The article below is from the latest Rootsweb Review. My new computer didn't have a floppy drive and much of my data and photos is on diskettes. I bought an external floppy drive, but haven't learned how to hook it up and transfer the info to the CDs. Now I wonder if it wouldn't do any good to transfer my info to CDs. Does anyone think memory sticks are better?
Emilie
Port Orchard, WA --
More on Archival CDs
By Ron Mesnard
Last edition's suggestion on buying archival quality CDs made of 24k
gold (rather than with dyes) was both accurate and useful. Many
persons believe once their valuable data is on a CD it will be good
forever; however, it will not.
Old-style CDs that burned pits on metal foil to record the data have
the best life. I have gold foil CDs that are about ten years old that
read fine the last time I accessed one. I also have eight- to
nine-year-old new-style disks that read fine. The newer media burns
much faster and is much cheaper. If you are using non-archival-quality
CDs, remember that the dye used for normal CDs and DVDs is photo
sensitive. Any light, but especially direct sunlight, can dramatically
age the dye on a disk. Keep this in mind when you use and store your
disks. One other advantage of the foil disks is that if they get too
scratched or the plastic clouds with age making them unreadable, they
can be resurfaced. I do not think this helps a normal CD-R.
My experience with CDR-Ws suggests to me that they are a great idea
that never worked out. Use memory sticks instead. They are as reliable
as the CDR-Ws are not.
CDs vs Memory Sticks
Emilie:
This is a good point you raise re: backups of data. I have now moved to digitizing all documents and keeping them organized in electronic format. My binders were just getting out of hand and there was too much information that was too difficult to find.
I keep all of my info web-based software called The Next Generation (the same software that runs the GEDCOM database on Nuestros Ranchos). It allows uploading scans of documents and linking them to particular families, individuals or events.
I back up my work every two or three months on a CD.
I understand what the article says about CD-RW (rewriteable CDs). If you need to rewrite data on a medium, memory sticks (which use Flash memory) are definitely better than CDs. However, if you are simply creating a static copy of data, I would recommend CDs over memory sticks any day. They are less expensive and the data is stored optically, so as long as you keep the disk in a jewel case or a jacket it can keep the data forever, whereas a memory stick can be erased by electromagnetic forces.
As the article points out, not all optical media are the same. Gold metal layered discs are recommended for archival purposes as they are more resistant to prolonged exposure to sunlight or UV light. They are more expensive but worth the cost if you plan to store valuable information on them.
Some recommended brands:
Verbatim UltraLife Gold Archival Grade DVD
Memorex ProGold Archival DVD
CDs vs Memory Sticks
Thanks, Arturo and Angie,
I guess I will start saving my info on CDs (as soon as I figure out how to do that).
Emilie
----- Original Message -----
From: arturoramos
To: general@lists.nuestrosranchos.org
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 6:12 PM
Subject: [Nuestros Ranchos] CDs vs Memory Sticks
Emilie:
This is a good point you raise re: backups of data. I have now moved to digitizing all documents and keeping them organized in electronic format. My binders were just getting out of hand and there was too much information that was too difficult to find.
I keep all of my info web-based software called The Next Generation (the same software that runs the GEDCOM database on Nuestros Ranchos). It allows uploading scans of documents and linking them to particular families, individuals or events.
I back up my work every two or three months on a CD.
I understand what the article says about CD-RW (rewriteable CDs). If you need to rewrite data on a medium, memory sticks (which use Flash memory) are definitely better than CDs. However, if you are simply creating a static copy of data, I would recommend CDs over memory sticks any day. They are less expensive and the data is stored optically, so as long as you keep the disk in a jewel case or a jacket it can keep the data forever, whereas a memory stick can be erased by electromagnetic forces.
As the article points out, not all optical media are the same. Gold metal layered discs are recommended for archival purposes as they are more resistant to prolonged exposure to sunlight or UV light. They are more expensive but worth the cost if you plan to store valuable information on them.
Some recommended brands:
Verbatim UltraLife Gold Archival Grade DVD
Memorex ProGold Archival DVD
Re: Archival Storage
Emilie,
I think the author of the article is suggesting using Memory sticks instead of CDR-W cds. Basically if you are going to erase contents later use a memory stick. Or you are going to rewrite over the files, etc. I use Memory sticks to transfer files from one computer to a different computer, for sharing purposes. I think if you are thinking long term storage, I would say use the CDs, ie CD-R.
Just my two centavos,
Angie Godina