Posted by MarkB_MI on July 14, 2014 at 17:36:00 from (70.194.9.137):
In Reply to: OT Computer Question posted by KSwillie on July 14, 2014 at 06:54:35:
Lots of discussion about different archive media formats. Two things to consider when archiving files: 1. Will the media be readable when I need to recover the files on it? 2. Will I be able to read the media with the hardware and software I'm likely to have on hand when I need my files?
Magnetic media tends to "lose bits" over time. Even though errors can be corrected by reading the checksum, at a certain point the errors become too numerous to correct. When magnetic tape was the storage media of choice, tapes would be re-recorded periodically to refresh the data. Likewise when hard disk drives are used for archive. If you don't want to periodically refresh them, you probably shouldn't use hard disks for archive storage. Not to mention that a hard disk that's been sitting on the shelf for years may not want to spin up.
I'm pretty sure that non-volatile memory devices such as USB "thumb drives" and SD cards have similar problems to magnetic media when it comes to long-term storage. Good for short-term backup, but not so good for long-term archive.
These days, about the best storage media you can get are archive-grade DVD-Rs. They are pricey, but have a 100 year life, making them comparable to microfilm for longevity.
The ability to read media after we record on it is something we take for granted, but we shouldn't. Anybody have a 5-1/4" floppy disk drive on their PC? Or even a 3-1/2"? It was only a few years ago the 3-1/2" floppy disk was THE standard media for Mac and PC. I haven't seen a floppy disk drive on a PC in years. And there were a dozen or more floppy formats that came and went before the 3-1/2" format was standardized.
Think you'll be able to read a hard disk in the future? After all, they're all ATA, right? Guess again: If you have an "old" parallel ATA drive on the shelf, chances are your current PC is serial ATA only and you'll need an adapter to read the PATA drive. Likewise, we assume USB will be around for a long time. Yes it will, but future USB implementations may make it difficult to read USB 1.0 and 2.0 devices. And eventually USB will hit a wall and be replaced by something faster. The reason 9-track tape had such a long life in the IT industry was there was plenty of hardware around that could read it. Meanwhile dozens of tape cartridge formats have come and gone.
As for cloud-based storage, you should keep a copy of your most valuable data off-site in case of a real disaster. But if you just want to keep a copy of every photo and video you've shot, the cloud isn't so practical. It's faster to burn a DVD than to upload 4.7 gigabytes to the cloud.
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Today's Featured Article - The Nuts and Bolts of Fasteners - Part 2 - by Curtis Von Fange. In our previous article we discussed capscrews, bolts, and nuts along with their relative hardness and thread sizes. In this segment we will finish up on our fasteners and then work with ways to keep them from loosening up in the field. Capscrews, bolts and nuts are not the only means of holding two parts together. When dealing with thinner metals like sheet tin, a long bolt and
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