Storing digital photos

[LilJon 0]

I’m trying to find the best way to store digital photos.

I know that CDs can degrade and lose the information stored on them, but can a hard drive degrade too?

I’ve been told that buying the expensive CDs is better, but are they really worth it? I’ve heard of some CDs losing data in as little as 18 months. That’s pretty scary.

I was thinking that an external hard drive would work. If it was only hooked up to the computer for a limited time to back-up the pictures and then placed on the shelf, how long would a hard drive hold that data?

I’m basically looking for the easiest and longest lasting solution to save my pictures. Things I’ve considered: Burning CDs, External Hard Drive, Printing most goods ones, Tape back-up.

What do you guys think?

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You look like a well fed robin. -monkey1031

[LukeH 0]

I wouldn't rely on any single mehod.

How many GB do you expect to need to archive every month?

Hard-drives can and do fail. I'd recommnd buying a large external hard-drive and setting up a properly structured repository. Then archive that onto DVDs (perhaps more than one copy). Use quality name brand DVDRs and store then in a cool dark place. Replace the DVDRs in 5 years by whatever the current technology is, probably HD-DVDRs.

For really important pictures you could look into online storage. Multiple HDs in RAID array may be a good idea too, it depends how important the pictures are to you.

C-ya