Backup copies and the test

One row per copy of your library, with where it is, how it updates, how old the drive is and when you last opened a photo from it; and the short test that tells you each copy can be read.

Essential on a first pass. A copy you have not opened a photo from is a copy you hope exists. The copies sheet is where the second copy, and later the third, gets its date; the test is how you know each one can be read. A reader who skips it may find out about a failed drive on the day they need it. It is the sheet Backups fills, and the drive years feed the five-year move in Formats and the long term.

Copies

One row per copy: the library itself, a drive at home, a drive away from home, a cloud service that holds originals. Drive bought and move by are years; move by is five years after the drive was bought, or sooner at the first sign of trouble.

The test

Run it once a year, after you make a new copy and before you delete anything you think is backed up. Write the date and what happened.

How to use this sheet

• One row per copy. The master library is a row; so is each drive and each cloud service that holds full-size originals. A cloud service in Storage saver, or a shared album, is not a full copy.
• Dates are evidence. "Last updated" is when the copy last took in new photos; "last photo opened from it" is the test. Fill both from what you did, not from what a setting promises.
• Drive years drive the move. Write the year each drive was bought; this manual's move-by is five years later, or sooner at the first sign of trouble. Convention
• Run the test once a year and before you delete anything you believe is backed up. Write the date and what happened in the result column, including what did not open.