# Storage question



## jemmy (Jul 23, 2006)

Hi:blushing:  I wish i could promise that i would stop posting so many *annoying *questions but i just have so much to ask so S O R R Y!!  This one is about storage... was wondering what you do with the images stored on your computer after your client has finished ordering?  I was thinking of burning to disc filing it, and then erasing from my computer say 3 months after order is delivered?  Is this even necessary, should i erase from computer immediately after order??    Hoping to hear how you guys deal with storage solutions - babble on as much as you like ~ i love it xx Thanks again, jemma x:heart:


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## ShelleySnapz (Jul 23, 2006)

I keep copies on my pc for a couple months then I burn to a disc and store away, then I delete from my pc, helps with my memory!


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## craig (Jul 23, 2006)

I through nothing away. Everything gets backed up to my external hard drive.


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## ksmattfish (Jul 24, 2006)

I burn 2 sets of Mam-a archival CD-Rs, although I really need to look into archival DVDs or something larger.  I also never erase them from my external hard drives, and just buy a new one when the old one fills up.  I label the old one so I can figure out which one is which (I have inventory lists for each external HD saved on my internal HD), and store it away until I need to get something off of it.  Memory is cheap.


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## JamesD (Jul 24, 2006)

Keep in mind that environmental considerations are also important for storing backups, just as with negatives.  CD-Rs and DVD-Rs can be prone to fungus, and should be stored in individual jewl-style cases (I like the thin ones) so nothing touches either surface.  Also, CD-Rs are very fragile.  Avoid scratching the top surface at all costs.  If you write on them, write at the center, where the spindle goes.  And store them in a low-humidity, relatively temperature-controlled environment.  Oh, and keep two copies of each, in a separate location.  Also, I've had bad luck with CD-RWs... I don't use them if I can avoid it,  but YMMV.

Magnetic Media (discs, hard drives, tapes, etc) will all lose their magnetism over time, and environmental considerations are important for them as well.  I don't think I've ever had a floppy disc last over a year (does anyone even use them anymore?) and my experience with DAT tapes indicates they don't last very long at all if they're used on a regular basis (IE for data retrieval at random intervals).  The hard drives in my computer have been running for several years each, with no serious data loss that I've noticed... but they don't move.  I don't know how external hard discs would hold up.

Solid-state electronic memory (like those USB memory sticks) are handy, but terribly unreliable.  Plus, they don't hold enough to be useful, and the price is ridiculous.


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## hot shot (Jul 24, 2006)

craig said:
			
		

> I through nothing away. Everything gets backed up to my external hard drive.



Same


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## EBphotography (Jul 24, 2006)

Independent Studies have shown that a CD-R will last 100 years when stored properly, such as moisture levels and protection. The best way to store them is in a jewel case, vertically, standing on it's spine and not just laying on the desk. A CD-RW has the same precautions, yet will only last 30 years. External Hard Drives are going down in price and in my opinion are a worthy storage solution. Hope I helped.


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## EBphotography (Jul 24, 2006)

JamesD said:
			
		

> Solid-state electronic memory (like those USB memory sticks) are handy, but terribly unreliable.  Plus, they don't hold enough to be useful, and the price is ridiculous.



Not sure I agree. Mine has been through the wash twice and works like a charm. They obviously are not optimal for photo storage, but for anything else they are great. 2gb for 50 bucks I saw last week. Expect these devices to be much more popular in the future, as 8gb versions are already available.


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## jemmy (Jul 24, 2006)

EBphotography said:
			
		

> Independent Studies have shown that a CD-R will last 100 years when stored properly, such as moisture levels and protection. The best way to store them is in a jewel case, vertically, standing on it's spine and not just laying on the desk. A CD-RW has the same precautions, yet will only last 30 years. External Hard Drives are going down in price and in my opinion are a worthy storage solution. Hope I helped.


 
Thanks!  By 'jewel case' do you mean a safe?? xx  And are any brands of CD-Rs better than the other??


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## JamesD (Jul 24, 2006)

EBphotography said:
			
		

> Independent Studies have shown that a CD-R will last 100 years when stored properly, such as moisture levels and protection. The best way to store them is in a jewel case, vertically, standing on it's spine and not just laying on the desk. A CD-RW has the same precautions, yet will only last 30 years. External Hard Drives are going down in price and in my opinion are a worthy storage solution. Hope I helped.



This is true, but it's not true for all CD-Rs, and under ideal conditions.  You get what you pay for.  It also assumes, I believe, static storage conditions, ie in the dark, at optimal controlled temperature, humidity, and, believe it or not, barometric pressure, dust-free, no handling (to include reading in the drive), etc.  There are a number of environmental conditions to look out for.  For instance, something I didn't realize is that UV will cause CD-Rs to deteriorate.

The best ones are the gold-surface discs.  The metal layer deposited is gold, rather than the more common aluminum, and therefore it's more stable and resistant to environmental conditions.  Some of the aluminum CD-Rs won't last a year; I know, because I've had them fail.  Some CD-Rs are actually labelled "Archival;" but I don't know whether that makes a difference, since I've never used them.

One thing about the digital storage, though, is that if a copy is coming up on it's life expectancy, you can make a copy without data loss, because it's digital.  Try doing that with an analog system.. Ha!


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## JamesD (Jul 24, 2006)

EBphotography said:
			
		

> Not sure I agree. Mine has been through the wash twice and works like a charm. They obviously are not optimal for photo storage, but for anything else they are great. 2gb for 50 bucks I saw last week. Expect these devices to be much more popular in the future, as 8gb versions are already available.




In every batch of anything ever made, there's gonna be a dud, and there's gonna be one that exceeds every expectation.  Also you get what you pay for.

I agree completely, however, that these devices are great.  I use a couple of them every day, as a convenient storage unit for information I need or want both at home and at work--or at a friends house, or whatever.  They're very handy.

However, one of my coworkers has been through two of them in three months, both brand new, locally purchaced by the supply section.  The first one, he was using as a primary data-storage unit, and lost everything.  The second, he only lost the data he'd added that day, since he'd been backing it up to hard disc regularly.

Always make two backups of anything important, and store them in separate locations.  If one copy fails, immediately use the other to make another.


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## EBphotography (Jul 25, 2006)

Jewel cases are thin CD cases.  James D, we need to write a book on this topic!


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## Karalee (Jul 26, 2006)

Spent $100 on a 250gb LaCie external. So glad I started saving everything on that when my computer died last week and I found out the hard drive was corrupted :er:

YOu can never be too safe, especially when your working with other peoples memories.


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