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GSixZero · Jan 27, 2008, 04:57 PM

I've got 2 75GB disk images I want to backup. Anyone have any good suggestions on a good way to keep files of this size for long term, not actively needed to access purposes? Tape? HDD?

(Lounge isn't really the right place to put this post, but none of the other forums looked right either... feel free to move)

Cold Warrior · Jan 27, 2008, 04:58 PM

75GB is small by today's standards. Just back them up to HDD.

GSixZero · Jan 27, 2008, 05:01 PM

what's the long term (say 10-15 year) storability/reliability of HDD? Can I just copy to HDD and the put it in a safe? Will the drive spin up that long from now?

Doofy · Jan 27, 2008, 05:11 PM

Ummm... Burn 'em to DVD? Or better still, two DVDs?

AKcrab · Jan 27, 2008, 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by Doofy

Ummm... Burn 'em to DVD? Or better still, two DVDs?

75GB?

CharlesS · Jan 27, 2008, 05:30 PM

Do Blu-Ray burners exist yet?

Doofy · Jan 27, 2008, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by AKcrab

75GB?

My bad. I'm drunk.

Oisín · Jan 27, 2008, 05:39 PM

Floppy disks.

mduell · Jan 27, 2008, 06:15 PM

Tape if you can afford it, disk otherwise.

CharlesS · Jan 27, 2008, 06:39 PM

Clearly the proper way to do this is to back it up onto punch cards.

peeb · Jan 27, 2008, 06:46 PM

Stone tablets?

bmwparamedic · Jan 27, 2008, 07:00 PM

a RAID drive would be my suggestion or even go through a hosting company who does nightly backups of stuff. Plus it's off site so incase of fire, theft, etc it's not going to be damanged.

GSixZero · Jan 27, 2008, 08:45 PM

I might take it to work and put them on tape. I'm a little hesitant since I may want to recover after I work there, but I figure I can cross that bridge when I get to it. Maybe both to a disk and tape. If the disk fails I can pay somebody a couple hundred bucks to copy the files from the tape to the drive.

Laminar · Jan 27, 2008, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by Oisín

Floppy disks.

Two things happen when I visit here less frequently.

1. People make the jokes I would have had I made it here sooner
2. I figure out I'm not as creative as I'd like to think

Oisín · Jan 27, 2008, 09:55 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

Two things happen when I visit here less frequently.

1. People make the jokes I would have had I made it here sooner
2. I figure out I'm not as creative as I'd like to think

All that with just two little words. I’m so proud.

Railroader · Jan 27, 2008, 10:35 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

Two things happen when I visit here less frequently.

1. People make the jokes I would have had I made it here sooner
2. I figure out I'm not as creative as I'd like to think

But when you're not here, NO ONE is defending SVTs. It is a quality severly lacking in others that only you can make up.

Is this another one of those jokes? Or would Dakar have made it if he was here?

reader50 · Jan 27, 2008, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by GSixZero

what's the long term (say 10-15 year) storability/reliability of HDD? Can I just copy to HDD and the put it in a safe? Will the drive spin up that long from now?

You're talking long-term archival storage. In that case, don't use either HDs or tape. Beyond 5 years, you get into magnetic fade issues, with will cost you random blocks out of the data.

Split it across multiple DVDs, optical storage holds up better long-term than magnetic storage. Also, burn a copy of the unarchive utility onto the first DVD, just in case. You'd still need to come up with the hardware to read it back, both computer and optical drive.

torsoboy · Jan 28, 2008, 12:13 AM

Why not store them on Amazons S3 servers? It is very cheap to store things, it is redundantly backed-up, and you can access it from anywhere you would like.

hyteckit · Jan 28, 2008, 12:30 AM

I backed up 1000 DVDs onto the Apple servers. However, it'll cost me $3 to $5 to download them onto my AppleTV. Wondering if it is cheaper with Amazon S3.

GSixZero · Jan 28, 2008, 12:50 AM

Originally Posted by torsoboy

Why not store them on Amazons S3 servers? It is very cheap to store things, it is redundantly backed-up, and you can access it from anywhere you would like.

Interesting idea... hadn't thought of that. Looked into the pricing, and it would be $15 to upload the files and $22.50 a month to store them. At that rate I think I'm better off buying a couple drives per year to keep the data on new HDDs. Maybe in a couple years I could put them on SSD, which would have great long term reliability (I'm guessing).

goMac · Jan 28, 2008, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by reader50

You're talking long-term archival storage. In that case, don't use either HDs or tape. Beyond 5 years, you get into magnetic fade issues, with will cost you random blocks out of the data.

Split it across multiple DVDs, optical storage holds up better long-term than magnetic storage. Also, burn a copy of the unarchive utility onto the first DVD, just in case. You'd still need to come up with the hardware to read it back, both computer and optical drive.

According to PC World, neither burned disk nor a HD is a good option. They suggest tape for long term storage.

PC World - Do Burned CDs Have a Short Life Span?

IceEnclosure · Jan 28, 2008, 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by Railroader

But when you're not here, NO ONE is defending SVTs. It is a quality severly lacking in others that only you can make up.

I think I'm more of an SVT defender than Laminar actually. Hell, it's looking like we don't even need him around anymore.

I kid, of course.

torsoboy · Jan 28, 2008, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by GSixZero

Interesting idea... hadn't thought of that. Looked into the pricing, and it would be $15 to upload the files and $22.50 a month to store them. At that rate I think I'm better off buying a couple drives per year to keep the data on new HDDs. Maybe in a couple years I could put them on SSD, which would have great long term reliability (I'm guessing).

It's true that it would cost you more, but it would not get lost/broken/corrupted, and it can be accessed anywhere. If you are like most normal people, you do not have a tape backup device to backup to tape. Hard drives fail pretty regularly, so they can't really be counted on as a reliable backup (I get many sob stories about a "backup" drive that failed and lost all of the "backup" data on it). Apparently burned DVDs only last 2-5 years (or less).

I guess it just depends on what you need the data for, and how often you want to access it.

turtle777 · Jan 28, 2008, 09:57 AM

Print it out

-t

Railroader · Jan 28, 2008, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by IceEnclosure

I think I'm more of an SVT defender than Laminar actually. Hell, it's looking like we don't even need him around anymore.

I kid, of course.

That's settles it. I vote Laminar off the island!

I keeeeed Laminar.

Mastrap · Jan 28, 2008, 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by GSixZero

Interesting idea... hadn't thought of that. Looked into the pricing, and it would be $15 to upload the files and $22.50 a month to store them. At that rate I think I'm better off buying a couple drives per year to keep the data on new HDDs. Maybe in a couple years I could put them on SSD, which would have great long term reliability (I'm guessing).

Storage should be considerably cheaper than that. I haven't got the page open, but I recall it being a fraction of the above. There's also always mozy.com. $5.00 a month for unlimited backups.

torsoboy · Jan 28, 2008, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by Mastrap

Storage should be considerably cheaper than that. I haven't got the page open, but I recall it being a fraction of the above. There's also always mozy.com. $5.00 a month for unlimited backups.

S3 rates are $.15/gig per month. His prices are correct.

turtle777 · Jan 28, 2008, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by GSixZero

I've got 2 75GB disk images I want to backup. Anyone have any good suggestions on a good way to keep files of this size for long term, not actively needed to access purposes? Tape? HDD?

(Lounge isn't really the right place to put this post, but none of the other forums looked right either... feel free to move)

Well, you can spend $ 270 per year on Amazon S3.

If you want cheaper web space, go to Dreamhost.

500GB space for $ 120 a year.
Since you are not oncerned about 99.999% service availability or down times, this might be the better choice for you.

-t

Doofy · Jan 28, 2008, 03:37 PM

This thread has made me a tad angry.

Joe Public is most likely labouring under the impression that once he puts his digital vids of his daughter's first steps onto DVD, they'll be there forever.

IMO it's seriously wrong of the DVD manufacturing companies not to mention media longevity on their product.

RAILhead · Jan 28, 2008, 04:01 PM

I don't have anything to add to this conversation, so I'm going to go take a leak and head home.

Laminar · Jan 28, 2008, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by IceEnclosure

I think I'm more of an SVT defender than Laminar actually. Hell, it's looking like we don't even need him around anymore.

I kid, of course.

My SVT will be able to defend itself when I go pick it up next Friday. Taurus 3.0, headers, y-pipe, UDPs, intake/filter, LSD, SPEC clutch. I'll be pushing 210-220hp at the crank, running low 14s in the quarter, and kicking ricer ass.