Archiving and managing files from SD card

[66427cobra]

I have read with interest how folks frequently swap SD cards, copy the files, then reformat the SD card. Many seem to do this after every outing, some even change the card when they change the battery to ensure they can't lose what has already been captured.

My question is; what files do you copy?

Obviously, the folders/files under DCIM are important 100MEDIA and PANORAMA. What about any files/folders under MISC? For example, the LOG folder.

Do you keep any of these other folders or files? If so, why?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Normally I just copy the videos and photos, the only other file I have ever copied from the mSD card is the log.log file that can be found in MISC and that is only once in a blue moon.


I do however normally copy all the txt & DAT flight logs from the PHONE

 

[ScottTX]

I leave my uSD card in my drone and copy the files to a PC, via the USB-C port.
I do copy the files after each flying session, after which I format the uSD via the DJI App format utility.
I have a large uSD card, (400 GB) so I never have to worry about running out of storage.
People have had issues with Windows reading directly from the (removed) uSD card.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

People have had issues with Windows reading directly from the (removed) uSD card.

None for me.
All my drone imagery has been transferred via the remove-the-card-and-put-it-in-a-reader method.
The only times I have had problems with Windows reading cards in general was when the reader couldn't handle the card's capacity. Frpm memory that happened when cards got bigger than 2 GB and then 32Gb.
Besides which, reading via the drone 'wastes' battery as far as I am concerned.

 

[66427cobra]

Normally I just copy the videos and photos, the only other file I have ever copied from the mSD card is the log.log file that can be found in MISC and that is only once in a blue moon.


I do however normally copy all the txt & DAT flight logs from the PHONE

Thanks, PF...

I had not thought about the logs on the phone. Will add that to my backup procedure.

 

[Brian I]

I take my cards from the drones, put them in a card reader attached to my PC and move (not copy) the photo and video files to the PC and then copy them to a removable drive as backups. Everything else I leave on the SD card.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I take my cards from the drones, put them in a card reader attached to my PC and move (not copy) the photo and video files to the PC and then copy them to a removable drive as backups. Everything else I leave on the SD card.

Could I suggest you copy the imagery to the computer and then MOVE the second set from the card to the backup. That way you are not copying a copy.
Given the quality of file-copying error-checking it may be a redundant precaution but it always seems a safer idea to me.

 

[retiredNH]

Could I suggest you copy the imagery to the computer and then MOVE the second set from the card to the backup. That way you are not copying a copy.
Given the quality of file-copying error-checking it may be a redundant precaution but it always seems a safer idea to me.

This sounds sooo analog. These are not xerox copies.

Have you ever actually had an error due to copying? Not from magnetic or optical media, which each have analog components, but from digital to digital?

It's interesting to note too, how concern about digital errors has receded in recent years. For instance, outside of data centers, when's the last time you heard anything about ECC memory? Note too that you can get file copying errors with magnetic media, but that's a whole different technology, and the weaknesses of magnetic media are well known.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Note too that you can get file copying errors with magnetic media,

"magnetic media" being what?

 

[Brian I]

Could I suggest you copy the imagery to the computer and then MOVE the second set from the card to the backup. That way you are not copying a copy.
Given the quality of file-copying error-checking it may be a redundant precaution but it always seems a safer idea to me.

I got out of that sort of belt and braces approach about the time of VHS.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Ahhh but I still have VHS lol.

 

[spudster]

"magnetic media" being what?

Removable discs like 3.5" & 5" floppies.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Ahh I have 3.5" floppies too, they store some linux programs and data loaded on this laptop lol

 

[retiredNH]

Removable discs like 3.5" & 5" floppies.

Actually, Hard drives are the most common magnetic medium these days, but backup tapes are magnetic too and still widely used in data centers.

Optical media these days are mostly DVD and Blue Ray. Long term stability has been controversial in the past since some discs seemed to suffer from bit rot. Since I haven't burned a disk in years (want a DVD spindle of 100 discs cheap?), I haven't kept up, so can't say how stable they are these days. CD and DVD also have complex error checking mechanisms for when you read them. Evidently the reading is quite error prone?

 

[spudster]

Actually, Hard drives are the most common magnetic medium these days, but backup tapes are magnetic too and still widely used in data centers.

Yep, I was thinking more on the line of removable media.

 

[mobilehomer]

Yep, I was thinking more on the line of removable media.

Standard magnetic hard drives are still used in many of the cheaper external storage units.
I use a SSD external, hook it up to the laptop, insert the mSD from the drone in the laptop and transfer straight to the external from the mSD. I use the laptop as a hub.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Actually, Hard drives are the most common magnetic medium these days

I thought they were, thanks.

 

[Brian I]

I don't believe the type of storage (magnetic or non-magnetic) is pertinent in the case of copying a digital file because the copy is not degraded like a copy of an analogue source, such as a photograph or a tape recording. A copy of a copy of a digital file will be identical to the original, but in the case of an analogue record each generation will introduce additional imperfections.

 

[retiredNH]

I don't believe the type of storage (magnetic or non-magnetic) is pertinent in the case of copying a digital file because the copy is not degraded like a copy of an analogue source, such as a photograph or a tape recording. A copy of a copy of a digital file will be identical to the original, but in the case of an analogue record each generation will introduce additional imperfections.

Actually, not so. To use magnetic storage as an example, where the data is written as a series of magnetic spots (roughly true, but in practice, a bit more complex), if the magnetism in a spot is lost, you have an error. I believe most systems, including HDD, have error correction built into their encoding, but it's been a long time since I looked into it, so I'm no longer sure.

I think you're confusing noise resistance with errors? It's true that digital systems are much more noise resistant, but they're not error proof. It's part of the reason that stringent backup protocols will include a verification step, where the source and target records are compared.

 

[BigAl07]

I'm one of those "change SD with every battery swap". This minimizes DATA loss should an "Event" happen and we lost some serious revenue from lost data due to losing the aircraft on a busy day.

I swap out the SD Card, put it into the Card Wallet, and when back at the office move the Pics/Vid only to our SSD drive. Then later when we have all the files off of the day's cards we move the whole batch to our NAS drive and process from the ones stored locally on the laptop SSD.

In regards to LOG files etc.... I don't even give those a 2nd thought. I use AutoSynch to upload them to AirData.