correct way of doing this? Just for more info, I also have used Backblaze from day 1.

           Thank you for any help with all this.

James.

[AxelMatt]

...

Now, where I get confused is that once each week LRC asks me if I want to back up my catalog. I select yes and it puts a folder onto the desktop of my Mac. I now have 36 folders on my desktop. So the questions I have are: How many of these folders should I actually keep over time, should they be kept somewhere else besides on my desktop and if so should it be on my external SSD along with my catalog and how to set that up?

...

By @James26286381wsci

The period to asking to do a backup can be st in the catalog settings.

The location where's the backup will be created can be set in the backup dialog (screenshot is from a Windows machine).

I think the desktop isn't the right place. I would save the backup on the internal disk and from time to time copy it to an separate external hard disk. DON'T save this on the same disk as the catalog file. 

...

I have also been advised to make another physical backup of my external SSD drive onto another external SSD. What is the correct way of doing this? Just for more info, I also have used Backblaze from day 1.

By @James26286381wsci

This is an important note and should definitely be implemented. If this SSD died you are loosing all your images and other files on it. The easiest way is to do an 1:1 copy. I don't know what options and tools are available on the Mac. On my Windows machine I use RoboCopy to do this job.

[Seaquence]

As with recommended, long standing safety practices. I keep 3 copies on 3 drives, 2 at home, one off site, for both my catalog and photos. I keep my Catalog on my Mac Desktop but automatically back it up to one of my main drives. I also use Carbon Copy Cloner to mirror copy that drive (and others) to the back up drives I keep. I usually do that once a month or after a big shoot. Also, having exact mirrored copies of your drives makes it easy to replace a failed drive with an exact copy and instantly link with your LRC catalog again.