Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
Xp on my computer.
"mike" <mikaelpetterson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1185620512.822268.217190@g4g2000hsf.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi,
>
> Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
> them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
> some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
> Xp on my computer.
>
> All hints are appreciated.
>
> cheers,
>
> //mikael
>
Get yourself a 2.5" laptop disk and an external USB case. This
would enable you to copy all your important documents to that
disk, preferably once every week or so. You could use a batch
file to automate the process - post again if you need any further
assistance.
Remember to keep the USB disk in a different place at all times
except while backing up files.
A second harddrive or even an external harddrive would be just as prone to
catastrophic failure as the main drive. Some types of hardware failure in
the computer could take out both harddrives at the same time. External
drives can fail on their own, as happened to me recently with an external
drive that was less than 2 years old. Luckily it was only the electronics in
the external enclosure that failed and the data on the drive itself was
still intact, but the possibility of having lost everything in an instant
was there.
"mike" <mikaelpetterson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1185620512.822268.217190@g4g2000hsf.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi,
>
> Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
> them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
> some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
> Xp on my computer.
>
> All hints are appreciated.
>
> cheers,
>
> //mikael
>
After working for many years with hard disks (internal and
external) and with CDs and DVDs, I find that the long-term
reliability of burnt CDs and DVDs leaves a lot to be desired.
On numerous occasions have I seen such CDs and DVDs
becoming partly or wholly unreadable after a few years,
regardless of which burner they were created on. Initially
each an every one of them was readable but they deteriorated
over time while stored in their sleeves in air-conditioned offices.
"RalfG" <itsnotme@bin-wieder-da.de> wrote in message
news:O96Q7iQ0HHA.6072@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Burn the photos to CD or DVD.
>
> A second harddrive or even an external harddrive would be just as prone to
> catastrophic failure as the main drive. Some types of hardware failure in
> the computer could take out both harddrives at the same time. External
> drives can fail on their own, as happened to me recently with an external
> drive that was less than 2 years old. Luckily it was only the electronics
> in the external enclosure that failed and the data on the drive itself was
> still intact, but the possibility of having lost everything in an instant
> was there.
>
>
> "mike" <mikaelpetterson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1185620512.822268.217190@g4g2000hsf.googlegro ups.com...
>> Hi,
>>
>> Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
>> them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
>> some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
>> Xp on my computer.
>>
>> All hints are appreciated.
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>> //mikael
>>
>
>
There isn't a perfect solution. Negatives and prints also have a limited
lifespan. It is pretty much a given that all harddrives will fail though, it
is only a matter of when. I have some that still worked after 20 years,
others that have failed within the first year. In the early days even some
pressed CDs degraded prematurely because the aluminum layer wasn't sealed at
the edge of the discs and the aluminum oxidized.
Technology constantly changes however. The anticipated lifespan of CDR
media these days is 75 years, with some manufacturers (eg TDK, others)
offering 100 year archival lifespan warranties. Cheap DVDs may degrade after
20-30 years or you can buy some instead that have a rated life span of 100
years. For the few pennies each that it costs for DVD media it's no big deal
to make redundant copies of important data. Who knows what the alternative
storage medium will be 20 years from now.
"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> wrote in message
news:O$sd56Q0HHA.4004@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> After working for many years with hard disks (internal and
> external) and with CDs and DVDs, I find that the long-term
> reliability of burnt CDs and DVDs leaves a lot to be desired.
> On numerous occasions have I seen such CDs and DVDs
> becoming partly or wholly unreadable after a few years,
> regardless of which burner they were created on. Initially
> each an every one of them was readable but they deteriorated
> over time while stored in their sleeves in air-conditioned offices.
>
>
> "RalfG" <itsnotme@bin-wieder-da.de> wrote in message
> news:O96Q7iQ0HHA.6072@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>> Burn the photos to CD or DVD.
>>
>> A second harddrive or even an external harddrive would be just as prone
>> to catastrophic failure as the main drive. Some types of hardware failure
>> in the computer could take out both harddrives at the same time. External
>> drives can fail on their own, as happened to me recently with an external
>> drive that was less than 2 years old. Luckily it was only the electronics
>> in the external enclosure that failed and the data on the drive itself
>> was still intact, but the possibility of having lost everything in an
>> instant was there.
>>
>>
>> "mike" <mikaelpetterson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1185620512.822268.217190@g4g2000hsf.googlegro ups.com...
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
>>> them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
>>> some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
>>> Xp on my computer.
>>>
>>> All hints are appreciated.
>>>
>>> cheers,
>>>
>>> //mikael
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
also, as a backup and
convenience you can upload
them to websites where you have unlimited space
and easy access to them where
ever there is an internet connection - example:
db ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·..><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>¸.
><)))º>·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><)))º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
..
"mike" <mikaelpetterson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1185620512.822268.217190@g4g2000hsf.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi,
>
> Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
> them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
> some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
> Xp on my computer.
>
> All hints are appreciated.
>
> cheers,
>
> //mikael
>
Per mike:
>My idea is to add another disk and then use
>some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
>Xp on my computer.
>
>All hints are appreciated.
Multiple external hard drives.... at least 3, preferably 4-5...
and rotate them to that one is always somewhere else.
I want at least one tb immediately unavailable in hopes that
it'll dawn on me that a given card has gone bad and is frying
drives as I connect them before I retrieve that particular drive.
Also distinguish between simple file copies and a backup
database.
The problem with simple file copies is that individual files can
become corrupted/deleted and you'll never know until you try to
open a problem file. You can still copy corrupted files into a
backup DB... and they'll still be corrupted... but the odds are
better for preserving files with a DB. Less convenient... but
safer.
--
PeteCresswell
"mike" <mikaelpetterson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1185620512.822268.217190@g4g2000hsf.googlegro ups.com...
> Hi,
>
> Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
> them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
> some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
> Xp on my computer.
>
> All hints are appreciated.
>
> cheers,
>
> //mikael
>
My advice is to back up to at least 2 external devices. Do not rely on just
one back up.
The same thing happened to me recently. The trouble was that I could find no
way to access the files on the external hard drive. Fortunately, everything
was still on my C: drive, so nothing was lost. But I would appreciaate it if
you could explain to me in simple language how you managed to deal with the
problem and get to your files.
"RalfG" wrote:
> Burn the photos to CD or DVD.
>
> A second harddrive or even an external harddrive would be just as prone to
> catastrophic failure as the main drive. Some types of hardware failure in
> the computer could take out both harddrives at the same time. External
> drives can fail on their own, as happened to me recently with an external
> drive that was less than 2 years old. Luckily it was only the electronics in
> the external enclosure that failed and the data on the drive itself was
> still intact, but the possibility of having lost everything in an instant
> was there.
>
>
> "mike" <mikaelpetterson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1185620512.822268.217190@g4g2000hsf.googlegro ups.com...
> > Hi,
> >
> > Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
> > them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
> > some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
> > Xp on my computer.
> >
> > All hints are appreciated.
> >
> > cheers,
> >
> > //mikael
> >
>
>
>
Sometimes you can access files stored on a marginal
CD by trying different CD drives. At other times you
can't.
"Tonyo UK" <TonyoUK@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news22E26B6-689C-4D1D-BA1F-66B9DE67EDF3@microsoft.com...
> The same thing happened to me recently. The trouble was that I could find
> no
> way to access the files on the external hard drive. Fortunately,
> everything
> was still on my C: drive, so nothing was lost. But I would appreciaate it
> if
> you could explain to me in simple language how you managed to deal with
> the
> problem and get to your files.
>
> "RalfG" wrote:
>
>> Burn the photos to CD or DVD.
>>
>> A second harddrive or even an external harddrive would be just as prone
>> to
>> catastrophic failure as the main drive. Some types of hardware failure in
>> the computer could take out both harddrives at the same time. External
>> drives can fail on their own, as happened to me recently with an external
>> drive that was less than 2 years old. Luckily it was only the electronics
>> in
>> the external enclosure that failed and the data on the drive itself was
>> still intact, but the possibility of having lost everything in an instant
>> was there.
>>
>>
>> "mike" <mikaelpetterson@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:1185620512.822268.217190@g4g2000hsf.googlegro ups.com...
>> > Hi,
>> >
>> > Since we have a lot of family pictures on our pc I don't want to loose
>> > them if my disk crashes. My idea is to add another disk and then use
>> > some open source software to backup my original disk. I have Windows
>> > Xp on my computer.
>> >
>> > All hints are appreciated.
>> >
>> > cheers,
>> >
>> > //mikael
>> >
>>
>>
>>
Backup solution 
22E26B6-689C-4D1D-BA1F-66B9DE67EDF3@microsoft.com...
Linear Mode
