Storing processed RAW

It's not a RAW vs JPG thread by any means. Just a question: how do you do it?

Asking because I managed to lose Lightroom catalog once to disk failure. Had a backup of course, too bad it was on the same disc (silly me is understatement). So all my RAW edits went down the drain, imagine the pain.

So now I have backup catalog on different drive, all my RAWs on different drive, some JPG on Smugmug/Flickr. But how about in few years time, when LR is not updated anymore and I don't want Adobe cloud plan, I will have to move to something different? All my processed RAWs won't be able to open with all adjustments in new RAW program. What then? Should I just export everything from LR as JPG and keep it somewhere else? LR does make sidecar files for PEF or stores edits in DNG but as far as I know no spot removals, grads or any other fancy edits won't get imported into DxO or C1 for example (tried trial versions).
Any thoughts?

Your currently installed 'standalone' version of LR won't stop working and unless you upgrade to a new and unsupported camera, then I see no problems staying with the version you have and keeping a library backup.

I don't see much point in saving specific edit metadata over the longer term. Surely the best reason to revisit archived RAW files is to refresh the image, probably with newer and better software. Much better therefore to start from scratch ... Your own skills will have developed as well.

What you did in the past is baked into your jpeg output as a record. If you need to create different versions of special images for different purposes, then you could output a full sized un-compressed master TIFF. These can be archived as well and used in any editing program to produce resized jpegs as needed, no quality loss.

I maintain my own backups on 2 different usb externals plus a Double Layer DVD copy as well, in different locations. The backups are simple using microsofts free Sync-Toy software, and Nero Burning Rom for the dvds, and no compression is used.

You've been let down by Lightroom. An 'all-in-one solution' can hide potential pitfalls ....I think its best to take firm hands -on management of our data collections. Save your precious RAW files, but forget about Lightrooms metadata .... When you come back to your images in future with different, better software and more experience, you will breathe new life into them !

I read that the OPs HDD failed. I'd hardly call that being let down by Lightroom?

Where edits contain an epic amount of work, one could see the benefit of saving the steps, so that any rework wouldn't require a full recreation of masks etc.

Personally I keep backups of my raw files, and of the output finished images, but I rarely revisit them. HDD space is so cheap these days that I don't see a problem keeping a backup of entire drives, rather than being too selective anymore. I try to update a physical drive periodically and store this elsewhere, off site. But essentially I don't worry too much about revisiting an image once it's done.

Richard, you heard my hunting call .... Expect the Lightroom Brigades 'emergency response attachment' to be heading this way very soon

Lightroom has failed here .... Not in a software technical way, but rather a failure of promise .... The promise being the myth that an all-in-one cataloguing plus image development solution is right for all. If it lulls us into a false sense of security, and we don't take hands-on management of our data, then it has failed as the solution it promises.

Nigel, are you trolling again?
The Hard drive failed.
How is hands-on management of our data going to help you with your data if the HDD the data is on, fails??
If anything gfurm failed, because he stored his backup on the same HDD (which failed), technically not a backup at all. If he'd backed up onto an external drive, there'd have been no problem

Exactly, and it was the all-in-one promise which encouraged such a practice, rather than a specific manually created and hands -on backup regime.

Steve, I didn't know were with the Lightroom Brigade .....ate you just on assignment to their ERA?

I'm with the common sense brigade

Pretty sure making physical hard drive replacements etc isn't in the Lightroom feature set.

Trolling.

It was the HDD that failed, but since then I realised that by default Lightroom does store backup in the same place is stores catalog, you also have to tell it to make sidecar file for your RAWs if you want to have all the edits kept if catalog fails. If the second option was on by default I wouldn't lose any edits done when HDD failed. Since then I moved to DNG as it stores LR edits within the file, I moved backup catalog, have all family photos online and JPGs on another drive.

The All-in-one approach is what I like about Lightroom. I tried trials of DxO and C1 and I misses all the retouch options (C1 got them but too cumbersome to use for me), the cataloging was was awkward for me, DxO doesn't support PEFs from ist DL2 (still got plenty of those) and above all they cost at least twice as much as LR.

Anyway the question wasn't which RAW program to use but what to do with your files when you finish.

With LR5, cat backups are saved to a folder of your choosing, if you miss the option (it's a button on the Backup dialogue box which says 'Choose') then they will be backed up to the same place as the named (and currently open) catalog file in a subfolder named 'Backups'. So it's best to make sure the backup goes to a different drive.

I've never seen such persistent in trying to hold Lightroom responsible for something that it had nothing to do with. Lightroom causes hard drive failure? what next? Lightroom causes debt crunch plunging the world into depression?

No it wasn't. Using Lightroom does not encourage people to be lapse with their backup regime. I store back ups of my Lightroom catalogues on two separate drives and on an external device.

A tip: LR catalogues compress well into zip files. I've had 10:1 compression, so easy to zip up and even store on your mobile phone or USB stick

Well now, good point .... Such a geostrophic debt crises could well be caused by all-in-one funding solutions and lack of hands-on macro economic management!

I'm glad the attack has been taken seriously, and sure enough, the Emergency Response Attachment has sent in some of its highest officers! Hmmm, I suppose it might be all in a good cause .... At least we seem to be getting some good info about best backup practices and giving the OP some ideas

Three physical hard drive backups, Flickr for jpegs and then Amazon photo which for £12 a year is just a no brainier really...

Nowhere in this thread I blamed lightroom for my hdd failure. I just asked how do you store your processed RAWs.