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Q: My desktop computer has Windows 10 and I am using Google Photos to store my photos. I purchased Picture Keeper Pro 500 GB to backup my photos from Google photos. However, Google Photos is cloud based and Picture Keeper says that I have to download the photos to my desktop computer before they back up the photos. Is that true or can I backup normally ????
Is there an easy way to download the photos to my computer? Are the photos in Google photos already on my computer’s hard drive??
A: Google Photos is indeed – cloud based. So, yes, you would need to download to backup from Google Photos to the Picture keeper.
But, there may be other ways to get photos directly from your camera to the Picture Keeper. Do you take all photos with your phone? Or do you use a regular camera? Let me know your current process and I’ll give you ideas.
In my Google Photos book (Mrs. Geek’s Guide to Google Photos second edition, included with your membership) there is a section on p. 58 about backup. I also reference this article Google Photos is not a backup
7:54 pm

July 7, 2018

Howard,
If you use a camera – then I assume you are copying them from the camera to your computer? Then they get copied to the cloud in Google Photos.
- Camera -> Computer -> Google Photos cloud.
- Each step makes a copy.
So – if that’s correct, your pictures should be on your computer’s hard drive already … unless you’ve deleted them? Or it’s a new computer?
I believe the Picture keeper automatically scans your computer and finds photos wherever they are, so it should just work. Do you get some kind of message when you plug it in?
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