I said nothing about using a hard drive for permanent storage, just for backup. I also said that for some files a DVD would be a good idea. I don't believe that DVD's and CD's are necessarily archival, but then I don't believe that an external hard drive that is used only for backup is particularly susceptible to catastrophic failure. Current hard disks are pretty solid, IMO, and with proper disk maintenance - checking for and excluding bad sectors, for example - an external hard drive should last a long time and do its job capably and easily.
Shel > [Original Message] > From: J. C. O'Connell > I don't get it, wouldn't a hard drive be far more > susceptible to a catostrophic failure than a bunch > of DVD disks? Im sure its more user friendly, but > is it archival? > jco > > -----Original Message----- > From: Shel Belinkoff [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006 11:37 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: DVDs > > > There are probably other things on your computer that have value besides > just photos. > > There are plenty of inexpensive external hard drives available for storage > and backup. LaCie has a few, and NewEgg lists numerous drives as well. > > An external hard drive is, imo, an excellent choice for backing up your > work. And they are pretty affordable these days compared to even a year ago. > However, it might still be nice to have some things on DVD. When I get a > few extra $$, I'll be opting for a large capacity external hard drive. L
