Photo/picture storage for Windows 11

[Peter Jenkins]

1 hour ago, Basil said:

windows is not as windows is normally displayed.Bas

I suggest Bas that you get your friend to come in and sort out the problem and then write down what you need to do to get the actions you want.  I suspect that the additional programme he may have installed is a virus protection service but that doesn't alter how Windows works.  In my case, I upgraded from W10 to W11 and that did not cause any problems with how I access photos.  I store all my photos in the Pictures folder and then classify them by year.  I also take photos with my smart phone and those I download to my computer via an on-line storage system called Dropbox.  No one other than those I give permission to access a specific directory can see any of my other photos.  

 

It rather sounds like you don't fully understand how you set up folders and use the file manager to access your files.  It might be helpful to get your friend to take you through that process and write it all down and use screen shots (he'll know what they are) to help you to remember how to do this stuff.

 

Posting on here is clearly not solving your problem as you would like.

[john davidson 1]

Email providers   give free cloud storage , some more than others. I was threatened by mine (outlook) that my email was going to be suspended because no more space,( no mention of cloud) took me a while to discover that all my pictures were being uploaded without my knowledge which had filled all free storage and I would have to pay a monthly fee. Deleted a heap of photos and back to normal service.

[GrumpyGnome]

If you have Amazon Prime, they have free storage....... no logical reason to be afraid of cloud storage imo.

[ken anderson.]

I changed to windows 11 and found in the first couple of days I was getting messages telling me I was running out of Cloud storage and my outlook would stop working etc!!

Having never used Cloud storage I stopped it from using it and store my stuff on the PC as I've always done..

 

Ken Anderson ne ..1...windows 11 dept.

[Basil]

15 hours ago, Peter Jenkins said:

I suggest Bas that you get your friend to come in and sort out the problem and then write down what you need to do to get the actions you want.  I suspect that the additional programme he may have installed is a virus protection service but that doesn't alter how Windows works.  In my case, I upgraded from W10 to W11 and that did not cause any problems with how I access photos.  I store all my photos in the Pictures folder and then classify them by year.  I also take photos with my smart phone and those I download to my computer via an on-line storage system called Dropbox.  No one other than those I give permission to access a specific directory can see any of my other photos.  

 

It rather sounds like you don't fully understand how you set up folders and use the file manager to access your files.  It might be helpful to get your friend to take you through that process and write it all down and use screen shots (he'll know what they are) to help you to remember how to do this stuff.

 

Posting on here is clearly not solving your problem as you would like.

I posted to see what other members used for their photo's , nothing more. Then get something sorted one way or the other.

Thanks.bas

[GrumpyGnome]

I use Windows Photos, Picasa, Photopad...

[EarlyBird]

2 hours ago, Basil said:

I posted to see what other members used for their photo's

Saved in Pictures sub-folders and backed up in the cloud.

Editing is done with the built in Photo app,

[Christopher Wolfe]

12 hours ago, john davidson 1 said:

Email providers   give free cloud storage , some more than others. I was threatened by mine (outlook) that my email was going to be suspended because no more space,( no mention of cloud) took me a while to discover that all my pictures were being uploaded without my knowledge which had filled all free storage and I would have to pay a monthly fee. Deleted a heap of photos and back to normal service.

 

The 'Cloud' is just somebody else's computer. How much that you trust them is up to you.

 

A friend did a DNA test to check out her roots and discovered how intrusive online storage is online DNA tests when she heard about a person who was arrested because the online DNA check revealed his identity.

 

Full access to government and whoever wants to look at your data.

 

Agree - Keep it on a backup drive.

[kc]

Whoever is providing this 'free' cloud space will eventually charge you for getting your own photos back!     Imagine what you would do if some thief broke into your house and stole all your family photos - I think most people would pay money to retrieve their family photos.    

[Ron Gray]

1 hour ago, Christopher Wolfe said:

Full access to government and whoever wants to look at your data.

Rubbish - scaremongering.

 

31 minutes ago, kc said:

Whoever is providing this 'free' cloud space will eventually charge you for getting your own photos back!

Any real proof of that? I’ve been using ‘free’ cloud space for years and have never been charged. I also have paid for space too and as a result have stopped using my NAS devices.

[Outrunner]

I store photos from my my phone on Google Photos (cloud) Photos from my camera are stored on a Google drive (cloud) all of my photos and data are also backed up to a portable drive that is kept in a fireproof safe.

[john davidson 1]

Google free storage is quite a bit more than Outlook but still only II would think up to a point where charges would be levied. Using it up by putting photos on without your knowledge is sneaky then demanding money is sharp practice and annoying. Had me worried that my Email was going to be suspended. Backing up to a hard drive is the best idea.

[Mike Blandford]

As far as I'm concerned my data is mine! It is not going to be stored anywhere other than on my hardware.

I have two, USB hard drives I use for backup, and back up all my data (all kept in a specific directory), every day using alternate backup drives.

I also have two hard drives, removed from previous computers, installed in USB enclosures that are also used for backup.

 

Mike

[Andy Stephenson]

External drives are so cheap and have huge capacity these days, the only reason for the cloud is to get remote access to your data.

[Ron Gray]

6 minutes ago, Andy Stephenson said:

the only reason for the cloud is to get remote access to your data.

Sharing data with family plus sharing data across multiple devices. There are also a lot of software programs (and increasingly more so) that rely on cloud storage. Just because the data is stored in the cloud doesn’t mean it isn’t yours (sorry Mike!). 

[leccyflyer]

In the event of an on-site fire then having one's precious images stored only on hard media or in print does run the risk of them being destroyed. Cloud storage is a very effective back-up to that and when it is integrated with downloading from your mobile, makes for a better experience in making use of the images you capture. As I said earlier, you only need ever lose one set of precious images to an equipment malfunction to realise the value of multiple back-ups.

[Geoff S]

2 hours ago, Mike Blandford said:

As far as I'm concerned my data is mine! It is not going to be stored anywhere other than on my hardware.

I have two, USB hard drives I use for backup, and back up all my data (all kept in a specific directory), every day using alternate backup drives.

I also have two hard drives, removed from previous computers, installed in USB enclosures that are also used for backup.

 

Mike

 

Me too, Mike.  Probably dates from the time 40 years back, pre IBM PC (which was a step back at the time) when I was working on microprocessor systems and our data were stored on C90 cassettes, then 7" floppies, 5.25" floppies and, finally 2.5" floppies.  I have a 250 Mb SSD in my current PC I use for back-up as well as a HD from a previous PC and an external HD for ultimate back-up.  No need for the cloud and its potential charges. 

[Outrunner]

I can understand some people are wary of cloud storage but the great thing is I can access my photos wherever I am in the world.

[kc]

"data were stored on C90 cassettes, then 7" floppies, 5.25" floppies and, finally 2.5" floppies. "    

If your photos were stored on floppies would you still have something able to open them now!    Probably not     It means you need to continually move them to something modern.  Even DVD drives are not on many new computers..........     Cloud storage avoids that problem I suppose - at a cost eventually.

   Only safe way is to store the most important photos as paper copies - probably old fashioned bromide paper prints are more permanant than printer ink.   Bromide paper prints are known to last over 100 years if done properly and stored away from light and can survive water damage too.  ( sepia toned bromide prints are even longer lasting due to chemical change in toning )

Will anybody know how to view digital photos  jpegs etc in 100 years time?

Edited December 5, 2023 by kc

[Mike Blandford]

1 hour ago, Geoff S said:

 

Me too, Mike.  Probably dates from the time 40 years back, pre IBM PC (which was a step back at the time) when I was working on microprocessor systems and our data were stored on C90 cassettes, then 7" floppies, 5.25" floppies and, finally 2.5" floppies.  I have a 250 Mb SSD in my current PC I use for back-up as well as a HD from a previous PC and an external HD for ultimate back-up.  No need for the cloud and its potential charges. 

Exactly! I had to build my first computer (you couldn't buy them at the time), then design a fast cassette interface!

8" floppy drives in the loft, with an old computer with 5.25" and 3.5" floppy drives, so yes, I can still read them. USB DVD writer available so I can use DVDs even if a new computer doesn't have a DVD drive.

 

Mike

[Outrunner]

15 minutes ago, kc said:

Will anybody know how to view digital photos  jpegs etc in 100 years time?

 

I'm not going to worry about my photos in 100 years time 😂

[Geoff S]

18 minutes ago, Outrunner said:

 

I'm not going to worry about my photos in 100 years time 😂

 

Just so. My sister dumped a load of old photos on me a week ago in an effort to identify some of the people as I'm now the oldest member of our branch of the family.  The quality isn't high as I guess some were taken with a box Brownie.  Most of the people I didn't know but my grandfather (born circa 1860) featured in a few so I was able to guess some of them.  They're really only of interest because of the period dress.  None of the 100s of photos I have, including the slides and the ones I printed/enlarged, will be of any interest in 2123. 

 

However, like Mike, I have USB 3.5" floppy and DVD available.  I remember Tony Benn, who recorded a daily diary throughout his political career, had a similar problem with voice recordings (who has a reel to reel tape machine or, especially, a reel to reel wire recorder - which was what I first heard my own voice recorded on back in 1950).  And Benn's diaries are almost certainly of far more historical interest than most people's snapshots.

[john davidson 1]

With the help of my sisters I wrote on the back of old family photos who the people were, it will be interesting I think to descendants  many years hence. On the other hand I have so many digital  they are not named individually. Stored on SD cards and put in small paper envelopes with info . Trouble is a change in technology could make them unreadable. Paper photo albums cannot be beat.

[leccyflyer]

My wife inherited a large quantity of family photos, some going back to the 19th century and her mother had meticulously written names on the backs of them, which would have been very useful in unravelling the genealogy of several generations. Well, they would have been very useful if she had written the names of the people in the pictures, rather than the names of an endless succession of dogs, cats, ponies and horses......

 

We still have the means of accessing every form of data from 5.25" floppy discs, through tapes, CDs, DVDs and an array of HDDS and USB pen drives, but that didn't help when one vital HDD failed and proved unrecoverable.

[Christopher Wolfe]

15 hours ago, Ron Gray said:

Rubbish - scaremongering.

I am sorry Ron but it is true - Cloud Data Security.

 

I admit that one must be a 'Person of Interest' to draw attention that warrants investigation by government agencies but it has happened before.

 

In reality, unless one is a suspected terrorist or is suspected of committing a heinous crime then the average bloke in the street has little to fear.

 

* Chris *