Aperture: how do I backup to a vault after I move my Masters to an external HD?

[danblank]

To free up space, I am going to move the Masters from my Aperture library to an external hard drive. The question I have is: once I do this, how do I back them up to a different external hard drive? Can I still create a Vault on the other drive, and back it up, or does that not work because the masters are referenced?

I understand that I would need to have both external HD's hooked up if I expect the vault to get the masters.

Thanks.
-Dan

 

[Attonine]

You simply copy the masters onto a 2nd (3rd?) backup HDD. However, whenever you import more pictures, you then need to backup again.

The vault can be anywhere you want. It will simply be a copy of the Aperture library which, if left in it's default location, is in your pictures folder. Create a vault in the normal fashion by pointing the vault to wherever you want it. You can copy this vault file to wherever you want as a backup. Again, every time you update the vault you will need to recopy the vault backup.

 

[danblank]

Thanks for the reply. So what I want to confirm is:

Even if I have the masters referenced on a different hard drive (call it hard drive 2), when I back up the Aperture Library to a 3rd vault on a different hard drive (call it hard drive 3), it will find them and port them over from one external hard drive to another?

Thanks.
-Dan

 

[Attonine]

no.

You will need to manually copy the referenced masters from the external holding them to whatever drive you are using for backup. The vault will not contain the masters, only the library folder which you can probably see if you navigate to your pictures folder in finder.

 

[danblank]

That is what I was afraid of, so it is a two-step process. For manually copying them, do you have Time Machine handle that (so it knows which files are new, and which aren't?) - or does Time Machine not backup content stored on external drives?

I'm just trying to not be in the situation where I have to either:
1. Have the computer scan 122,000 photos each time I re-copy to see which are new.
2. Or me have to remember which folders/files are new

Thanks.
-Dan

 

[Attonine]

You can include external drives in your Time Machine if you want.

I just manually copy the whole masters external to my backup external, thus copying everything over each time. Trying to copy only the folders that have changed will probably make you go crazy and take more time than just dragging the whole masters external across to a backup external and recopying. I think the referenced masters disc will only change when you either add or delete images, or move images around to different projects.

Try to use a mirrored RAID as your referenced masters drive. This way the masters will automatically be duplicated on the drive you are using as a working masters drive. This doesn't negate the need to backup the masters, but it does add an extra level of security.

 

[swordio777]

That is what I was afraid of, so it is a two-step process. For manually copying them, do you have Time Machine handle that (so it knows which files are new, and which aren't?) - or does Time Machine not backup content stored on external drives?

I'm just trying to not be in the situation where I have to either:
1. Have the computer scan 122,000 photos each time I re-copy to see which are new.
2. Or me have to remember which folders/files are new

Thanks.
-Dan

If you're in the position where you have enough photos to warrant an external drive then you really need a proper backup solution in place. I'd suggest looking into SuperDuper! and CarbonCopyCloner.

Both of these apps will allow you to do incremental backups, so all you need to do is get into the habit of backing up your drives regularly (for example, every Sunday). The apps will compare your working drive to the backup drive and automatically copy over any new files to make them both identical.

In my opinion, this is considerably less work than trying to manually manage your files & vaults over 2 drives.

Also, the suggestion of using RAID is fine, however you must remember that RAID is NOT a backup (because any corrupted files will instantly be copied to both discs).

Hope that helps

 

[danblank]

Yes, that is a big help. Is there a reason to use SuperDuper! or CarbonCopyCloner over Time Machine?

 

[swordio777]

Yes, that is a big help. Is there a reason to use SuperDuper! or CarbonCopyCloner over Time Machine?

They do different things.

Superduper and CCC are both for cloning disks - they essentially do the same thing so you only need to use one of these. You plug in a dedicated backup drive, clone your working drive onto it, and then disconnect the backup and keep it somewhere safe (preferably well away from your computer). These programmes create an EXACT copy of the source drive - all your files, settings, everything. Because of this these clones can be bootable backups, so if your internal drive dies you can just plug in your backup drive, boot from that and carry on working.

On the other hand, time machine is really just a way of backing up your files for you, and providing a nice interface with a simple way to manage the various versions. You leave your time machine drive plugged in all the time and it backs up your files while you work - that way if you overwrite a file by mistake, or delete the wrong file then empty your trash, timemachine is there to save your butt. HOWEVER, it does not clone your drive or make bootable backups. Also, what if there's a massive power surge, a fire or a flood? Because of the way it's used, your timemachine drive is likely to be plugged in to your computer when disaster strikes, (while your cloned backup disk will be at a friend's house or in a safety deposit box, right? )

There are loads of articles online about the different uses of each. Just google for "Superduper vs time machine" and you'll find loads. Many people advocate the use of one cloner plus also using time machine, and I think that's a great way to go if you have the spare drives.

Hope that helps.