Damn You, Bitrot

[the_gneech]

Y'know, I put my files onto CD-ROM 'cause ZIP drives got click death.

Now, all of my old CD-ROMs can't find any data.

I hate computers.

-The Gneech

PS: Thank goodness for ISObuster. But it does grate to have to pay $25 to some third party just to keep my own data.

Comments

[g-2.livejournal.com]

I don't think anything in my life has frustrated me as consistently as computers have. I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiment. Also, I'm beginning to suspect that somehow, eventually, a computer will be the death of me.

-Geoff

(Speaking of computers, I just ordered one from Dell- and even CONFIGURING it was a pain. For some reason, they only have certain options in certain sections of the site FOR THE SAME COMPUTER. Argh.)

[hbar98.livejournal.com]

You know, while I have experienced click death with school computers, my 14 year old external parallel Zip Drive has never failed on me once. And I've taken it apart twice.

I don't think that there really is any form of storage out there that is free of bitrot or whatnot.

[the-mcp.livejournal.com]

The problem is cheap media. Unfortunately, almost all of the stuff you find on the retail shelves these days, regardless of whose name is on the package, is actually made by an outfit called CMC Magnetics, which is infamous for slipshod quality control.

The best thing to do is buy Taiyo Yuden or Mitsui media direct from a reputable distributor. Both of these are considered top-quality manufacturers.

I highly recommend Media Supply (http://www.cdrplanet.com) (formerly CD-R Planet); I've bought a lot of Taiyo Yuden media from them over the last few years, and always found them a reliable source.

[tegeran.livejournal.com]

I still like the Linus Torvalds quote: "Real men don't use backups, they post their stuff on a public ftp server and let the rest of the world make copies."

[hbar98.livejournal.com]

Buhwahahaha! That Linus, such the jokester.

[laurie-robey.livejournal.com]

In the case of the particular CD-Rs you're talking about, I think it's because of the format the HP computer CD burner used to burn the disks, and ISO Buster is the best solution I've found to that problem.

However, from the reading I've done about CD-Rs and their quality and lifespan, it probably would not be a bad idea to transfer these discs to higher quality media. We started archiving in the first place because we didn't have enough hard drive space to keep everything you produced on your computer (you productive thing, you). Now, hard drives are much larger and cheaper, and we can get our hands on higher quality CD-Rs that will last 100 years or more, supposedly.

[the-mcp.livejournal.com]

Hard-drive prices being what they are these days, anything that I absolutely do not want to lose I keep multiple backup copies of -- one of which is on a good Seagate or Western Digital 100Mb(ish) hard drive in a removable-media carrier. (For on-line storage, I keep two identical hard drives running in a RAID configuration, since my motherboard has RAID built-in.)

For the ultimate off-line backup reliability, invest in a DLT tape drive and a stack of tapes, then keep two copies; one on-site and one in your safe-deposit box. :) Tape may have fallen below most peoples' radar in the consumer market these days, but it's still the medium of choice for businesses and data centers. 'Course, it'll set you back about a thousand bucks for the drive, and about $50 a pop for the tapes, but... :)

[the-mcp.livejournal.com]

(er, make that a 100Gb-ish drive. Coffee hadn't quite kicked in yet. :) )