Photo & Story Treasures: Why External Hard Drives Aren't Forever (not even a decade)

It's easy to think the Latest & Greatest form of technology is the answer to everything. Being able to back up photos on a CD was amazing for a while. Then DVDs for backing up family videos. And lately EHDs (external hard drives) are all the rage. And now SSDs (solid state drives) are vying for attention, too.

Having a secure place to back up photos and videos wouldn't be that important, except that what you're saving is absolutely irreplaceable. Like this:

That's my daughter, a few days old. And her big brother kissing her cheek. I'll never, ever get that moment back. I never get another chance to capture those faces in that time.

I'll tell you a little more about that sad video (with some hope!) later, but here's why CDs, DVDs, and hard drives aren't forever. Not even a decade.

Why Hard Drives Don't Last

Most EHDs and SSDs last 3-5 years, simply because the connectors fail. They just stop working. They're not really made to withstand repeated use. (Which is ironic since the purpose of EHDs & SSDs is repeated use.) But it's not just the connectors.

We can learn a lot from the experience of Iron Mountain. They were tasked with backing up the entertainment industry's music. Music, as you know, has gone from records to 8-tracks to cassettes to CDs. It has been stored on hard drive disks since the 1990s.

About 1/5 of what Iron Mountain recently received on hard drives to archive was entirely unreadable.

“In our line of work, if we discover an inherent problem with a format, it makes sense to let everybody know,” Robert Koszela, global director for studio growth and strategic initiatives at Iron Mountain, told Mix. “It may sound like a sales pitch, but it’s not; it’s a call for action.”

They found that hard drives are not designed for long-time archival use.

“It’s so sad to see a project come into the studio, a hard drive in a brand-new case with the wrapper and the tags from wherever they bought it still in there,” Koszela says. “Next to it is a case with the safety drive in it. Everything’s in order. And both of them are bricks.”

What we learn here about music applies to anything else stored on a hard drive.

Like our photos. And our home movies. And that audio recording of my mom reading her grandkids a story.

What to Do About It

Kevin Purdy suggests that the best solution to this problem is:

The gist of it: You cannot trust any medium, so you copy important things over and over, into fresh storage.

Seriously?!

But what if you don't have the equipment?

Or the time?

Or the knowledge?

Thankfully, there's another option. I suggest this three-step solution.

Use a digitization service. I suggest the one with the highest customer satisfaction (as independently determined by TrustPilot). It's phenomenal. Then pair it with #2 below.
Next, put the updated versions of your photos and videos on a flash drive or a computer if you like, but whatever you do, back it up in the cloud. This is the only private cloud storage service that guarantees your photos and memories will be yours for your lifetime + 100 years, a legacy you can pass down. Not only that, but they triple back-up everything, keeping your files encrypted, and will update file formats FOR YOU. (Like, when .jpeg files become outdated in 20 years.) Another bonus with this particular service is that you'll buy your cloud space, so there are no recurring payments (until you die!) to keep your photos and videos always accessible and safely backed up.
Print the photos in pages. I know print is kind of "going out of style" these days, but print will never be at the mercy of a hard drive crash. And don't think you have to have a lot of time or "be creative" to put photos and memories in books! Find a high-quality print option that will last for generations, then spend 10 minutes a day on it. Really. It works.

Don't miss that amazing point: If you don't have equipment, time, or know-how to "copy important things over and over into fresh storage" as Purdy suggests, FOREVER Storage will literally do it for you.

If that's not peace of mind, I don't know what is.

A Few Words of Encouragement

SO, WHAT ABOUT THE BABY?

If your heart broke watching my video, I first want to let you know that the video has a happy ending. Knowing that the magnetic tape in VHS tapes deteriorates, I sent in my home videos to be digitized using FOREVER Digitization a few years ago. I was brokenhearted to receive that video I shared with you at the beginning. Most of it was fine, but there were a few parts that were garble-y, including that sweet moment. I was pretty upset about it for several days before remembering that I have the original Hi-8 tape that might be in better condition. It had been stored differently, so I sent that in to FOREVER Digitization for digitizing and crossed my fingers. It was in much better shape, so I now have that video as it was meant to be seen!

SENDING MY PHOTOS AND HOME MOVIES AWAY?

I know it can be scary. I've done it four times now, and the first time was indeed a little scary for me, so I know how you feel. When it came down to it, though, I decided that if I didn't get the VHS tapes digitized, I'd just have to throw them away in 10 years anyway. Nobody has a VCR any more, and my grandchildren-to-be definitely won't!

If you're at all worried about sending your DVDs or VHS tapes or slides off to be digitized, learn more about FOREVER Digitization so you can see how much care goes into the safety of your precious memories. There is a lot of hope at that link!

GETTING AHEAD

I heard of someone recently who had saved all their family photos and home movies on an external hard drive, then put it in a safe deposit box for their family to have when they pass on.

The intent is beautiful. But, practically speaking, that EHD may not even be readable 10 or 20 years from now. It makes me sad to think about.

But you can get actually get ahead of technology issues by following the 3 steps above, using the links I included. And that's the best news of all.

It's important to keep in mind that every form of technology has a different purpose and capability.

NOTE: If you're new to Forever and open your free account here, you'll get a $20 welcome coupon towards anything mentioned in this post. I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.

So, share this post with anyone you know who is still using an external hard drive to save their photos and videos. All types of hard drives are not long-term storage devices. They won't even last through the rest of this decade. But there's hope because there are other, better options!