In terms of storing Digital photos for long term & safe keeping?

Question

Should I save them to a seperate hard drive? I read that if photos are stored on to a CD, DVD, the picture quality will fade over a few years.

Answer 1

Someone is yanking your stick! Digital data doesnt fade! Whoever told you that is obsurd! I do however recommend using a second hard drive as I do to simply back up yout entire system from time to time. I also copy the "my documents folder" to cd about three times a year.

Answer 2

Most importantly CD/DVD is NOT secure, the only time I have ever lost pictures is when the were stored on a CD, even the quality ones. Same goes for memory cards they are not designed for long term storage. Installing an extra (large) drive on your desktop computer just for pictures is a good idea and not expensive these days. The absolute safest way is with a Raid array on your computer. A Raid array uses multiple discs, they all have to be the same size and in pairs, so you can have a 2 disc array or a 4 disc array or an 8 disc array, 16 disc array etc.. This system shares the data as it writes to the array, so one disc would get some of the data and the other discs would get the rest, then behind the scenes they update themselves so all discs have all the data. This method makes them very fast, its reckoned that an 8 disc array is as fast as RAM. If any disc in an array goes down, replace the disc and all data will be restored to the new disc automatically. The computer treats all the discs in an array as one drive, with just one drive letter. A less expensive way is to use USB hard drives which I use as well, for me they just keep a copy of all my pictures direct from the card (Photoshop can store in multiple locations at the same time) any manipulation is not stored on these discs they are just the Master Copies of the original RAW files. These are stored in a floor safe which offers some fire protection. My own system uses a 4 disc Raid Array on my main computer mainly to get the speed hike for Photoshop , plus several USB hard drives stored in the safe. This might seem like overkill, and it probably is, but bear in mind this was my livelihood until recently (I'm now retired) As a final note hard drives have been around a long time, it is proven technology with storage times in excess of 40 years without the drive being refreshed, install the drive into any computer it will refresh the data making it good for at least another 40 years. Chris

Answer 3

There is such a thing as an "Archival" cd/dvd for this. Yes they cost a little more. but they're rated for at lease 100 years.

Much better than 2 years to 5 years on cheap cd.

Warning, to get 100 years, area must be acid free, and somewhat temperature controlled.

Fire: You cannot store CD's in a normal fire resistant box. You must use a 'data safe" to keep the temps lower so there is no damage.

Answer 4

Use "archival" CD media (Made by Kodak and others). The disks cost more ($0.50 - $1.0 each) but they claim that they will last up to 80 years. The extra price doesn't amount to that much. Not all stores carry them and they usually sell them in a 5 or 10 pack and charge a premium. Google "archival CD" and buy a stack of 50 - you'll save money.

Answer 5

You are quite right. Some CDs have been found to rot if the edges were not perfectly sealed although this is rare. On a digital disk the picture doesn't fade. It either works or it doesn't. If you really want to keep something then store it in two places and keep checking them. If one fails then immediately make another backup.

Answer 6

Consider a third option. Virtual storage as a 2nd or 3rd backup. Photomax comes with a lifetime guarantee. Check it out at http://www.geocities.com/lcming/Digitalphotography

Answer 7

Store them online.... it's safer....