Archiving Department

Storage Solutions

Protect your digitised family history with proper backup strategies. Hard drives fail - you need redundancy.

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Why Proper Backup Matters

You've spent hours digitising photos, slides, and videos. All that work lives on a single hard drive. Hard drives fail - it's not a question of if, but when. Without proper backups, you could lose everything.

The 3-2-1 backup rule protects against every disaster: drive failure, theft, fire, flood. Your family memories deserve this level of protection.

How to Protect Your Archive

3-2-1 Backup Rule

Keep 3 copies of important files: 1 working copy, 2 backups on different media types, 1 copy off-site (cloud or relative's house). This protects against hard drive failure, house fire, theft. Family memories are irreplaceable - don't skimp on backups.

External Drive vs NAS

External drives: Simple, affordable, portable. Connect when backing up, disconnect and store safely. NAS (Network Attached Storage): Always on, automatic backups, RAID protection. For large collections (1TB+): NAS worth investment. Small collections: external drives sufficient.

Cloud Storage Options

FOREVER Vault: Designed specifically for family memories, guaranteed permanent storage. Google Photos/iCloud: Convenient but read terms carefully. Dropbox/OneDrive: Good for documents. Use cloud as one backup location, not only location. Multiple providers = better protection.

File Organisation

Logical folder structure: Decade > Year > Event. Use descriptive names: '1985/1985-12-25_Christmas_Smith_Family' not 'Dec 25/IMG_001'. Tag faces in photos. Include README.txt in each folder with context. Your grandchildren will thank you for organisation.

Our Recommended Solutions

Essential Start here for basic protection

WD My Passport 5TB External

~$125-180

Portable, USB-powered (no plug needed), automatic backup software, hardware encryption. 5TB holds approximately 150,000 photos or 500 hours of HD video. Reliable - WD is industry leader for good reason.

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SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD

~$125-180

Shock-resistant (no moving parts), incredibly fast, pocket-sized, water/dust resistant (IP55). Perfect for travelling with photo collection. Faster than traditional hard drives. More reliable - no mechanical parts to fail.

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Recommended Maximum protection

Synology DS220j NAS + 2x 4TB Drives

~$380-500 complete

Two-bay NAS with RAID 1 (mirrored drives - one can fail safely). Automatic backup from all family devices. Access photos anywhere. Photo facial recognition. This is prosumer-level protection for irreplaceable memories.

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FOREVER Vault Cloud Storage

Subscription-based

Purpose-built for family stories and memories. Guaranteed permanent storage. No file size limits on videos. Designed specifically for archival, not just file storage. Perfect companion to digitisation project.

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Pro Tips

Test backups regularly - verify files can actually be recovered
Replace external hard drives every 3-5 years (they wear out)
Keep one backup at relative's house - protects against house fire
Label drives clearly with contents and date - future proof your archive
Use archival-quality optical media (M-DISC) for ultra-long-term backup of critical files
Consider FOREVER Vault for family memories - it's specifically designed for permanence

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