Brendon Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Here's an interesting article by Larry Jordan. It seems to make sense even though he doesn't write for a financial journal, and it could be worth your while to read it. Executive Summary Magnetic signals recorded on a hard disk are designed to be refreshed periodically. If your hard disks stay on, this happens automatically. However, if you store your projects to a removable hard drive, then store that hard drive on a shelf, unattached to a computer, those magnetic signals will fade over time... essentially, evaporating. According to what I've been told, the life-span of a magnetic signal on a hard disk is between a year and a year and a half. The issue is complex, as you'll see, but this is a MUCH shorter shelf-life than I was expecting. The way to keep the files on your hard disks safe is to connect the hard drive to your computer every six months or so and, ideally, copy all the files from one drive to another. Failing that, use a program like Micromat's TechTool Pro, or ProSoft's Drive Genius, to do a complete scan of your hard drive. Doing so will replenish any magnetic signals that are starting to fade. The full article can be found here and contains links to the programs he suggests. Regards, Brendon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerman Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Extremely interesting. I guess with all those externals I have, I should take a day off twice a year to do this. Sounds like it's well worth the effort though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDWAGON Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Holy Cow Mate. Now you tell me after I went and transferred all my 500GB of personal files to a brand new formatted HD and then after the transfer removed it and am storing it in a cool, safe place. Now "IF" this dude is truly correct that the files will only last around 6 months, I guess I'll try what he suggests as far as renewing the magnetic settings on the drive. Next thing to find Mate, it an article the suggests how long a burned disc will last Seriously, I have a couple of old 40GB HD's that I saved personal files to and after reading your post, I hooked it up again and all the files were still there. So does that mean that just because I hooked it up the files were magically restored after at least a year or more sitting in my cool safe place ??? I wonder ?? Frank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdanteek Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Holy Cow Mate. Now you tell me after I went and transferred all my 500GB of personal files to a brand new formatted HD and then after the transfer removed it and am storing it in a cool, safe place. Now "IF" this dude is truly correct that the files will only last around 6 months, I guess I'll try what he suggests as far as renewing the magnetic settings on the drive. Next thing to find Mate, it an article the suggests how long a burned disc will last Seriously, I have a couple of old 40GB HD's that I saved personal files to and after reading your post, I hooked it up again and all the files were still there. So does that mean that just because I hooked it up the files were magically restored after at least a year or more sitting in my cool safe place ??? I wonder ?? Frank... This is a 2003 disc burned on a branded Verbatim, back then Verbatim outsourced to RICOHJPN and CMCMAG, not there better days. I do keep track of disc MID's bought and age, I recheck burns like below, don't know if that helps. The burner was Sony DRU 500AX or Plextor 708A, a -R disc would show that information. cd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vid2man97 Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Thanks Brendon! I've come to rely on external drives like other people as a "permanent" storage option, compared with cds and dvds. Especially if they aren't constantly spinning and "wearing out". It's always sobering to find there's no such thing as a sure thing and that the things actually need to spin on occasion. I've not had any sit on a shelf yet, going more than a week or two without spinning. Luckily I can also upload and store important files and photos on my website in personal folders. You'd think that there would be some mention of stuff like this in the little booklets that come packed in external HD boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandpabruce Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Good article, and I will pay heed to scanning my stored hard drives once in awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDWAGON Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 This is a 2003 disc burned on a branded Verbatim, back then Verbatim outsourced to RICOHJPN and CMCMAG, not there better days. I do keep track of disc MID's bought and age, I recheck burns like below, don't know if that helps. The burner was Sony DRU 500AX or Plextor 708A, a -R disc would show that information. cd Thanks cd for that information. I do have a few discs that I burned some years ago but haven't tested them to see if those really old ones are still good or not. And I'm not sure what type of disc they were either. I haven't worried about those however as I have since transferred all the information to more newly burned discs. Frank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon Posted October 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 My personal opinion is that his "year to a year and a half" is much too conservative, but all I have to base that on is hard drives which I've copied files off after 4 or 5 years in the cupboard. However the idea itself is interesting and could be useful to remember. I think that he is talking about taking the drive off the shelf and rewriting the files to refresh them, not just reading them, spinning the drive up, or looking at the directories - hence those programs he suggests. Regards, Brendon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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