DreamCarr
Percussion
Premium
join:2001-04-16
6D 6F 6F 00
| Permanent Storage
What do you all use for permanent storage?
I've just realized that we have around 1k pics from the first few months of my baby's life, and no idea how to store them till i'm 80.
--
never apoligize for being who you are, and never respect anyone that says you should. |
|
HFB1217
The Wizard
Premium,ExMod 2000-01
join:2000-06-26
Camelot
clubs:  
| Archive quality CDs or DVD. They are a bit more expensive but are purported to be stable for 100 years or that is at least what is claimed by the manufacturers.
--
****aka The WIZARD **** A Founding member Seti BBR Team Starfire**** |
|
mromero
Premium
join:2000-12-07
Fullerton, CA | reply to DreamCarr
overkill but stil for archival purposes
»www.robgalbraith.com/bins/conten···311-9472 |
|
pog
Premium
join:2004-06-03
Kihei, HI
 ·Hawaiian Telcom
| reply to DreamCarr
In the old days, the average person just threw their negatives in a box and kept the keepers as prints in a physical photo album. Then, over time, negatives were lost... moreover, the context or specialness of many of the album photos was also lost.... leaving just a few that anyone cared about.
With this somewhat dour outlook, I would humbly suggest not sweating it too much. Select 10-20 of the very best photos, make some nice 8x10 or 8x12 prints (at a lab on real photo paper) and then just consider those your "for real" keepsakes.
The rest is untried and untrue...
Archive everything on high quality CDs. Save them in a safety deposit box or fireproof safe. Periodically, test the media to make sure everything can still be read.
Keep all your images in your "my pics" folder on your PC. When you start to run out of space, buy a bigger HD. Backup your data to an external drive, use offsite storage (mozy, your own hosted domain, etc), etc. Then, every time you upgrade your computer, migrate ALL your data to the new machine.
Personally, I don't maintain any archives... everything is available to me instantly on my current machine or via short-term backups. Well before I'm 80, I expect to give each of my kids a complete set of printed "keepers" and their digital originals... then when I'm all batty and behind the times, they can take of what ever needs taking care of with whatever technology is available then.
--
My Site |
|
TigerLord
Resident Pentaxian
Premium,Mod
join:2002-06-09
Chicoutimi
 ·Videotron
·Bell Sympatico
Host:
International Broa..
Videotron
| reply to mromero
Holy expansive archiving batman! |
|
DownTheShore
Obama '08
Premium
join:2003-12-02
Edison, NJ
clubs:
| reply to DreamCarr
Make sure everything is labeled as to who is in that picture. I have seen older relatives go through boxes of old pictures and chuck them out because they had no idea anymore who those were pictures of, or because the person was dead, or was of the family in Europe that none of the younger generation here knows, and they didn't think that anyone would want the picture. The same will probably hold true regarding digital images.
--
Life is simply one damned thing after another. |
|
vaxvms
ferroequine fan
Premium
join:2005-03-01
Worcester, MA
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to pog
said by pog  :Periodically, test the media to make sure everything can still be read. Great advice. Also transfer to new media as it becomes available and stable. I've been witness to the government as well as businesses losing archive data 'cuz there was no longer a way to read the ancient media. Over the next 80 years CDs WILL become obsolete.
A couple examples: Floppy disk drives are becoming harder and harder to find, especially for 5.25 inch disks. Videos of the first few months of your baby's life that are on betamax are lost.
--
Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant Police Squad
|
|
bjl
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Laguna Hills, CA
| reply to DownTheShore
said by DownTheShore :Make sure everything is labeled as to who is in that picture. And where/when it was taken.
--
flickr gallery
photo blog (rarely updated) |
|
allfail
@tmodns.net
| reply to DreamCarr
the easiest way to backup everything is to use two usb external drives, alternating, to copy everything on your hard drive.
the disadvantages are that the hard drives themselves may fail, or become incompatible in the future.
--
you are trying to protect agains multiple threats:
theft
fire
flood or storm
self-destruction
so, as already mentioned, off-site backup is an excellent idea in case your computer is stolen, burned, flooded, or just dies.
a safe deposit box is close to ideal; pick one that's on high ground. note that those boxes get auctioned for nonpayment, and can be opened by the government for cause.
specifically,
cds go bad if water gets into their edges between the layers,
cds sometimes dont record correctly, showing good thumbnails but half-recorded images,
and cds sometimes just dont play at all
and i have had several good hard drives that reformatted themselves upon installation in a new computer, wiping everything before i knew it, so bad that recovery softwares failed.
which is why folks suggest triple backup. |
|
Jason Levine
Premium
join:2001-07-13
Albany, NY
edit:
June 16th, @01:29PM
| reply to DreamCarr
My current process is storing all of my photos on a single "File Server" PC and then backing that up onto an external hard drive. However, considering that my web host is giving me 150GB and I'm not even using 10GB, I might look into using a program like TrueCrypt to compress my backups into a single, encrypted file. I would then upload that file to a "hidden" (not advertised) location on my web host's server. This way, if anything happened to my PC and my external HD, I could download the file, decrypt it, and recover my files.
--
-Jason Levine
Support a children's charity. Buy a calendar. Shooting For A Cause
Jason's Toolbox | PCQandA.com |
|
DreamCarr
Percussion
Premium
join:2001-04-16
6D 6F 6F 00
| reply to DreamCarr
These are all excellent suggestions, and I thank you for them.
I think I may go the route of Archival quality CD/DVD's in a safe deposit box. I was always under the assumption that the ink in burnables was organic and simply decayed after a few years.
Any brand suggestions? I usually use memorex DVD's for my files/movies, do they offer archival options as well?
--
never apoligize for being who you are, and never respect anyone that says you should. |
|
MrBradTX
join:2001-05-23
Carrollton, TX
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to DreamCarr
In addition to all the suggestions here...always keep some "technology agnostic" copies of any images you can't bear to lose.
Imagine if the only copies of some irreplaceable photos were archived on iOmega 120MB Zip cartridges, or 8-inch floppy disks.
You want actual, chemical-process, archival-paper, physical, hold-in-your-hand photographs, not just arrangements of 1s and 0s that will be meaningless in a very few decades. |
|
jaykaykay
4 Ever Young
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-13
Scottsdale, AZ | reply to DreamCarr
I save mine to cd/dvd but I also have them backed up automatically with the other things I have chosen to have done to Mozy.com. That way, if something happens to the cd/dvd collection at home, I have another source that can be used. |
|
JPuppy
Java Heathen
Premium
join:2002-11-24
Glassboro, NJ
clubs:
| reply to DreamCarr
I'm in the midst of a backup crisis of my own. I had several years of photos backed up onto an external HD, but had disposed of the PC that contained them. Naturally, my external HD suffered from an unrecoverable event, and the outlook is bleak.
My only hope is that most of the pictures originated from an old Powerbook that no longer functions (my son spilled hot chocolate on it about 18 months ago). I've pulled the 2.5" HD out of the Powerbook, and am waiting for an adapter to arrive so I can scour the HD for the originals (assuming the drive still spins).
Fun stuff 
After this, I'll be implementing a new backup plan, using a dedicated file server and nightly rsync (»samba.anu.edu.au/rsync/). That will be complimented by a new USB drive stored offsite and synched bi-weekly.
--
Only through the criticizing of others can we learn to love ourselves. |
|
DreamCarr
Percussion
Premium
join:2001-04-16
6D 6F 6F 00
| said by JPuppy :I'm in the midst of a backup crisis of my own. I had several years of photos backed up onto an external HD, but had disposed of the PC that contained them. Naturally, my external HD suffered from an unrecoverable event, and the outlook is bleak. My only hope is that most of the pictures originated from an old Powerbook that no longer functions (my son spilled hot chocolate on it about 18 months ago). I've pulled the 2.5" HD out of the Powerbook, and am waiting for an adapter to arrive so I can scour the HD for the originals (assuming the drive still spins). Fun stuff After this, I'll be implementing a new backup plan, using a dedicated file server and nightly rsync (» samba.anu.edu.au/rsync/). That will be complimented by a new USB drive stored offsite and synched bi-weekly. I have a hard time trusting any mechanical device for data backup, I worked in service/support for too many years and saw too many external 'Backups' go bad, sometimes within a week of purchase. I don't think I'll ever use a hard drive for backup. |
|
simplykristi
Cancer Sucks
Premium
join:2001-11-28
Metro KC
·AT&T Yahoo
·Comcast
 ·Comcast Digital Vo..
 ·HostCaters
| reply to HFB1217
Where can I get archival CD or DVDs?? I have a ton of photos that I need to archive. I am running out of room on a hard drive.
Kristi
--
My Photo Gallery: »www.simplykristi.smugmug.com/ |
|
will show
@ct.us
| reply to DreamCarr
CD and DVD backup is no longer a viable choice. In a very short time you will have a mountain of DVD's. Get yourself an external backup drive(several actually) and call it a day. Drobo is a great idea. I am waiting for the next generation of the Drobo and that will be that. No worries. |
|
