Keeping files neat and tidy (and safe)

If you have digital image files you care about, in a significantly large quantity, here's one strategy for protecting them -- and yourself -- from loss:

1. Purchase Adobe Lightroom and a book to help you learn it

2. Buy two of the biggest hard drives you can afford

... sooner or later it will save you from headaches and heartache.

Less than two months after getting my photo catalog in order using Lightroom -- and organizing the files into two identical (mirrored) sets on two different disk drives -- the time and money paid off when one of the disks failed.

All that was needed was to reset the Lightroom catalog to point to the set of backup photos on other drive. Just like that, everything was back up and running. Of course I was on pins and needles until I made another mirrored copy of the files. With a new set of my image files safely on a new drive, I was through the most pain-free hard drive crash ever.