FAT32/NTFS formatting?

weegie.geek

thomas01155 wrote: »

I wouldn't keep all your photos on a memory stick if it goes corrupt or breaks you will lose them all. Some memory sticks only last a few years before they die.

They only last a certain number of writes before they die. If you write to them once, and keep it, they should last pretty much indefinitely.

While that isn't quite true in practice, solid state is more or less the most secure way to store something. I definitely wouldn't trust only one copy of something important though.

Andy667

NTFS is faster and more secure, and it can have a smaller file size. If you have lots of files under 1 Kb, like browser cookies, than they will take more space on FAT32 than on NTFS.

papoosue

Flippin' eck' - I'm beginning to wonder what the point is of all these storage devices if they only last a finite time. Maybe I should just go back to printing out my photos and keeping them in a box for safekeeping!

Thanks for all the advice though, guys, I'm much better informed now (if a tad confused about where to store everything) :-)

Thanks,

Susan

weegie.geek wrote: »

They only last a certain number of writes before they die. If you write to them once, and keep it, they should last pretty much indefinitely.

While that isn't quite true in practice, solid state is more or less the most secure way to store something. I definitely wouldn't trust only one copy of something important though.

weegie.geek

papoosue wrote: »

Flippin' eck' - I'm beginning to wonder what the point is of all these storage devices if they only last a finite time. Maybe I should just go back to printing out my photos and keeping them in a box for safekeeping!

Thanks for all the advice though, guys, I'm much better informed now (if a tad confused about where to store everything) :-)

Thanks,

Susan

Photos fade too, even in boxes.

The advantage these days at least is that you can make multiple identical copies of a photo, and move the old photos to new media in the future without losing any quality. Having 2 or 3 copies of the same thing on dvd, hard drive and usb drive is still cheaper than having had the entire spool developed.

papoosue

I suppose you're right weegie.geek, it's just a shame you need 2 or three backups - nothing's simple, right? You are certainly right about the cost of developing, even for digital. I take so many pics, I could never afford to print them all out, that's for sure ;-)

weegie.geek wrote: »

Photos fade too, even in boxes.

The advantage these days at least is that you can make multiple identical copies of a photo, and move the old photos to new media in the future without losing any quality. Having 2 or 3 copies of the same thing on dvd, hard drive and usb drive is still cheaper than having had the entire spool developed.

Marty_J

Have you thought about an online backup?

For $24.95 a year (about £17) you can get unlimited storage for your photos from Flickr.

They have a free account if you fancy trying it out, but you're limited to 100 MB of uploads a month, and you can only view your last 200 photos.

papoosue

Hi Marty, I have thought about that, but I'm kinda wary about having my photos 'out there' in the ether, IYKWIM. I suppose £17 isn't a bad price for the service if you choose to use it though. I already usethe free flikr service for my photos of creative stuff I do, and I find it really good.

S

Marty_J wrote: »

Have you thought about an online backup?

For $24.95 a year (about £17) you can get unlimited storage for your photos from Flickr.

They have a free account if you fancy trying it out, but you're limited to 100 MB of uploads a month, and you can only view your last 200 photos.

weegie.geek

papoosue wrote: »

I suppose you're right weegie.geek, it's just a shame you need 2 or three backups - nothing's simple, right? You are certainly right about the cost of developing, even for digital. I take so many pics, I could never afford to print them all out, that's for sure ;-)

Nothing's simple that's for sure, but wouldn't it be great to be able to run off a pristine copy of a photo of yourself when you were a kid? The kids of this generation will be able to do that when they're older, assuming we all keep backups.

And I agree with the cost of printing photos, it'd suck to have to print them all out before realising that out of a spool of 20-odd, two aren't rubbish. Digital photography's brought the cost of the hobby plummeting down, even if the cameras themselves are more expensive.

basmic

I wouldn't worry about storing files to USB memory sticks. Unless you're constantly using it (ie: writing to it every other hour), then it'll probably last longer than your computer's harddrive!

I have a Sandisk Micro 16gb memory stick myself, and I believe it can take about 30,000 writes before showing signs of giving up the ghost.

posted_2

Buy some DVD's and unless your hard disk is really full, leave them on there too. DVD+-R's don't get overwritten with viruses, hard disks and flash drives do, in a flash. Pull a flash drive out too fast, and it will corrupt.