DIGITAL DATA STORAGE: what is your long term solution ??

[ghosthunter]

What is your solution for storing digital data for the long term?

digital data would include: photos, videos, documents, etc


Do you save to external HDD?

Do you write them to optical discs? (DVD/CD)

Do you use traditional tape back up?

Do you upload it to the internet?


What do you do?

[ghosthunter]

Currently I am using 3.5in SATA HDD as my longer term storage media of choice.

This is connected to the PC via SATA/USB external dock.

I have a friend who uses DVD recordables. But I have heard that these only last a maximum of 5 to 10 years maximum. In some cases, data is lost starting 1 to 3 years.

In my personal experience, CDRs only last 2 to 3 years before its full of error. Cheaper CDRs don't even last a year.

[denki3269]

lots and lots of back ups..

I'm using an external hdd, my ipod, my phone, laptop, facebook, and ofcourse my computer.. ;)

[roninblade]

currently using 1Tb external drive. may be upgrading to a NAS drive with RAID.

also got some backups on CD/DVDRs. some cheap CDRs and DVDRs that i have from 2005 (and older) have started losing their data integrity. nahihirapan na basahin ng DVD drive ko. transfering everything soon to the external drive or re-burn to better quality disks.

[Sniper Wolf]

Before, I have: external HDD and dvd/cdr copies. But I moved them now to a netbook that was rarely used. This netbook is dedicated for media playing/viewing only.

OTOH, some of the important documents (eg. passport, nso, driver's license) were scanned and emailed to my wife's and my account.

[oj88]

Just for the heck of data longevity, you would require at least RAID 1. Most SATA motherboards now already supports this feature. Several years down the road, one drive would eventually fail. You just replace that failed drive and your data will be mirrored again on the new drive, dispelling any contention on data preservation.

You still need to do a proper backup, however, if for instance, the RAID controller or the motherboard dies and writes corrupted data on your mirrored drives, etc. Backup once a week, at the least, to an external drive and store it off-site.

[OldSchoolHack]

I use a NAS (4 terrabytes) for storing large volumes of media. Portable I got two 1 terrabytes (WD and Seagate). Mobile - one 320GB seagate and several uncountable USB flash drives.

No such thing as permanent storage. DAT tapes are reliable at most 3 years. Old optical disc get screwed up by UV (yeah even from indirect sunlight). Even BD get screwed up. Unless you have a sealed vault (we do), optical disc are basically not "permanent".

And unless your data is that valuable (like our DC has a redundant site - Vitro and within we have SAN-NAS-DAT tape backup) then you may try storing in such websites as *******, **********, etc. May bayad/subcription nga lang.