Re: [ARSCLIST] Hard disk drives and DAT

[Rob Poretti <r.poretti@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Cheaper and probably *better*...

Hard drives sitting on shelves for lengthy periods are actually not a great idea.  Hard
drives are meant to be powered up and there have been a fair number of reports of losing
data by leaving them on shelves for too long a period.

Not sure how long they would be sitting there, but if the time-frame is "indefinite", I
would certainly look at other options...

Cheers!

Rob Poretti
Sascom - Toronto
vox.905.825.5373    fax.905.469.1129     cel.905.580.2467
www.sascom.com    www.cube-tec.com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List 
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John Spencer
> Sent: March 26, 2007 11:49 AM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Hard disk drives and DAT
> 
> 
> Lauren,
> 
> Have you at least considered having the HDD contents written to an  
> LTO for you to provide an additional level of redundancy? You don't  
> have to own a drive to have the material backed up inexpensively. I  
> don't know where you are physically located but someone can probably  
> point you to a vendor. Much cheaper than 3 sets of HDDs...
> 
> Don't forget to create some checksums!
> 
> Just a thought.
> 
> Best,
> John
> 
> John Spencer
> BMS/ Chace LLC
> 1801 8th Ave. S.  Suite 200
> Nashville, TN 37203
> office (615) 385-1251
> fax (615) 385-0153
> cell (615) 714-1199
> email: js@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.bridgemediasolutions.com
> 
> 
> On Mar 25, 2007, at 4:41 PM, Lauren Sorensen wrote:
> 
> > Hello ARSC folks,
> >
> > I'm new to the list, so apologies if these questions have 
> been asked 
> > previously. I found quite a bit of information in the ARSC
> > archives, but
> > none that directly apply.
> >
> > I'm working on a project, making conservation recommendations for a 
> > filmmaker who works from an archive of his own documentation and
> > footage
> > going back 23 years. Much of his audio is DAT, and while I'd like to
> > recommend the Broadcast wave file format, I'm unsure as to what  
> > type of
> > hard disk drive would be best suited for production purposes (and  
> > future
> > preservation work!). I'm recommending that he put the files on 3
> > different HDDs (one for production, one "on-the-shelf", and one
> > off-site) and back-up onto gold archival CDs. Our budget is very
> > limited, however, and RAID storage systems or LTO tape 
> systems are out
> > of the question. The plan also includes a regular inspection/
> > refreshing/ migration schedule. The original tapes consist of legacy
> > material, either original documentation or finished pieces.
> > Any recommendations on the HDD front, in terms of preferred brands,
> > characteristics to look out for, and so on?
> >
> > And finally, does anyone know of a supplier for archival,
> > polypropylene
> > containers for DAT tapes?
> >
> > Many thanks,
> >
> > Lauren Sorensen
> > NYU Moving Image Archiving & Preservation
> >
> 
>