Preserving old floppies, fixed disks...

From: jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca <(jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca)>
Date: Wed Mar 11 11:26:33 1998

Suggestions:

All of that degrading data storage stuff is caused by oxygen,
moisture in air, also heat makes this reaction go faster or might
distorts the plastic stuff if too HOT. Also stray magnetic field
hurts the magnetic based stuff.

Solution: Make or buy strong air tight container, or heavy gauge
bags and a sealing equipment, bottle of nitogen gas. Back up and
clone everything to new top quality data storage of any types and a
spare drive or two just in case original go bad. Before sealing,
blow some nitogen and toss some drying packs in, seal up. Store
them in light-tight and magnetic protected container where
temperature is cooler.

For any paper based media, clone data to acid-free paper, mylar
or tyvek. Tyvek is nearly very HARD to tear and very strong.

This way, your stuff will not go bad. :)

When handling originals wear cotton over vinyl gloves to keep oils
off and moisture if you really cared to keep them long time and this
is what most musrum archives techs does when handling objects.
Which means you must not have fluorsecent because it does emit UV.

Rotate the storage every few years and rewrite to newer generation of
storage technologies just in case to keep magnetic patterns well
defined and strong.

Jason D.
email: jpero_at_cgo.wave.ca
Pero, Jason D.
Received on Wed Mar 11 1998 - 11:26:33 GMT