I Always Store My Files on External Media Devices

by

I never ever never never never store my artwork files and stories in the hard drive of my computer. That's a sure way to permanently loose files when a computer bites the dust and for some reason the data can not be cloned.

I always store my files in triplicate with each set of three flashdrives having the same data...in case a flashdrive fails there are still two back ups.
Files for Clarence Coyote and Project Courier are stored on three flashdrives with each having identical data.
Files for my meerkat art and stories are stored on three flashdrives with each having identical data.
Files about Zander Rat and family are stored the same way.
Miscellaneous material is grouped into three flashdrives at a time.
Luggage tags are attached to the loops at the end of the flashdrives to identify what is on them.

By the way...Last night, I counted my flashdrives I've accumulated over the past 10 years.  I have a total of 79 flashdrives (that's just the ones I have in Florida).  If that many had to be purchased at the same time, I'm sure the bill would be nearly $1,000.
That doesn't count the few over those 10 years that had occasionally gone bad...Of course, flashdrives occasionally failing with age is the reason the flashdrives I keep have duplicate data shared from other flashdrives. If a flashdrive fails, I transfer copies of identical data from one of the good flashdrives to a new replacement flashdrive, using the keys "Ctrl" and "A".
I even have disks that have copies of a lot of my older files on them.
There are other flashdrives I have that have random mixes of my files on them.

I have read many journals on this site posted by artists having anxiety meltdowns because the hard drive failed in their computer, and years of all their stored files were stored only on the hard drive of their computer. Then a tech tells them the files can not be cloned, thus all their files were lost forever...
...They say never put all your eggs in one basket.

Not to brag on myself, but there would have to be the unlikely coincidence of several of my flashdrives going bad at exactly the same moment, both in Arkansas and in Florida, for me to loose any files.

By the way, I do have media storage devices at my late parents' estate in Florida, and also at my place in Arkansas.

I definitely recommend this method of storing files.

Viewed:	23 times
Added:	1 week, 4 days ago 21 May 2025 03:44 CEST

4 Comments on this Journal

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Ainoko

1 week, 3 days ago

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Edited 1 week, 3 days ago by Owner

I do the same, 6 different external HDs, 8 different flash drives, 3 SDs and 3 MicroSDs and my PC and laptop. I do have 40 Flash drives and 20 external HDs, and am planning on getting even more when I get the monies and even building a custom NAS data server

moyomongoose

1 week, 2 days ago

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Edited 1 week, 2 days ago by Owner

@ Ainoko

I'm also considering a new and different method of protecting my flashdrives and artwork laptop from malware. Media devices can get corrupted with malware like a computer can.
The way I have been protecting my media devices;
I have two laptops. My better laptop is dedicated only for artwork, and has my art programs installed along with the program for my drawing tablet. That laptop never goes on the internet.
My cheaper laptop is what I use as a wifi computer to access the internet and to upload artwork.
I've always kept an extra flashdrive that stays empty most of the time, which is used as a temporary carrier to transfer files I want to upload as art site submissions.

The procedure goes like this:
I use my artwork laptop to copy the files I want to upload from one of my storage flashdrives to the extra media device.
It is the extra media device that is use to upload submissions directly from, using my wifi laptop to upload onto the art sites.
After I upload the files I had chosen, I format the extra media device to ensure no malware is present on it the next time I plug it into my artwork laptop, and when I expose it to my storage media devices.

However...I've found out what the hackers had developed now is what's called root kit malware. A standard format does not always clean off a root kit.

My next method I'm planning on will be a different procedure;
I found out about packs of DVD disks that come in packs of 100 for $20. That's only 20 cents per disk. Each disk is a budget disk that has only has 700 megabits of capacity, which is plenty enough for even 30 to 50 drawings.

This will be the the new procedure after I get external disk drives for both of my laptops:
On my artwork laptop, copy the files I want to upload from my storage flashdrives to a clean disk.
Use the disk to directly upload submissions using my wifi laptop.
After the uploading of the submission is completed, the disk gets tossed in the trash...That is after the disk is destroyed in case of the possibility of it holding digital fragments of an account password.
The disks are only 20 cents each, thus I can easily afford to give a 20 cent disk a "one way ride" in order to insure no root kit malware makes it back aboard a media device to my artwork laptop and stored files.

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to drop by at Best Buy to see about getting two external disk drivers.
Once that is done, my new protection protocol goes into effect.

moyomongoose

1 week, 1 day ago

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Edited 1 week, 1 day ago by Owner

@ Ainoko

I've got those two disk drivers today. I've already tried them out.
With two flashdrives I use only with the artwork laptop, I verified I can copy a file to a disk, then copy it from the disk to another file.
I then tested the other disk driver with the wifi laptop, and using two flashdrives that never go into the artwork laptop.

I also wrote the serial numbers of the drivers on the packages they came in, and which laptop they are dedicated to so I don't get them mixed up.

After trying out the disk drivers, and the 20 cent disk had already come into incripted contact with the wifi laptop, I slid the test disk around on the patio under my foot then discarded it. That way there's no risk of me mistakenly using that same disk back with the artwork laptop. They're only 20 cents each.

The disk drivers are LG brand, and were $31 each at Best Buy.  The money spent for them is certainly worth protecting files containing a lifetime of artwork and photos.
Some of my photos on media devices are so old they were originally taken with a Polaroid camera going back 55 years ago. And when digital cameras came out nearly 25 years ago, digital photos were taken of the Polaroid pictures.
Artwork I originally created on paper or canvas back in the 1970s and 1980s have been digitally photographed as well 15 and 20 years ago.

This method of protecting my files and artwork programs from malware picked up from the internet is absolutely fool proof.  The delivery disks go only for a one way ride.

thecougarseesme

18 hrs, 57 mins ago

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I use a flash drive as well as Microsoft OneDrive to keep everything safe. However in the end I don't have anything that I can't afford to lose. It's just data after all, I can live without it. I do of course understand that for an artist to lose everything they're working on for clients can be a major headache. It could end up being a lot of wasted hours with nothing to show for it.

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