Comment A chest is big enough for a laptop too... (Score 1) 434
I'd get a cheap laptop that has the ability to read all of the media you're putting into the chest, into the chest as well. I'm sure you can find something cheap on ebay. Make sure to remove the battery and DO NOT put it in the chest. If the battery blows, there goes all of your data... You can run most laptops just from the power cord without an attached battery.
You may even have an old laptop laying around that you can donate to the cause. Just remember. Remove the battery. Don't even think about putting it in the chest. throw it away so someone else doesn't throw it in there "just because there is room". =)
CD-Rs and DVD-R's tend to loose their 'readability' due to heat and light. If they are stored properly, the data on them should be readable in 25+ years. That being said, if that's your media of choice make sure to make duplicate copies of your data, and store it on different brand's / types of media.
32GB of data, whether it's on DVD, USB hard drives, or SD cards, is extremely affordable nowadays. I think SD cards may loose their charge after 10 years or so but hard drives will always be readable as long as they spin up. For Hard Drives, 25 years ago from today, SCSI/IDE drives were the standard, and I know I can still read them today using a cheap USB interface.
I guess what i'm trying to say here is you have options. Depending on how important this data is, use multiple options to ensure the data is readable. If you include a reader in your chest (the laptop sans battery) you increase your chances of easily being able to read the data.
Oh, and if you do put a laptop in the chest? Don't forget the power cord. ;-)
You may even have an old laptop laying around that you can donate to the cause. Just remember. Remove the battery. Don't even think about putting it in the chest. throw it away so someone else doesn't throw it in there "just because there is room". =)
CD-Rs and DVD-R's tend to loose their 'readability' due to heat and light. If they are stored properly, the data on them should be readable in 25+ years. That being said, if that's your media of choice make sure to make duplicate copies of your data, and store it on different brand's / types of media.
32GB of data, whether it's on DVD, USB hard drives, or SD cards, is extremely affordable nowadays. I think SD cards may loose their charge after 10 years or so but hard drives will always be readable as long as they spin up. For Hard Drives, 25 years ago from today, SCSI/IDE drives were the standard, and I know I can still read them today using a cheap USB interface.
I guess what i'm trying to say here is you have options. Depending on how important this data is, use multiple options to ensure the data is readable. If you include a reader in your chest (the laptop sans battery) you increase your chances of easily being able to read the data.
Oh, and if you do put a laptop in the chest? Don't forget the power cord.
