Re: photo storage question

[lea murphy <lea@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've had four DVDs fail. Meaning the data didn't write or couldn't be  
read. You couldn't pay me to use it as a back up medium.

Lea

life is short. photograph it.
www.leamurphy.com

On Apr 27, 2008, at 6:03 PM, "Emily L. Ferguson"  
<elf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I back up to DVD.  Two sets, one off site.  RAWs are backed up to  
> them as well as keepers.  I am sloppy about system backups, and do  
> have some folders which aren't backed up at all, like my business  
> paperwork.  Once every couple years or so I pull the entire non- 
> image folder and throw it on whatever size non-moving medium will  
> hold it all.
>
> I also maintain a folder of jpegs of every one of my keepers, in a  
> folder hierarchy that mirrors that on my external hard drive.
>
> I have an external Firewire 500G Western Digital drive which holds  
> all my master image files for ready access, but not as backup.
>
> LaCie has a very poor reputation on the Mac-L, Maxtor sort of mezza- 
> mezza, Western Digital and Seagate are most frequently recommended.
>
> Hard drive are mechanical, non-moving media get superceded and the  
> entire backup has to be done every time.  It's been x years since  
> DVDs gave CDs a run for their money, x (6?) years since zip  
> cartridges were worth bothering with, x (8) years since floppies  
> became irrelevant and one can still buy USB external floppy drives  
> for those who didn't understand these transitions.
>
> I have more faith in my DVDs enduring as a medium for another 6  
> years after watching the progression from floppies to DVDs over the  
> years!
> --
> Emily L. Ferguson
> mailto:elf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 508-563-6822
> New England landscapes, wooden boats and races
> http://www.landsedgephoto.com
> http://e-and-s.instaproofs.com/