MissConstrueApr 23

Hey, weird tech #hardware question.

What is the best, most reliable, long term, but still easily accessible, non-cloud storage option for massive gigabytes of data?

Like, I have a xxx terabyte backup drive, but someone recently told me that those aren't reliable long term, unless consistently powered up, as bits can disappear, corrupting files. (It seemed crazy, but other posts seem to confirm it.)

So, if not xternal SSD, are lots and lots of cd/dvds still the most reliable storage media? Surely no?

#datastorage #backups #archives

Show threadhelplessduckApr 23

@MissConstrue

I don't know if optical media is the best choice, either. Bit rot on CD's and DVD's is annoying as sin. Most of the CD's I collected in high school are now fancy looking coasters that I'll probably never be able to bear throwing away.

Show threadMissConstrueApr 23

@helplessduck

Oh no! Really? I have thousands and thousands of CDs I've never burned to another media. OMG, some of them can't be replaced, it's stuff from the soundboards at clubs where I had friends who were sound engineers. Oh man, ok, next week I'll burn those to hard media so at least hopefully there still exists a copy.

Show threadhelplessduckApr 23

@MissConstrue

Oh dear.
Hopefully you'll have very little loss and lots more sense than I did when I chose the Windows Media Audio format for more than 100 CD's. 🫠

Show threadEric Herman
@helplessduck @MissConstrue Oh yes. Please back up your unique/rare CDs. Almost all of my CDs from the late 1980's and 1990s have errors, some don't play at all any longer. Of these, some are exceptionally rare small runs, others are one-of-a-kind recordings burned to CDR. I truly wish I had started my archival to hard disk much earlier.
Apr 23 at 8:32amWeb
Show threadMissConstrueApr 23

@eric_herman @helplessduck

Yeah, this is stuff like Nirvana when they were still playing to less than 50 people. MotherLoveBone, Jello Biafra, Dead Milkmen, Metallica playing a club in London…just unbelievable things that should be archived for humanity.

That said, I’m sure the engineers have copies too, I doubt I’m the last known copy, but just in case, ya know?