Okay, first off - get your mind out of the gutter! XD Secondly, I'm talking about backing up your files. I've recently had 3 friends lose their comics due to hard drive crashes in the last 2 weeks, and it's a shame because it does a number on their enthusiasim for making new strips. Really, it only takes a second to back up your stuff on a thumbdrive and if you ever lose (or have lost) your work, you still have it. I know I have the original paper drawings of my stuff for everything, but many people draw their stuff strictly on the computer. Bad news if your computer malfuntions. So anyway, do it. Just wanted to post a lookin' out for my fellow comic artists… =)

A second? Just the main part of my working files is over 10.2 gigs… My USB flash drive is only 2 gigs :(

But my external hard drive is mucho big and that's good advice. I haven't backed up in a while. Done!

Well, I always back up to my other drive on the comp while working, but the external drive is safer in case the whole comp goes phut.

I'm already a step ahead. :P

I make a back up of everything that I've done on my secondary HD about once a month.

Yeah i've been thinking about buying one of those external harddrives things, i'd lose the thumb drive. :P

An external hard drive is on my must-buy list.

I've put off getting one (bad, I know) and I just can't any longer. I make backups every couple months of comic and picture related things (the only stuff on my comp that is important to me), but only to disc, and the burning is tedious.

I need something I can use more immediately.

An external hard drive is totally worth it. They're not even all that expensive really. I got a 500 GB one for $100. It's not one of the “portable” ones, but the concept is pretty laughable because for 3 times the storage space, it's just barely bigger than one of the original Gameboys. I can easily toss it into my bag and go.

It saved the Last Words archive when my desk top went kaput just after I got my laptop.

Good idea. It's been way too long since I backed up my stuff. My dad got me an external hard drive when he saw for the first time exactly how many pictures and stuff I have on my computer…I lose a lot of things, and a laptop probably wouldn't be too hard for me to misplace.

People with really important information sometimes do more than get an external hard drive… they store their important information somewhere remote, like on a server somewhere else. Because what if your house burns down? Both your computer and hard drive could go up in flames. I have a programmer friend who stores all of his work on a remote server just to keep it safe.

I actually had the reverse problem happen to me… I backed up my files on an external hard drive and then it crashed and became inaccessible.

So… I lost my back-ups but kept my originals. XD

But… yeah, I should probably consider remote storage for my back-up files. :)

Hawk
People with really important information sometimes do more than get an external hard drive… they store their important information somewhere remote, like on a server somewhere else. Because what if your house burns down? Both your computer and hard drive could go up in flames. I have a programmer friend who stores all of his work on a remote server just to keep it safe.

That's a good idea and easy to do these days since that storage is really cheap and often free for 2 gigs or so. :)

Hard drives can survive fires and be recoverable, but it's expensive… but that's a good point though: The further distributed your backups are, the safer they are. You don't need servers, just copy to CD or DVD and store them somewhere else like at a trusted person's house. You could always encrypt them if you were worried about people getting into them. But the closer your backup is to your comp, the less secure it is. That's why secondary hard drives aren't that great for proper backup-, just every day backup. And you should always disconnect the external hard drives after backing up to them ;)

I have about 5 different big backups… But all in the same house, and only the secondary hard drive and external hard drive are current right now. :(

lucky7s76
I actually had the reverse problem happen to me… I backed up my files on an external hard drive and then it crashed and became inaccessible.

So… I lost my back-ups but kept my originals. XD

But… yeah, I should probably consider remote storage for my back-up files. :)

That sounds like you probably need to make a partition on the hard drive. You'll probably have to uninstall your software for it and redo it and make a partition before you save anything on it.

I learned that the hard way when I forgot and saved stuff to the external and didn't save it to my internal hard drive.

Putting another internal drive in is usually a better solution than a partition… if you have the room in there, the know-how, and the money. It's not hard, or expensive, but you have to be careful.

Thank you. I backed up my latest stuff on a secondary HD ‘cause of this. I’ve also got a flashdrive with most everything on it (I'm a procrastinator, so there's less than a gig of actual art).

Actually, partitions are a good idea too. When windows craps out on you, quite often it's just the C: drive that goes to hell, meaning you loose your installed software, but any data on D: or E: (I usually do thee partitions) should survive. Of course windows can die so badly, that it'll take the entire hd with it, but it's always a good idea to keep your work files elsewhere than C.

Speaking of which, I need to sort my files and back up some stuff tomorrow while I'm drawing :)

I have both an external hard drive that's followed me from computer to computer. and now a flash drive. They're getting cheaper for lots of storage. My wife has about 30 GB in flash drives laying around.

If there was a fire I'd lose so much it really wouldn't matter. I'd have to just start over. Human imagination and creativity is boundless.

I got an external hard drive after the AC port on my laptop broke, and all I had was about 5 hours of battery juice left before all my information went bye-bye. A friend of mine ripped the internal hard drive out of the laptop and stuck all my information on an external hard drive, and I just transferred it all on my new computer when it arrived. …I realized the usefulness of external hard drives after that, so I went out and bought one. It frees up a lot of space on my computer, especially since my layered Photoshop files are so freakin' huge.

I have about 3 thumbdrives all containing my art files XD
But the other day I went into one of them I found that one of them had corrupted all my files so that I couldn't open any of them D:
I tried everything to fix it, but I don't know what happened :/
But luckily, I still had most of the files on my computer.

I have 2 thumb drives (a 2 GB and an 8 GB) and I save all my art files to Photobucket in order to lazily transfer them from my desktop where I scan to my laptop where I work. I may also get an external hard drive, just because they're so cheap these days and easy to work with. B)

Shoot. I have never backed up anything in my life.

…Thats…thats not good, is it? :( i want to now but i just don't know where to even begin….

I have the hand drawn copies, everything on a thumb drive plus my partner has copies on his comp and external hard drive… better safe then sorry.

I've back up my stuff in three different states. In a underground bunker deep below the ground.

Also know as my bed room, a good warning. Too many times I've lost my stuff. Too Many.

Invest in a external Hard drive along side with putting your stuff on other computers. Even if it's your friends.

I have both the layered psd.s and the flattened images. I have them on my computer, my backup flash drive and when I get the chance, CD-Rs. As the owner of some of the most amazingly crappiest computers ever, I know that one can never be too careful.

This must be one of the best thread someone ever posted. It should be mandatory for all computer artist to have a back up of their work.

I friend of mine had to start from ‘scratch’ after his main computer went “south” lucky for him he still had the original artwork (paper drawings) but working again colors & lettering can be hassled when done twice because of laziness, stupidity, or lack of planning.

I back-up my stuff at work, home computer and external drive. I also burn a CDs for every chapter done, still all this can fail when you don't label your CDs or name properly your files. I remember looking for an old file that I knew had a back-up. It took me a whole day to find it because I didn't label the CD properly B) .