Frame Ledger / file order

Check a Backup Includes the Actual Photos

Distinguish editing records from the original image files.

The decision

A catalog backup may preserve an organizer database without preserving every original photograph. A reassuring backup filename is not enough to know what can be recovered.

A practical sequence

List the components of your project: originals, editing database or sidecars, exported files, and working notes. Read the backup documentation for your organizer. Confirm which components its backup feature includes. Check the independent storage copy for actual image files, then open a sample from that copy. Keep the verification separate from the live editing project so you do not accidentally change the originals during a test.

Worked example

Suppose a catalog backup folder contains a small database archive while the photographs remain on an external drive. Losing that drive could still lose the images even though the catalog was backed up successfully. A recovery check should demonstrate that one original and its useful editing record can be retrieved from the intended backup location.

What can go wrong

Do not format a card, remove a drive copy, or delete an old archive merely because a backup command completed. A cloud synchronization folder is not automatically an independent recovery history. Consult the service behavior for deletion propagation and version recovery rather than assuming it.

Your completion record

Record the backup location, components included, date checked, and sample file opened. This is a practical verification note, not a guarantee against every loss scenario. Recheck after changing storage devices or editing applications.

Before continuing, check the record against the actual files rather than relying on memory. Keep uncertain decisions labeled as uncertain. The next useful step is the specific task named in your completion record, not a fresh pass through the entire archive.