Storing Photographs

[patio]

I sincerely hope it is me that is misunderstanding this whole diatribe...
If not i apologise in advance.

[patio]

In my reference in an above post i incorrectly ID'd UDF as the wrong format...that is incorrect...
Although UDF is technically packet-writing format it's not the one i was referring to in my comments.
I can't remember what it was called way back when but it basically emulated read/writing to CD's same as floppies... hence you never got the full storage capacity when burning.

So thanx for the above correction Geek...

[lyndhurst]

All I wanted to do is remove photos from PC in case of hard drive failure. Thank you all for your replies, I learned a lot.
   Thank you.

[patio]

Then you can safely burn them to CD/DVD's for storage as i started out by saying...
A flash drive is also an option...but i've personally had more flash drives fail on me then either CD's or DVD's.

[Geek-9pm]

Then you can safely burn them to CD/DVD's for storage as i started out by saying...
A flash drive is also an option...but i've personally had more flash drives fail on me then either CD's or DVD's.

My personal failure rate is near 50% fir either, but I always buy the cheapest I can.

You can get a lifetime warranty on some bend name flash drives.

[patio]

A lifetime warranty is absolutely worthless in getting your pics back should the flash drive fail.
Think about it.

[Geek-9pm]

A lifetime warranty is absolutely worthless in getting your pics back should the flash drive fail.
Think about it.

You don't get any warranty with a DVD. Think about it.

[patio]

I did...
But since we continue to beat a dead horse what would the warranty do ? ?

[Geek-9pm]

I did...
But since we continue to beat a dead horse what would the warranty do ? ?

No, the horse is still moving. One more shot will do it.

Warranty only covers the replacement of the device. However, it insoles the company has made an effort to ensure quality control in production.
An area where it matters in in promotional advertising. This has led to some companies really getting serious about the flash drive.
http://www.flashbay.com/support/faq/flash-drives-review
The above link is about both appearance and performance of USB sticks used in advertising.

The marketplace is filled with USB Flash Drives of vastly varying quality. Some are excellent, although many are completely unfit for the purpose of data storage. If you are considering a bulk purchase of logo-branded USB Flash Drives for promotional purposes, a good quality product that will enhance your brand image is essential. In pursuit of the lowest price, many bulk purchasers encounter suppliers at the unacceptable end of the quality spectrum.

We sent Henry Jacksen (Quality Control manager for the Flashbay Factory ) out into the marketplace to investigate the competition. "The findings were quite worrying in most cases," said Jacksen. "Of the hundreds of models tested, we have chosen just one as a comparison to illustrate the common quality pitfalls." The report below shows our standard Classic USB Flash Drive compared to the common copy. Jacksen adds that, "Many corporate gift distributors buy the copy direct from unscrupulous manufacturers in China who cut too many corners, resulting in serious quality issues."

Where is the OP?
Did he walk away and leave his dying horse? 

[Allan]

First of all, pc users have been copying and saving photos (and most other data) to cd's and dvd's for over 25 years. It works fine. And if the burn process fails you'll know right away and you can redo it. There is zero risk.

By the way, I guess I've been lucky but in all the years I've been using cd's and dvd's as backup media (and this goes back to the mid '80s when they were first introduced) I've had fewer than a handful of burn failures. If you use name brand media, handle them properly, and take your time you are less likely to run into trouble (though it's bound to happen once or twice regardless).