Archiving files on a hard drive? Tips?

TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
edited September 2003 in Internet & Media
I have lots of files stored on CDs, but with what I've been reading lately, the data will be gone in a few years when I may want to see it. And I've always used a Sharpie (alcohol) pen for writing on them. More bad news there.

So I was thinking of buying an extra hard drive, hooking it up to the computer, and filling it with data (music and videos, mostly), that I may want in 10, 20, or 50 years. Okay, maybe not 50 years, but a LONG time from now.

How long could hard drives last like this, especially if stored carefully, away from light, moisture, and temperature extremes?

Any particular brands of hard drives to choose for this job?

Comments

  • qparadoxqparadox Vancouver, BC
    edited September 2003
    The biggest problem with HD's is that they're very delicate mechanical devices that do not age gracefully. Just the effects of gravity over 20 years could seriously screw up the drive. If you stuck it away for 20 years I would bet that it would not spin up when you went to plug it in the future. If you're really serious about keeping a lot of data on hd's for a long time my recommendation would be to make a raid 1 array and keep it running, When one drive fails or your array fills you can then upgrade both drives and have it last another 3-5 years. Big HD's are cheap and raid cards aren't too expensive either. You also gain a lot of added functionality this way.

    I'm betting other people will have some suggestions though :D
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    There is no such thing as 20 year archival at this point in time. Well, except for paper :)

    Archive for 5 years down the line. In five years there will be something cheaper and better. Then you will copy all your stuff to that, and in another 5-10 years you will copy all THAT stuff onto the new cool thing, etc., so on and so forth, ad infinitum.
  • maxanonmaxanon Montreal
    edited September 2003
    Nothing lasts forever. Everytime someone makes that claim, its premature. Paper lasts a long time, because even with degradation the info is still readable.

    If you're backing up crap (ie downloaded movies, mp3s, jpegs, etc) then just put them on high quality CDrs and store them in a dustproof case.

    If you want to go crazy (or have life and death info to back up) there are some considerations. One thing you have to worry about, is if you have the technology to actually read them in 20 years. Talk to all those 51/4 disk owners out there.

    Mothball a computer with the system and all the software on them. No guarantee that they will run. If you're worried and want to run the system 24/7 buy some replacement parts because they might not be available in 10 years (or very hard (expensive) to find). Keep a copy of all the software (but on what?).

    Also, you may want to store all this is a fire/water proof cabinet. What if your mission critical stuff is in your house and it catches on fire. Maybe an offsite storage company may be worthwhile.

    20 years is a very long time. You might as well follow Primesuspect's advice. Its a lot of work and its what companies do. But, again, what are you backing up? Is it worth a few million (or billion) or is that Eminem/Britney remix? Is it worth the hassle?

    You can probably contract this out to a company and they can give you a TB of space on their server and they will handle backing it up and keeping it up to date.
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