Lost photographs and the importance of backing up

To reiterate the principle messages from the above

You should not rely on using SD cards as long term storage

Cloud storage services like Dropbox, Flickr and Dropbox should not be relied upon as their availability and terms of service are not in your control

You should have at least two copies of the data files you value, in this case your photos, on separate devices, by this i mean 2 additional devices over and above any that you are using for working devices

You should make your backup at a frequencey that suits you, but if not regularly you need to ask yourself :-
"How much of a problem would it be for me if i lost all my data since the last time i backed up"

As to why you have lost your files, it is entirely possible that there was a media problem but equally it is possible that the corruption was self inflicted

A quck google came up with the following problematic scenarios that might cause your problem :-

Memory card corruption often results from human error. Awareness of the main causes can help prevent card corruption from occurring.

Causes of memory card corruption

Turning off a camera before an image is completely written to the memory card.

Removing the memory card from a camera while an image is being written to the card.

Removing the card from a memory card reader while files are still being transferred to a computer.

Batteries conking out as files are being transferred directly from the camera to a computer. Note: always make sure you have fully charged batteries before transferring images.

Removing the card from a card reader while folders and files from the card are open on a computer.

Opening, deleting, renaming or moving files on the card while its contents are open on a computer.

Using a memory card which has not been formatted in the camera. Use the delete/erase function when needed, however a card should be regularly formatted.

Formatting a card in a computer instead of the camera. Formatting a memory card in a computer can slow down data processing when it’s used in the camera. With some memory cards, formatting via a computer may result in compatibility and operational problems.

Inserting a second memory card into a card reader before closing and removing the first when viewing images on the card from a computer.

Taking photos when camera batteries are nearly empty.

Taking photos too rapidly so the camera can not complete writing one image before starting the next.

Continually shooting and deleting, shooting and deleting images when the card is full.

Letting a memory card get too full before downloading the images to a computer or storage device. Cards that are too full may overwrite the card headers.

Using a memory card from one camera in a different camera without formatting it in the new camera first.

It may be possible to recover the photos from your corrupt card(s), there are services available where you can send your card away for them to attempt this at a cost

There are also software programs which you can get, sometimes free, which attempt to recover files. You might be more confortable getting a local tech savvy friend to do this for you

To give yourself the best chance of recovery you should not format the drive as your computer prompts you to

PETERTHEEATER wrote:

I have two copies of my valued data but updating can be a chore. Can anyone recommend a software programme, or even a procedure using existing software which will automate this?

I use WIN 10 on an almost new high-end laptop.

I hate to say this but on of the best things I have found for backing up in Microsoft's Synctoy (I don't know if it is still available). I have set up all my documents within folders with each type in a high level folder eg' "Photos" covers all family related photos by year and with various other directories as well and I just create a sync routine to replicate all those folders within photo to an external hard drive. There are a number of options for syncing but whislt I have sufficient disk space I chose to create an exact copy oy my Photos folder on the external drive within Synctoy. If you have two external drives and they adopt the same drive letter you can run the same update on both. The option I chose will delete any files I delete from the master copy (ie the PC one) and add, rename etc any new one or changes. You can do the same for other folders eg my "Aviation folder" and "Aerial photos" folder. You can even choose to run all folder routines in one go assuming the same external hard drive is used. There are different types of back up on there but some I felt were too risky, especially ones that delete the original after copying! I always check everything is as it should be before closing the backup external disk down as deleted files are held in the recycle bin just in case.

I have tried commercial backup programmes but found them restrictive, confusing and if they use incremental backups, very difficult to handle.

I also have a NAS drive (effectively a network server) to share family stuff which has tow identical discs but I set them to be mirrored so the effective storage is only one drive in size but it maintains a duplicate version. This proved its worth 6 months after purchase when a red light showed a disk failure luckily I bought three of the same type and size (3 for 2 offer) and whilst the NAS was still running swapped the disk over and it was backed up on both not long after. The downside of these things is that if the setup goes wrong assigning a fixed drive letter becomes a challenge and also the disks cannot be read by a PC directly as they tend to use special file storage software and are not compatible with Windows or iOS or even Linux/Unix on which it is based.

I think computer history has a lesson as the only consistently readable discs of old were the 5.25 inch floppy disks. Never had a problem with them!

airfields wrote:

Many thanks Kevin for your time and effort, much appreciated. I bought a brand new camera a while ago, similar to yours I believe ? but every time I take a picture IT takes Three ? it used to click three times, but I somehow stopped it from doing that. Now it just clicks once but Three picture still come-out, so I have to keep deleting the second two. Looking at the above list of things not to do,by mistake of course, is it worth the hassle ? Definitely will get another film camera. Photographs in your hand never disappear, unless you lose 'em.

It sounds like a setting needs changing on your camera unless you are talking about the RAW image and its associated file? Most new cameras default to JPG with RAW and another small file. The RAW may be called something different on your camera as each manufacturer uses different names and standards to keep things consistent.

One last thing relating to lost photos - If anyone have even got their photos converted to CD/DVD by a commercial company they are not always compatible with current generic photo software so if you have no access to the original reading software you WILL lose all you photos. Trueprint I think is one example.

Peter wrote:

PETERTHEEATER wrote:

I have two copies of my valued data but updating can be a chore. Can anyone recommend a software programme, or even a procedure using existing software which will automate this?

I use WIN 10 on an almost new high-end laptop.

I hate to say this but on of the best things I have found for backing up in Microsoft's Synctoy (I don't know if it is still available). I have set up all my documents within folders with each type in a high level folder eg' "Photos" covers all family related photos by year and with various other directories as well and I just create a sync routine to replicate all those folders within photo to an external hard drive. There are a number of options for syncing but whislt I have sufficient disk space I chose to create an exact copy oy my Photos folder on the external drive within Synctoy. If you have two external drives and they adopt the same drive letter you can run the same update on both. The option I chose will delete any files I delete from the master copy (ie the PC one) and add, rename etc any new one or changes. You can do the same for other folders eg my "Aviation folder" and "Aerial photos" folder. You can even choose to run all folder routines in one go assuming the same external hard drive is used. There are different types of back up on there but some I felt were too risky, especially ones that delete the original after copying! I always check everything is as it should be before closing the backup external disk down as deleted files are held in the recycle bin just in case.

I have tried commercial backup programmes but found them restrictive, confusing and if they use incremental backups, very difficult to handle.

The problem with many commercial backup systems i have used in the past has been that they compress and package allt he files you are backing up into a single file. This causes all sorts of problems when you are attempting to extract a single file or folder or specific files from the backup.

My preference will always be a backup which looks like and is accessible just like the original source. You can do this manualy with a drag and drop in windows explorer or even and the command prompt

Synctoy is an excellent tool which has been available for many years and is still downloadable for free from Microsoft, at version 2.1 now.

I have not used it for some years, but apparantly it works on Windows 10. I suspect there may be som finangling but I will give it a try and report back.