Preserve Your Digital Photo Memories
It was easy with old paper photographs. If you were very organized, you added a descriptive label and carefully put them into an album. Those with less time and fewer organizational skills simply scribbled names and a date on the back of the photos. The unorganized masses just threw the photos into drawers and shoeboxes. Yet, when you wanted to look through the old photographs they were always available.
The same is not true of digital photographs. They are usually transferred from the camera to a computer hard drive. If the hard drive crashes or a virus damages the computer, the photos are gone forever. So, if you are hooked on digital photography like I am, you need to find a way to make sure that your precious memories are preserved.
The best way to do that is to back up the photos immediately after you take them. For the average photographer the best medium for backup is a CD.
If you're using Windows XP it's easy to back up your photos to a CD. First, open the folder that contains your photos. You will want to work with the Picture Tasks area on the left side of the window. If you don't see the Picture Tasks area, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Under the General tab, select "Show common tasks in folders," then click OK.
Highlight the pictures that you want to backup by holding down the CTRL key and clicking on the ones you want to choose. Then click "Copy all items to CD" in the Picture Tasks area. A balloon saying, "You have files waiting to be written to the CD" will appear in the bottom right corned of your screen. Click the balloon message to see the files. Then click on "Write these files to CD" in the CD Writing Tasks area on the left. A wizard will appear that will walk you though the simple process of burning a copy of your pictures to a CD. At the end of the process, the wizard will even ask if you would like to make another copy of the CD. This may be a good idea. To make sure your photos are really safe you can make an extra copy to leave with a friend or neighbor.
If you don't have Windows XP but you have a CD writer you can archive your photos by using the program that came with your CD writer. If you don't have a writable CD drive you might want to invest in one. They are phenomenally useful for backing up all your computer data.
Also consider obtaining a program that will help you organize your photos. If you are using Windows XP or Mac OSX, Adobe's Photoshop Elements 3.0 ($50) is one of my favorites. It helps you organize your photos and will even help you archive them on CDs while still making them easy to find and use. Windows users can try Picasa, which works with older versions of Windows as well as Windows XP. This is a free program that, like Adobe Elements, will help you organize, edit, and archive your photos.
You can also print your precious photos to make sure they are not accidentally lost or deleted. Just remember that home printing of photos is still in its infancy and the lifespan of these photographs may not be as long as those that were professionally developed. You can also use a photo website like Shutterfly or Kodak EasyShare Gallery to store a copy of your photos. With this method, however, you have to remember that if the website goes out of business, you are out of business as well.
No matter how you decide to backup your photos, three words apply - "Do It Now!"
AARP does not recommend or endorse any of these products or web sites. Please be advised that there are other similar products and web sites available which were not reviewed and are not listed here.
