I can't tell you how many times I have read or heard someone's sad tale about losing their photo collections due to hard disk failure or damaged media. Most people I come across are good about archiving their photos to removable media like CD, zip disk, or DVD, but then they go and delete the images from their hard disk thinking they've got a good backup. No, no, no! Let me tell you the most important thing to keep in mind when it comes to proper safekeeping of your pictures (or any data):

It's not a backup unless it's a second copy!

I know, I know... backing up your images is no fun, but when something devastating happens you will be glad you did it! And that brings me to a product I just came across called PictureFlow Archive Creator (for Windows).

Archive Creator is specifically designed to make archiving your digital photos collections simple and hassle free. As they say on their Web site, "We want you to archive your files." And I do too, so if you don't already have a good backup system in place for your digital photo collection, I hope you'll develop one today. Whether you use Archive Creator or not, please do something.

PhotoRescue (for Windows and Macintosh) is something else to consider if you find yourself in a situation where you need to recover photos from damaged SmartMedia, Memory Stick, or CompactFlash cards.

It's also a good idea to store extra copies of your photo archives at a separate location from your computer, so that if the worst were ever to happen (robbery, fire) you would still have good copies of those files. This is an added bonus for people who frequently share their photo collections with friends and family.

Have you used Archive Creator or other software for archiving your digital photos? Do you have a backup strategy that works for you? Have you ever lost pictures to damaged media? Tell us about it in the forum.

Also see: Long Term Data Storage on CD-R Discs, Digital Photo Rescue & Recovery Software