[semi-OT] QIC2 streaming cartridge tape lossage

Ben Scott dragonhawk at gmail.com
Tue Dec 1 08:14:33 EST 2009


On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 1:30 AM, Bill McGonigle <bill at bfccomputing.com> wrote:
>>   There aren't really *any* computer formats available to the consumer
>> which are rated for long term storage.
>
> Newegg had some 2TB external drives for $150 last week.

  Hard disks aren't particularly suited for this, either.  They're
more sensitive to environmental factors than just about anything else,
and they're not designed to be spun up only once every few years.  I
don't have data, but I'm not sure I'd want to trust my data to a
spindle motor that may not start because the bearings seized.

  You can keep them hot all the time, of course, but what's the cost
of keeping a home computer running for years and years?  As a first
approximation, I'd say $210/year.  (Assume 200 watts and $0.12/kWh: 24
* 365 * 0.2 * 0.12)

  If, like you, someone keeps a computer on all the time, with disks
spinning, for other reasons, than that's spent money anyway.  But even
my always on home PC is set to spin down the drives when idle.  A lot
of home PCs come configured to suspend-to-RAM or suspend-to-disk when
they're idle.

-- Ben



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