How safe is an external hard drive for storing jpeg pictures of the family as they grow up, as aposed to storing pictures on a cd/dvd disc. I dont want to come to the hard drive in x-number of years and find irreplaceable pictures have dissapered.
what size of external hard drive is best?
2006-08-28 09:49:17 · 17 answers · asked by Russell B 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
all devices fail over time
you cannot guarantee that film negatives will still be Ok in 10...20...70 years time (some have lasted much longer than that, some haven't it depends how you care for them)....
you cannot gurantee that cd/dvd copies (especially those written using CD /dvd burners) will be around in 10..15 years
hard discs will probably not last for ever, some die after a few years, some last a long long time. I suspect that external drives will last a long time if carefully handled and used, but you shouldn't rely on them as the sole source of storing sensitive data..
however if you want to guarantee longevity of images than take frequent backups of all images, store them in different places, store them in ideal circumstances (follow the advice on the cd / dvd blanks). periodically rebackup reqally imporant images / data.
I'd suspect that negatives will probably outlast most digital media
2006-08-28 10:03:14 · answer #1 · answered by Mark J 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are two risks for the external hard drive.
1. A physical crash.
2. A home fire.
To minimize the risk of #1 do the following:
A. Only leave it powered on when in use. The rest of the time, leave it shut off. This should extend the life of it.
B. Run chkdsk on the drive often. The moment it starts detecting bad sectors, buy a replacement and copy all your data to the new drive.
C. Keep a second back-up of the files on DVD.
To minimize the risk of #2:
A. Take standard precautions for preventing home fires.
B. Do the same as option C listed above, but take those DVDs and place them in a safe deposit bank your bank.
C. Place the drive in a fire proof safe when not in use.
2006-08-28 09:58:10 · answer #2 · answered by DefenseEngineer 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I didn't read the others, but an external hard drive is really safe. It's just like a regular one cause it is. Even better, because if it has a USB cable, you can take it with you wherever you go and plug it in another computer. If you don't trust the relatives, for example, just unplug it, so they don't mess with your pictures. Then just plug it back in when you want it. As for the size, depends on the number of pictures, the size of picures. Get whatever you can.
2006-08-31 17:20:08 · answer #3 · answered by William P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Once you have copied the file to your external hard drive there will be a copy on your computer and a copy on the external drive. At this point you could delete the file on your PC and the copy on your external drive would remain. However, if the files are important and you have the space, it is not a bad idea to keep a copy on the PC. Your external drive could fail, be lost, be dropped or damaged in some other way, having said that it is not necessary to keep a copy on your PC as well if you don't have the space.
2016-03-26 23:14:20 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've had backup images of my photos on as external hard drive for the last 2 years without incident, Just disconnect it and put it in a safe place when not using it so viruses and small children cant delete them. They SHOULD out live you.
Size is always relevant no matter what we blokes say, the rule of thumb is to always buy the biggest you can afford, simple as that, try computer fairs or on line. eg. www.ebuyer.com. but shop around, prices can vary and steer clear of shops like PC world they are very expensive.
2006-08-28 09:59:41 · answer #5 · answered by flibertyjib 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember a hard drive can become faulty - especially with time. Probably better to put all your photos onto removable medium (CD, DVD, ZIP disc) and store them in a same place.
Also might be wise to save very special photos on a backup disc as well (and keep it in a different place to the original).
2006-08-30 07:16:44 · answer #6 · answered by ANTHONY B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hard drives are mechanical devices and will eventually fail. My old hard disk lasted nearly 6 years. The best way is to store the pictures on the external hard disk and have regular backups as new batches of pictures are stored. This way if one fails you have the other.
2006-08-30 00:06:44 · answer #7 · answered by JonT774 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
very safe,my wife uses a freecom classic 80gb external hard drive to store 5000 jpegs and they are safe as houses
external hard drives are safe as they are not like internal drives that are allways being used,external drives are only used on demand,thus making there life much longer,with good care a ex-hard drive can last up to 10 years
as with all electrical equipment,try not to bang,move or knock them,this can add years to its shelf life,just leave it where it is and your jpegs will last forever
2006-08-28 10:08:54 · answer #8 · answered by brianthesnail123 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, depends on the brand of the hard drive, I suggest you store such pics in a CD if they are that important to you, such seems to be the one that we will be working with for a several couple of years. Maybe you can ask a multimedia store clerk for more and complete further input on this matter.
2006-08-28 09:57:58 · answer #9 · answered by Lil' Gay Monster 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would store redundantly and remotely, that is, Hard Drive, CD, and Hard Copy, in different places. Every couple years, check on them, if one is lost, replace it with a copy from a different media. If you have a sibling or firnd you trust, you can store their extra stuff and they can store yours.
I would get at least 250 GB
2006-08-28 09:56:58 · answer #10 · answered by wallysierk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋