How to Backup Music Recording Sessions

I have always been a proponent of having everything I commit to a "hard drive" being backed up in another location. Loosing valuable data is a real tragedy. I've known artists who have lost their entire album to the fate of a failed hard drive. Backing up your valuable data is absolutely essential in ensuring it is retrievable.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer
• Hard drive from which you will transfer the data
• Separate hard drive dedicated to your backup

1. Select a destination hard drive for transferring data for backup.
   
   I have included a link to another article: "How To Choose A Hard Drive For Audio Recording" (See Resources below).
2. Take the files that you wish to transfer from the original hard drive and copy them to the backup hard drive.
   
   On an Apple computer, you can "drag and drop" the selected files over.
3. Once the data has successfully been transfered, it is good practice to ensure that the backup corresponds with the original.
   
   Choose the original file that was backed-up and from the Finder Menu (Apple) select "Get Info."
   
   Do the same for the backed-up file.
   
   Now you can view the contents of both the source file and the destination file in juxtaposition.
   
   Ensure that the file size and number of contents correspond with the original.
4. Once the backup has been completed, remove the backup drive from the computer and safely transport it to another safe location.

Tips & Warnings

• Having a backup of your work will ensure that you rest easy at night.
• I have known professionals to take precautions such as creating a third backup and placing it in a safe deposit box at their bank.
• Be very careful not to interfere with the backup process. The process can sometimes take several hours to complete and uses a vast amount of the computer's resources. If necessary, leave the computer to do the work unattended, then later return to check in.