[oliver939]

Sorry for you. Hope some company will be able to recover your data.

Digital files are not like real, tangible, physical things like prints, negatives or slides. They only exist on the medias on which they are recorded: HDD, CD-R, DVD-R, etc. At least with a slide or a negative, I would be able to make a new scan!

Yes but no.
You would be in the same situation with negative and papers pictures stolen, burnt etc.. (not to mention getting old and degrading with time)

The digital supports make the backup of data very easy and cheap compare to films support.
You've been incredibly unlucky with the disk stolen and your other failing at the same time but it was the good solution.
Maybe another disk stored somewhere else (office, etc...) would complete the backup solution.

[tigrebleu]

Well, thank you all for the kind words. And the advice!

My next pictures will be backed up on DVDs, on another off-site HDD and online as well, using a specialized photo storage website that accepts RAW files.

That three back up sources I can get my pictures back from, instead of just one.

Now about the HDD itself.

I sent the drive to CBL Data Recovery in Toronto.

Their estimate for the recovery data is... 1950$!

OUCH!!


But it goes along with the problem: their evaluation was almost terrying!

"Physical damage to the read/write head assembly with extensive damage throughout the surface platter."

Well, I'll give it a try. If it fails, I'll just have to start over a new portfolio. Doesn't replace the old one, but it will cheer me up a bit!



Regards,


Jeff

[sebberry]

The read/write heads are suspended above the platter by the cushion of air generated by the spinning disc. It is possible that the motor failed causing the platter to slow down and thus reduce the air gap between the heads and platter.

Good luck with it!

[ggray]

I have had some backups of scanned processed Images that were written to CDs go bad along with the hard drive on my old computer. I was fortunate I still had the originals of the images that I scanned that I could rescan. This was a lot of work that I didn't expect. I am not real trusting of CDs for backup since I had my falures. I now make sure my Daughter gets copies of all the images that I have processed and any new pictures that I want preserved. I also have set up a second system to act as a backup system on my network. I haven't used an off site backup system but I guess I should be using one of these services. Prints of important images made using archival quality printers/paper would be a good thing to do. But I did have a problem with insects and mold getting into some of my older prints that I had stored that's a real disappointment. I was lucky that I was able to save most of them, I do have a storage space problem since we downsized when I retired that limits print storage so Keeping them in a digital form seems to be my best solution.

[Ben_Edict]

I have had some backups of scanned processed Images that were written to CDs go bad along with the hard drive on my old computer. I was fortunate I still had the originals of the images that I scanned that I could rescan. This was a lot of work that I didn't expect. I am not real trusting of CDs for backup since I had my falures. I now make sure my Daughter gets copies of all the images that I have processed and any new pictures that I want preserved. I also have set up a second system to act as a backup system on my network. I haven't used an off site backup system but I guess I should be using one of these services. Prints of important images made using archival quality printers/paper would be a good thing to do. But I did have a problem with insects and mold getting into some of my older prints that I had stored that's a real disappointment. I was lucky that I was able to save most of them, I do have a storage space problem since we downsized when I retired that limits print storage so Keeping them in a digital form seems to be my best solution.

CDs have a poor storage life. DVDs are slightly better. So you should copy the files to DVDs and store them in proper archival envelopes and boxes. And you should always keep at least 2 copies of these DVDs. I had several CDs "gone bad" over time and even one or two DVDs recently, but always had another backup-set, to recover the images.

Ben

Remember when "they" said CD's would last 50 years? Lied to again!

[Ben_Edict]

Remember when "they" said CD's would last 50 years? Lied to again!

I personally would say, the lifespan is app. 5–10 years… It is the same with DVDs, where some manufacturers claim 100 years longevity. My own estimate is 30 years for those, good quality DVDs, burnt with a proper DVD-writer at low speed and in archival storage. There have been some testings by the Library of Congress and that would also indicate these 30 years. And nobody really knows, how long BlueRays will survive - and I am not the one to try it out with my images…

Ben

I personally would say, the lifespan is app. 5–10 years… It is the same with DVDs, where some manufacturers claim 100 years longevity. My own estimate is 30 years for those, good quality DVDs, burnt with a proper DVD-writer at low speed and in archival storage. There have been some testings by the Library of Congress and that would also indicate these 30 years. And nobody really knows, how long BlueRays will survive - and I am not the one to try it out with my images…

Ben

In other words, so long as you don't use them they'll last. And that's good for....?

[falconeye]

And nobody really knows, how long BlueRays will survive - and I am not the one to try it out with my images…

BlueRay -> BluRay

AFAIK, BluRay has better archival properties than DVD or CD. At least for special archive grade media.

I don't remember the exact facts and don't find the links. But from the back of my memories, better durablility was one of the arguments in favour of BluRay.

E.g., Delkin offers 200 Years lifespan:

Delkin archival Blu-ray (BD-R) discs offer the longest guaranteed protection over time. Use them to store what's most important to you, whether it be wedding photos, tax documents, medical records, musical compositions, or family videos.

Of course, will be hard to sue them in 2209, but quite a bold claim nevertheless ...

[sebberry]

BluRay -> Blu-ray

Just speculating here but I can't see BD-R discs having better storage life than DVD-R or CD-R. In fact, because the wavelength is so much narrower, I can see it being easier for the dyes in the disc to bleed causing read errors over time.

Commercially produced pressed DVD, BD and CD won't have this problem.

[johnmflores]

I personally would say, the lifespan is app. 5–10 years… It is the same with DVDs, where some manufacturers claim 100 years longevity. My own estimate is 30 years for those, good quality DVDs, burnt with a proper DVD-writer at low speed and in archival storage. There have been some testings by the Library of Congress and that would also indicate these 30 years. And nobody really knows, how long BlueRays will survive - and I am not the one to try it out with my images…

Ben

IIRC the original studies for CDs showed a 10-20 year life span. What causes them to fail is not usage or any type of wear and tear, but rather the adhesive binding the plastic to the metallic layer failing. Repeated temperature changes hasten a disc's demise - plastic and metal expand and contract at different rates when the temperature changes - so a climate-controlled storage space like a safety deposit box is best.

[Ben_Edict]

IIRC the original studies for CDs showed a 10-20 year life span. What causes them to fail is not usage or any type of wear and tear, but rather the adhesive binding the plastic to the metallic layer failing. Repeated temperature changes hasten a disc's demise - plastic and metal expand and contract at different rates when the temperature changes - so a climate-controlled storage space like a safety deposit box is best.

That's true. But furthermore, CD-Rs will degrade rapidly, if left in sunshine as they are UV sensitive. A friend left a frshly burned CD lying on his window sill and it was unreadable after just two weeks.

Ben

[Ben_Edict]

BlueRay -> BluRay

AFAIK, BluRay has better archival properties than DVD or CD. At least for special archive grade media.

I don't remember the exact facts and don't find the links. But from the back of my memories, better durablility was one of the arguments in favour of BluRay.

E.g., Delkin offers 200 Years lifespan:

Of course, will be hard to sue them in 2209, but quite a bold claim nevertheless ...

There may be claims about longevity - but there is no proof. Reliable tests ar rare and the few I found so far, are only valid for CD-Rs and DVD-Rs. And all of them indicate a much shorter lifespan, than the manufacturer's claim. I have never seen a repeatable and relevant test for BluRays so far.

One of the problems is, that these tests, done by various institutions, are made under lab conditions, with accelelated ageing, but with a limited scope of possible environmental influences. For instances the test I referred to for DVDs, ordered by the Library of Congress, makes museum like assumption for storage conditions.
It ignores altogether the degrading influence of environmental chemicals, reaching from wall paint used in the storage room right through atmospheric compounds. And it ignores the chemical properties of storage containers, sleeves or whatever. Even than, the max. lifespan of 30 years for a DVD-R is only 1/3 of what some manufacturers claim! And DVDs are already much more robust than CD-Rs.

In short; any of these optical media are unsafe for longterm storage, in my opinion. You need at least two identical media sets and need to control the media integrity regularily to have a chance of copying to another one, if the media develops faults.

For a long time magneto-optical media were considered to be the best for longterm storage - but they are rare these days, outside large data centers and expensive, slow too use and quite small in capacity.

In my own experience - reflected by some others - simple hard discs have quite good storage properties. So I make two independent hd backups of my main RAID system (and keep 3 DVD-sets of my RAW-files) and hope(!), that I always will have at least one fully readable copy to migrate to better storage media in the future…

Ben

[falconeye]

And DVDs are already much more robust than CD-Rs.

Ben, I agree with what you write. I don't rely on optical media either.

Only thing I wanted to communicate is: Blu-ray is appearantly improved from DVD (which was already improved from CD, as you write).

[philippe]

Mac OSX Leopard has a very interesting system called Time Machine. This system makes an automatic back up according to your wishes, whenever the computer is running, via Wi Fi or cable. Is very easy to find old files and to put them back. The specially designed external drive (1 or 2 Tb) for this system can be used on Win. Computers too, I do not know about the software.
Working with Light Room, when importing files, you can ask LR to copy these files simultaneously on an other (external) HD. LR will know then where to find these files when they are missing on the main HD.