I have a separate drive for my photo data and I back it up to a
mirror drive at regular intervals so I don't have to reconstruct
directories. All I would have to do is go after the images on a
defunct drive made after my last back up.
Roy
More recently, however, I lost my entire external master file
backup
to a corrupted drive directory. I keep my master image files on a 2T
drive which is always attached.
The maker of the drive suggested I use a recovery service - $500.
The maker would replace the drive on warranty. I had the files
backed up on DVDs both on site and remotely, at a friend's house. It
was a toss up between shelling out for a restoration or spending 3 or
4 days rebuilding the data on the replacement drive.