Back up SD cards

[robertgarven]

I am trying to back up my SD cards so in case one fails I can save some of the original recordings intact. Also we are making several versions of the songs getting ready for the album so I am trying to do some of the procedures described below.

I am trying to do this without hooking up my computer to the unit. I am bringing the SD cards home and trying to copy the song folders out of the music folder to a folder on my iMac. Has anyone done this successfully.

I also would like to format a new card and move a song from a SD card current music folder into the new cards music folder. Has anyone done this?

I am in a band "Cirith Ungol" and the unit is at the band room all hooked up and very inconvenient to bring home or my computer to the studio. I have a Tascam DP-24SD.

Thanks,

Rob

 

[David Porter]

Rob -

I don't have an iMac - I'm a PC guy. But the function/tasks you are describing should be a snap no matter what. I wouldn't worry about a thing. I do keep my computer connected to my DP via USB and typically tranfer that way. But I have tried removing the card and moving data around that way just to try it. No problems! Just make sure you "copy" and make sure the data has transferred properly before you delete from original directory, format a card, etc...

 

[David Porter]

Wow... your band goes waaaay back. Impressive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirith_Ungol_(band)

 

[robertgarven]

HA! We are legends in our own minds! Thank you, I will need more help im the drummer!!

 

[-mjk-]

Hi Robert. Those copy and paste functions are exactly the same as any other SD card or hard drive file management procedure. Just as David said, make sure everything successfully copied before you delete the originals.

What I do is, I have a backup folder on my hard drive and I make dated subfolders where I back up everything into that folder on that particular date. Since I keep extensive track sheet records, I know what I did on any one day, so I can recover if I need to. I also find it convenient to keep backups on the card itself, and I manage those by adding "BU" to the end of the song name. So if I'm going along, and decide I would like to revert back to where I started, I simply load the BU song. Later on I change the song names around back where I need them.

 

[robertgarven]

Thank you both. I bought a new SD card and copied the SD card I had already recorded on to the new card. When I inserted the new SD card t said format card. After I formatted the card I moved some completed songs into the new card and it worked fine. I appreciate your help and am looking forward to learning more about this machine. We have had it for a year but I want to get better at using it ! Here is a pic of the drums set up for recording.

 

[-mjk-]

Looks great Robert. Extra points for the Orange head on the Marshall slant cabinet!

 

[Joseph W Kuhl]

MJK: I understood robertgarven to be asking how to make backups on a new SD card rather than making backups on the same card used to record. He did not say how he did it. I have tried importing songs which I have exported to a folder on computer back onto a newly formatted card. Does not work for me. I have tried importing through audio depot with no success. Tried importing the song in the "music" folder, no go. What is the trick to importing these files on a new SD card so as to have a backup SD? No changes made to names assigned by DP24.

 

[-mjk-]

@Joseph W Kuhl please see my reply to your other post in the other thread. There is no trick. The songs being copied from and to have to be the same resolution. When files don't import via the Audio Depot there is some kind of mismatch. The DP machines do not do file conversion processing.

If you only want to make a backup or copy of the entire SD card, you can simply copy the entire contents of the card to a computer, format the new card and copy it all to the new card.

 

[robertgarven]

Joseph, That is exactly what I did, and I have a mac! Dont forget the Tascam device only will use up to a 35gb card anything over wont work.
So I put my existing card into my iMac copied everything on there into a folder. Took a new card and formatted it on the the Tascam unit. Then put it in my computer and copied the files straight onto it as is, and that worked for me. I back up the cards regularly on my computer just in case

 

[BazzBass]

Impressive career history Robert

 

[ciemnika]

Joseph, That is exactly what I did, and I have a mac! Dont forget the Tascam device only will use up to a 35gb card anything over wont work.
So I put my existing card into my iMac copied everything on there into a folder. Took a new card and formatted it on the the Tascam unit. Then put it in my computer and copied the files straight onto it as is, and that worked for me. I back up the cards regularly on my computer just in case

If you're using multiple SD cards, I'd suggest the "tape backup" strategy, where you always have a redundant backup. The system I use is that I have two SD cards and a Mac (and the Mac backs itself up, too).

SD card 1 is in the machine. I will record to this one when working on some music. When I am done working on the music, I will pull SD card 1 and take it to my computer. I will create a backup of any projects I worked on on the computer. I'll then copy SD card 1 to SD card 2 and leave SD card 1 with the computer. SD card 2 goes back to the Portastudio. When they fill up, I buy two new SDs and archive both the old ones. They're so cheap now, I just hoard them. If they stop making the ones that the DPs like, I'll buy a heap and hope they last.

P.S. I dig the new EP. It's kind of surreal to me to bump into you here. I love your band. You guys and a handful of other bands turned me into a lifelong metalhead in the 80s. Thanks for the tunes.