zipping files recommended??

[knew2mack]

Hi everyone

I've never worked with zipping files or compressing them...is it recommended if I'm trying to back up my photos, to zip//compress(??) so as to have more room??

Also...thus far, I've only used flash drives for some of my photos and I've copied everything to an external hard drive. I"m noticing that it's running much slower and I'm not advanced ( or even intermediate) with computers so what's the best??

oh...although I recently installed CCC (suggestions thru here - thank you) I have not taken the time to learn or use it. I did, however, see something about NOT using a Western Digital hard drive because.......something doesn't something with the something...yep!!!!

I'm just trying to figure out best ways to back up, which is better for different things (music, photos) and I've read so many of the threads here....some of which is explained to advanced for my level of expertise and hard to understand. yep - maybe there's a 'Backing up stuff for Dummies' out there somewhere.

thanks so much for all of yr help - it's been a lifesaver having all of your recommendations - thank u!!!

 

[GGJstudios]

I've never worked with zipping files or compressing them...is it recommended if I'm trying to back up my photos, to zip//compress(??) so as to have more room??

Yes, it's fine to zip anything you want. Be aware that some files such as documents or text files will compress to a greater degree than files like photos or videos.

Also...thus far, I've only used flash drives for some of my photos and I've copied everything to an external hard drive. I"m noticing that it's running much slower and I'm not advanced ( or even intermediate) with computers so what's the best??

You shouldn't see much difference in speed when using an external drive, unless you're dealing with very large files or a large volume of files, in which case your connection method may play a role. In other words, for example, a Firewire 800 connection to an external drive can transfer files 2-3 times faster than a USB 2.0 connection.

oh...although I recently installed CCC (suggestions thru here - thank you) I have not taken the time to learn or use it. I did, however, see something about NOT using a Western Digital hard drive because.......something doesn't something with the something...yep!!!!

As long as you follow CCC's instructions properly, you shouldn't have any problems with a WD drive.

I'm just trying to figure out best ways to back up, which is better for different things (music, photos) and I've read so many of the threads here...

I highly recommend CCC for backing up any type of files, or your entire hard drive.

 

[knew2mack]

thanks so much

isn't the reason for zipping files so you have more room to store stuff, such as photos in my case?? If I have say 200 photos (specifically, candles, I make them at home)....so, 200 photos, how do I do it?

After compressing them, the next time I want to put more pics onto the flash drive, will I be zipping them INTO the previous one or does it automatically make a new zipped file of the newer ones??

sorry, i know this is really basic stuff and GGJ, I notice you're the one mostly replying - so again, thank you so much...i've learned so much from you and all the other kind (and patient ie step by step requests) souls!!

blessings & light

 

[GGJstudios]

isn't the reason for zipping files so you have more room to store stuff, such as photos in my case?? If I have say 200 photos (specifically, candles, I make them at home)....so, 200 photos, how do I do it?

In Finder, either select all the photos, or select the entire folder where they reside, then right-click and select "Compress x Items" or "Compress foldername". You can then put the zip file created anywhere you want it.

After compressing them, the next time I want to put more pics onto the flash drive, will I be zipping them INTO the previous one or does it automatically make a new zipped file of the newer ones??

That depends on if you use the Mac OS X built-in compression tool or if you use a 3rd party app, such as StuffIt Expander or UnRarX or The Unarchiver or iZip or many others. With the built-in tool, you would have to expand the original zip, then re-zip with the new files included. Some of the other tools may allow you to simply drag and drop new files on an existing zip file to add them.

 

[minifridge1138]

Hello Knew2Mac,

Welcome.

It sounds like you're asking about 2 different features: compressing, and backing up.

The two are not directly related, but go well together.

Typically, you computer has 1 hard drive. It's basically a big bucket that holds files.

They suffer from 2 fundamental problems:
1) They can't get any bigger. You can buy a bigger bucket, but you can't make the bucket you have bigger.
2) They go bad. After enough time, they fail. They having moving parts and they have circuits that move electrons. It's just a matter of time until it goes bad.

Compressing (or zipping) files helps solve the first problem.
Backing up files helps solve the second problem.

Compressing the files makes them smaller. The smaller the files, the more can fit in your bucket.

Backing up your files into a 2nd bucket means that when the first bucket fails, you still have a copy of the files in another bucket.

A match made in heaven?
Most people's hard drives are mostly empty space. So even if you copy every single file to two hard drives, the backup drive is mostly empty space. Let's say you make a backup every day of every single file. That means your backup drive will get full faster than your original drive. The original drive has 1 copy of every file, then other drive has several copies of every file. That's why people make a backup and then compress it.

Does that help clarify things?