Storing digital images

Clare Finn <finnclare [at] aol__com> writes

>... I
>have always understood that the most permanent way to store digital
>photographs long term--or rather longer than the expected life of a
>CD--was to keep them  on an external hard drive. Does anyone have
>any views on this?

Data loss can arise from a number of reasons:

    Media failure
    Media damage
    Technology advances rendering media obsolete.

To combat the above without becoming paranoiac the most realistic
suggestions I have heard are as follows:

    a.  Use only reputable branded media from reliable sources -
        these companies spend millions of dollars protecting their
        reputation for reliability and integrity.  Substandard
        cloned media is a major reason for data loss caused by media
        failure.

    b.  Make multiple copies of your data - this is probably the
        single most important point. Also, to be really sure, store
        your data in two different places (e.g. work and home).

    c.  Store your data on multiple media formats - e.g. USB stick
        drives, hard drives and CD/DVDs.

As an added insurance, you can copy everything every few years.

Sally A. Esdaile
Paper Conservator
69 Farley Road
Selsdon
South Croydon
Surrey CR2 7NG
United Kingdom


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:29
                 Distributed: Tuesday, December 6, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-19-29-010
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