Routine Backups

[Jan Hough]

Hi--I am new to creating movies and would like advice on the best method to use to back-up my unfinished PE-3 projects. I have worked very hard on my second movie and would hate to lose it if something crazy happened to my pc.

I currently have used approximately 1 GB for my pictures and 6 GB for two movie projects.

Using Nero, it took about 4 hours to back them up to DVD. This seemed like a long time to me.

Thank you, Jan

[Chuck Engels]

Anything that I really want to save goes onto an external drive, the whole project copied over.
You can also use the Archive feature and create a copy of the entire project or, just the pieces used in the project.
You can also save the DVD, it can be imported back into Premiere Elements in the future also.
There are other archiving techniques but this one from Moderator Bob D. is a very good method
http://videoinasnap.chuckengels.com/sou ... tstars.htm

[Bob D]

Until Adobe correct the issue with PSE6 catalog on offline media, I would not recommend my approach at this time. If you want to keep the media on line then the PSE6 cataloging works fine, although I guess PE4 does cataloging too.

Bob D

[Don Whitten]

Look into backup software and hardware. I am currently using Microsoft Home Server software to backup my hard drives that have my video projects on it. There are more solutions but so far I am more then happy with. It backups all of my projects on a nightly basis and so far no probelms. You do need a deicated machine for the server but for the cost and ease of use I like it.

[Peru]

I used to back up onto an external hard drive often during creation of a project. I would safely disconnect the drive each time so that if something did happen, at least the drive would not be affected.

I now back up onto an internal hard drive because it is faster. I still save often, first to My Videos, then to my backup drive.
When saving I name my files like this: Project Name v1 12-1-07
Then I rename the project before I continue to work on it: Project Name v2 12-1-07
I make more changes and save v2 and rename it v3, etc.
I change the date to the current date when I work on it the next day, but continue the consecutive v(for version) number to maintain a consistent work flow.

Before doing all of this, of course I, save all of my media I may need for the project in the same folders, even if it is elsewhere on my hard drive.

I also have an external hard drive to which I occasionally save all versions and then keep it offsite (at work).

When I am confident that I have a final (at least until a few years from now when I realize how I should have done it) version I delete all obsolete versions except for the offsite drive (just in case I realize I kept the wrong one!). I then archive it to another external hard drive offsite.

I will continue to keep the original (final version only) project in My Videos until I run out of room. I'll deal with that issue when I get there.

I also archive them on disc (onsite and offsite), but I realize this is not reliable.

Overkill? Maybe, but I got burned using Win DVD Creator when it crashed near the end of one of my first projects and I lost many hours of work. Now why don't I have life insurance...

[Jayell]

All of my video stuff is on an external drive. I simply back that up as I would any other type of file (I use Second Copy) to a second external drive everytime I've done more work than I wish to lose.

[jackfalbey]

The quickest and simplest method is to simply save a copy of the *.prel file to a separate drive. It contains all of the editing data: cuts, transitions, effects, etc. that you have made. If you lose your primary video drive, you can just re-capture the original video and all of your hours of editing work can be reapplied from the *.prel file.

If you have the available drive space to do it, I like to have a complete duplicate of the entire project on an external drive; that way I won't have to spend time recapturing the original footage.

If you want to spend the $$, Acronis TrueImage is a highly-rated backup utility. You can set it for automatic backups and supposedly it is easy to recover from in the event of total drive failure, although I have been lucky and haven't had to test it yet...

Backing up to DVD is time-consuming and potentially costly as you rack up more and more discs. With the relatively cheap cost of external hard drives and the speed and convenience included, I'd recommend that as the best way to go.

[Chuck Engels]

Acronis TrueImage is a highly-rated backup utility

I have the same software, have heard great things, haven't had to put it to the test yet either

[Ken Jarstad]

The Microsoft Home Server than Don mentioned looks like it might be a winner. I would like to hear more from the early adopters how well it works. Imagine - Microsoft building a server application that you don't need to go to System Administrator school to use

But, MHS costs $180 usd and I cringe at high software prices. Last year I took an old PC, set it up in my garage and installed FreeNAS on it. Price was right and it worked great for over a year - no fuss or bother. But last September it crashed and guess what - it's Beta software. So, even though I had a mirrored disk set I still have not been able to recover the photos I stored there.

Backup is a pain in the assets but - gotta do it.

[JohnnyO]

Acronis TrueImage is a highly-rated backup utility

I have read excellent reviews about this product. I almost bought it until I found out that Seagate and Maxtor offer a backup utility for free. This utility is made by Acronis.

If you have a Maxtor or Seagate drive, this utility is free. I assume if you need to restore, you will need a Maxtor or Seagate drive.


http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=DiscWizard&vgnextoid=d9fd4a3cdde5c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?locale=en-US&name=MaxBlast_5&vgnextoid=7add8b9c4a8ff010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

I have Acronis v9 (current release is v11).

Last time I used it was for copying my C: drive contents from my original 250Gb Western Digital Drive to my new 150Gb Raptor. It worked flawlessly. No problems; no hassle.

[Dave McElderry]

Ghost seems to get lots of press just because it carries the Norton name, but I've been using Acronis True image for quite a while and I like it a lot. I use external drive(s) to do backups, including one to just mirror my main boot drive. I think it's a good program.

[Chuck Engels]

I have Acronis v9 (current release is v11).
Last time I used it was for copying my C: drive contents from my original 250Gb Western Digital Drive to my new 150Gb Raptor. It worked flawlessly. No problems; no hassle.

Thanks John, that is good to know. I will be using it to clone my laptop drive so I can install a new 160gb, 7200 RPM drive