Re: Long Term Hard Drive Storage

"Dave" <someplace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:47f894e4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I think your biggest issue would be:

1) Finding something to read the hard disk or DVD. In a few decades time, I doubt it will be easy to find something to read a SATA disk, in
Use a USB-SATA converter.

much the same way as you would have a very hard time finding a computer to read an 8" floppy disk. Same goes for a DVD storage - do you really
You mean you don't have an 8" drive sitting in a box?

believe in a few decades time anything will read a DVD?
Nonsense. All HD players still do DVD and CD formats.

The SCSI interface has to date been more stable than any other.
You have adapters from the original SCSI-1 connnectors to SCSI-3?

2) Decay of electrolytic capacitors is likely to be an isssue.
Hard drives have never used them.

3) I assume the most likely things you would want to keep over decades would be photographs. Experience has shown images in stone have lasted thousands of years. Getting the images carved into stone or metal would probably be best.

4) Getting images painted by an artist would be very good and not particularly expensive. We know many paintings have lasted centuries. Not as long as stone/metal to date, but more practical and gives better colour information.

5) Experience has shown many photographs have lasted well when using wet chemistry - silver based photographic medium.

5) Nobody really knows how well digital data will store. My suggestions for the best chance would be to

i) Keep on a few different media - optical, magnetic.
ii) Transfer it to current technology every 5-10 years. Keep the old media anyway.
iii) Keep data in different locations.

iv) I dont think external magnetic fields would be an issue at all, but I know mu-metal would be more suitable than lead for that purpose. But that really would be the last of your worries.
v) I used to work developing protection systems for nuclear electromagnetic pulse. I am aware the aim would be to explode a bomb that would damage electronics, but not kill people. So after an EMP strike, food might not be the issue you suspect.

On the assumption you want to store photographs, I suggest

stone > oil painting > photographs > digital storeage.

In principle, digital storage would not degrade over time, but I think the chances of the images lasting in practice is a lot less than with phtographs or oil painting.
.

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