Magnetic Media for Long Term Archival
By Will Dahlgren
Jim Gallops <gallops@hdshq.com> writes about keeping MIDI data on floppies:
> Personally, (and this is from experience), if you recopy the data on your
> floppies every couple of years to another floppy (or other medium) things
> should be fine.
>
> {Clip}
>
> Because digital data is so easy to replicate, the life of the media should
> not be a problem as long as copies are made on a regular basis.
I agree (unless we have a nuclear war). But, if saving your data is REALLY important, I would add a couple suggestions:
Try to make file copies where the copied data is verified. I don't know about Windows, but in DOS, if you are in the source directory and are copying all MIDI files, use the "/V" option: COPY *.MID A: /V. The "/V" option verifys the written data is the same as the source.
Make at least two copies and send one set to your out-of-state relatives. I live in San Francisco, so I don't even trust my neighborhood bank vault.
There was an earlier submission that worried about the earth's magnetic field - I would worry more about fire. Although Ibelieve that extreme heat can change magnetic fields - long before that time, the disk is melted. Even paper fire safes or file cabinets don't guarantee magnetic media. You need a "data" fire safe. Mailing multiple copies is much cheaper.
(If we don't have trustworthy relatives, maybe we can mail everything to Jody?)
Will Dahlgren
[ Editor's Note: I got a chuckle out of that. I'd _LOVE_ to archive
[ everyone's Roll and MIDI data. I won't promise not to listen to it, though ;-)
[ That thing at the end of the last line is a "winking smiley-face".
[ The truth is that I try to keep half of my backups in a safe deposit box at
[ the bank. Its expensive, and inconvenient, but it seems unlikely that
[ bank and my house will burn down on the same day.
[ Jody
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(Message sent Mon 11 Mar 1996, 19:45:53 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
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