Can I delete accumulated backup files

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SilverBack

SilverBack

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:roll: I have been using LR for about six months and regularily back up to a directory I call Lightroom backups. This directory now contains 1''''s of files in lots of backups.
Can I safely delete the oldest ones?
 
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Yes! I'd usually go back and just double click on the last 2 or 3 to make sure they open safely and aren't corrupted, and then delete the rest.
 
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Deleting Back-ups

Victoria Bampton said:
Yes! I'd usually go back and just double click on the last 2 or 3 to make sure they open safely and aren't corrupted, and then delete the rest.
Click to expand...
I saw this answer and had to ask where these back ups are stored. I've been using LR since July and have done back-ups about once a month when prompted but have never gone into the file to see them. I have never made a file to place back ups in, so do they go to a "generiac" file?
 
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If you don't put them somewhere else, they'll be in a series of dated folders under a parent folder called "Backups" in the same folder with their respective catalog. (At least on XP, You don't say what OS you're using).

You may want to redirect future backups to a separate hard-drive for added security.
 
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Deleting Backup files

I did a search and found a Lightroom folder that had 2 folders inside, one labeled Backups. Upon opening it, there were 5 folders dated in ''7 and a couple dated this year. If I read Victoria's answer correctly, it would be ok to delete the files from ''7. Or is this not the folder she is refering to?
 
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Yep, just double click on the last couple to check they open ok, and then you can quite happily delete the others.
 
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Just be mindful that Lightroom's default setting is to open the last used catalog. I've seen a number of people make the mistake of opening a backup, then closing Lightroom for the day. When they launch Lightroom the next day they fail to realize that they just opened a backup and proceed to start working in it.

Always make sure you either purposely open your working catalog last, or set your preferences to always open a specific catalog regardless of which was the last one opened.
 
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I make two backups of everything, usually 3. All three methods are done outside of Lightroom. The first two methods will replace files if I've changed the original. The third method, DVD, preserves the orignals.

In the past, I would always open an original and if I made any changes at all, I would save the result to a subfolder usually called "edit" or something like that. But if I understand the Lightroom approach, I no longer need to do that since my originals will remain pristine and all the edits and changes will be in the lightroom database or sidecar files. I sure hope this is correct, as it will reduce the clutter on my harddrive and improve my workflow.



The first backup method I use is to an external hard drive and I do that outside lightroom and I include the lightroom database in that. I use synctoy from microsoft for that.

The second backup I make is to an online service that will let me backup any amount of files or a nice low annual fee ($5'), but it is strictly a backup -- if I erase files, it will delete them after a month. Carbonite. If you send me an email I can get three months added and you get an extra month, :-) It does take forever, as it takes a day to backup a couple gig, but I think of it as reasonably cheap insurance.

I also usually make DVD when I first come back from a shoot, but I'm finding more and more often that one DVD won't hold everything anymore, :-(
 
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Brandon,

That sounds reasonable. My method is quite similar, even to the use of SyncToy. (I don't do the online part, but substitute a second external backup drive which is just an occasional copy of the main backup.)

But.... I woke up one morning in a cold sweat; what if a folder in my image directory was accidentaly deleted ( don't care how at this point)? SyncToy would faithfully sync my backup drive and delete that same folder. EEK.
Since I autorun SyncToy everynight, that scared the cr@p out of me.

Since then, I auto run SyncToy in "Contribute" mode which replicates new files, changed files and renames. But it doesn't do any deletes on the backup side.

Gradually the source and backup will get slightly out of sync, as deletes accumulate on the source, without being replicated on the backup. Periodically then, I run a Full Sync between the two, with the preview option enabled, to satisfy myself that nothing unanticipated is going to happen.

Just a thought, YMMV
 
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Brad Snyder said:
Brandon,

That sounds reasonable. My method is quite similar, even to the use of SyncToy. (I don't do the online part, but substitute a second external backup drive which is just an occasional copy of the main backup.)

But.... I woke up one morning in a cold sweat; what if a folder in my image directory was accidentaly deleted ( don't care how at this point)? SyncToy would faithfully sync my backup drive and delete that same folder. EEK.
Since I autorun SyncToy everynight, that scared the cr@p out of me.

Since then, I auto run SyncToy in "Contribute" mode which replicates new files, changed files and renames. But it doesn't do any deletes on the backup side.

Gradually the source and backup will get slightly out of sync, as deletes accumulate on the source, without being replicated on the backup. Periodically then, I run a Full Sync between the two, with the preview option enabled, to satisfy myself that nothing unanticipated is going to happen.

Just a thought, YMMV
Click to expand...

I had a similar thought and have been using contribute as well. My online backup doesn't offer a contribute option, but I can live with that.
 
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No, not at this point, and I wouldn't want it either. I'd prefer to have control over backups being deleted - what if it automatically deleted all but the last 3, and then you had to revert to a backup and found that all 3 were corrupted. I'd rather go back and quickly open the last few to check before deleting.
 
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Victoria Bampton said:
No, not at this point, and I wouldn't want it either. I'd prefer to have control over backups being deleted - what if it automatically deleted all but the last 3, and then you had to revert to a backup and found that all 3 were corrupted. I'd rather go back and quickly open the last few to check before deleting.
Click to expand...

Oops. I assumed ( and I think I am correct in this one) that the backup files are CHECKED by LR. If not: it is a lousy backup system to me.
I prefer to do backups unattended: at night, EVERY night. That is what I do with Acronis. Works great, does what I want and catches the shortcomings in LR too.
 
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It SHOULD catch any problem backups. But nothing is infallible.
 
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