The severe weather warning sirens in my town have been going off more and more lately due to tornadoes. But this isn’t what prompted me to write about the importance of backing up your computer.

One of the students I taught in Hawaii packed her computer and backup drive in the same bag; of course, this is the bag the airline lost when she flew home. As a result, she lost everything she had worked on at school.

My cousin works for a large furniture store. They dutifully backed up all their computers; however, they kept the backups in the same store as the computers. Unfortunately, the store burned to the ground one night, and they lost all their computers and backups.

I am not even going to go into my losses through the years.

Tornadoes, computer crashes, lost luggage, burglars, floods — there are a lot of things that can make our important files and photos vanish. So I’d like to discuss planning a system for backing up our computer files.

My Backup System

First, I prefer a permanent backup of essential files to CDs/DVDs. It is a more stable solution than a hard drive. Hard drives fail more often than CDs/DVDs.

I make two copies of these backup CDs/DVDs and put them in different locations. I keep one backup with me where I can get to it in a hurry if my computer fails, but I put the other copy in a safety deposit box or at a friend’s house.

Second, I have an external hard drive and make regular backups. Most external drives come with software designed to help you make backups.

I use this external hard drive to mirror — completely duplicate — my computer’s hard drive. When my computer dies, I only need to do a restore, which transfers everything to the new hard drive or a new computer.

Third, I bought yet another backup hard drive. Again, I labeled one A and the other B. I alternate backups between the two. I make sure these A and B drives are rotated, not just with the computer, but the location where I keep them (bank vault, neighbor, etc.)

Another option for backing up important files, like photographs, is an online backup. With a high-speed connection, you can take advantage of an online solution for a database. Your first backup takes the longest to complete. Only the changes to your hard drive from the last backup will change in the future. After I’ve gone to bed, I program my computer to do this at night. It takes longer than backing up to a hard drive connected to a laptop, but it is off-site and one more place to keep your data. One such provider is Carbonite, which only $49.95 a year for unlimited storage.

I stay away from tape backup systems. The computer department where I used to work decided to use a tape system to back up their image library. The system corrupted the files after five years of inputting data. After rescanning all the images and adding four more years of pictures, as far as I know, they never recovered the photos from those nine years.

You Need More Than One Safe Place

President John F. Kennedy’s photographer Jacques Lowe’s estate archived all their images in a safe deposit box housed in the vaults at 5 World Trade Center next to the Twin Towers.

I ensure my images and other important files are stored in more than one location.

Now, when I hear a weather alert, I’ve got one less thing to worry about.

Editors note –

I have much to do with working with people by taking better pictures and being a better communicator—my latest series of Newsletters address areas that have helped improve my photography. Becoming an expert on people allows me to specialize in covering people.

I love to play basketball. Over the years, I’ve had the rare opportunity to play with good players and a few professional basketball players. However, just because I played with outstanding players didn’t make me a pro player. It did open my eyes to the potential of a player.

I’m not in the physical condition of my youth, but my improved understanding of the game makes me a better player than when I could jump above the rim.

Being around the best in a field will help us learn. Conversely, when we reach out to help others, we are blessed at least as much as they are.

I have photographed the homeless in downtown Atlanta and heard them pray for the wealthy people in the suburbs. They’re worried that wealth may cripple the hearts of the rich and harm their relationships with others. They’re not praying for handouts but for people’s hearts.

I’ve served homeless men dinner at an overnight shelter, yet they have jobs at places like UPS. They send their money to their families living in towns where the cost is much less.

I’m unsure if I could make some of these homeless people’s sacrifices. Just being around these people teaches me a lot.

Some of my neighbors are from Bosnia, Croatia, Chili, Jamaica, Kenya, and Mexico. One family from Croatia had to pack in the middle of the night, leave everything they owned and flee from danger – not once, but twice.

Another neighbor, having already escaped the war and living safely in the US, returned to Bosnia to help his family and friends in the war raging in his home country. Now, back in the US, he spends his time in a wheelchair with a bullet in his back from that war. Last year his wife suffered a heart attack and died.

Just living around these immigrant neighbors teaches me so much about sacrifice. Their determination to make a better life for their children is astounding.

As a photojournalist, I have had the opportunity to meet so many people and hear their stories. It has given me a better perspective on life.

Another way I have been able to expand my relationships is through education. Formal education in the classroom forced me to learn about subjects I would have never encountered had the classes not been required. What I gained from my education experience is the desire to learn.

Reading biographies helps me to discover how a person was changed through time and experiences.

The Internet helps me connect with many people and reconnect with friends from the past. Our oldest son went off to college this year. He remained connected to many of his high school buddies through the Internet and cell phone.

This is a significant change from when I left for college. Then, with no Internet and cheap long-distance phone service, we had to sever ties with many of our friends.

I’m learning to improve my game; I need to reach up to those who are further along than me, those alongside me, and those who may need my help. I’ve also learned that when I reach down, I often reach up.

Reach out and get connected—it can change your life.