Desperatley need to make room on my PC

[Kat Stokes]

I only have a little over 2 gig left to play with. I have over 11 gig of kits and such. I am afraid to copy any of them to disc and delete them from my HD because I've heard that the discs don't last forever. And, on top of it, I can't afford an external HD right now.... :( What is a girl to do??????? I definately need a new computer with more gig.... or at least a large external HD. Thank goodness x-mas isn't that far away!

[paula_duncan]

You could always put your kits on disk until you get a new hardrive or computer. They should last that long as long as you take care of them. Also another thing you can do is to go through everything and see if there are files you downloaded but never really used. I know sometimes my enthusiasum gets the better of me and I just download something but never end up using it. Another thing you can do is to delete duplicates. If you have a kit and it has 3 or 4 separate files for the same item (like buttons, tags, or bookplates) the one you keep can be altered to any colour you choose easily and you don't have all the extra files...just make sure they are png files to preserve the blending options and filters.

[Kat Stokes]

Thanks Paula! I copied a bunch to disk yesterday. I think I will do just what you suggested and copy the ones that I hardly ever use and then transfer them to my external when I get it. I looked at the external's yesterday and found an 80 gig for $99.00 which doesn't seem like a bad deal. It will just have to wait until next month though...

Does anyone know if you were to put the ones you don't use in a folder and zip them up if this would make more room? TIA!

[ljbarden]

Zipping a kit won't free up a lot of room, as JPGs and PNGs are already compressed file formats. I just tested it on the last kit I downloaded (one of Mindy's) and the zip only saved about 400kb. If you had a LOT of kits, it may make a difference, but you'd probably need to zip at least 100 of them to make room for one more.

If it helps ease your mind, the lowest figure I've seen quoted for a disc life is 25 years. Some manufacturers are claiming their newest discs can last up to 200 years. This is of course if it's stored in ideal conditions. But my old work has some backup discs that I did over five years ago that were thrown in a box in the back of a damp warehouse and they are still working just fine.

[noralong]

With the standard life of a cd being 75-90 years, in ideal conditions, chances of you wanting those particular files after that are slim. Besides that, with the way technology is advancing, you will probably want to update your storage in a few years any way. So, if I were you, I wouldn't worry about using cds if your main concern you have is the life span.

[Kat Stokes]

Thanks guys! Fortunately I didn't go camping last weekend so that gave me some extra cash and I bought a 200 gig HD for $79.99 (on sale) and had my dad install it. I think it should last for a while. I still burned everything onto CD and it is in a cool dark place. So, maybe they will last for quite a while.

Thanks for your responses and information!!!

[Rynonut Mom]

What do you guys use to back up - CD's or DVD's??? I have enough that it would take too many CD's and I think I need to get a DVD burner. Any thoughts???

[HeidiD]

I use DVDs. Are you kidding? I filled up a 120G hard drive in less than 3 months. I'd DIE without a DVD burner! ;)

[noralong]

The difference in how long dvds and cds last is between 10-20 years, depending on what survey you read. But, when stored properly either one will last more than 50 years. Like I mentioned earlier, the chances of you wanting a particular digital file after even 10 years are pretty slim. So, that leaves you with storage and money. The average cd holds 700 mb, and the average dvd (single layer) holds 4.7 gig, or roughly 9x the storage. I have seen internal dvd burners for as low as $65, and I just purchased a package of 10 disks for less than $6, so the cost isn't too prohibitive either.

BUT you should still have a bu on an external hd, if you can afford one, just for daily use, and store your disks off site or in a fireproof box for safety. We do this for all our sensitive documents any way, why not our digital files? How awsome would it be, if there were a disaster to be able to reprint your photo albums later, and not worry about them?

[jasbeanie]

i use DVDs tooo... CDs capacity just too small......

don worry about lifespan.. i've had discs for tons of years and they still work..

[Rhoda.Elisabeth]

I bought the HP Lightscribe where you can etch drawings onto the special dvds. I still haven't gotten it installed yet. I wish I had gotten it installed before my external hd died.
I had two external hard drives & I finally found some layouts on the other drive that I've been looking for since last Christmas!
Rhoda

[UnDecided]

Your external hd died? Bummer... I really hope you had everything backed up. Have fun playing with your lightscribe too -- it looks pretty cool!

[Rhoda.Elisabeth]

Your external hd died? Bummer... I really hope you had everything backed up. Have fun playing with your lightscribe too -- it looks pretty cool!

Well, I had almost everything backed up. In fact, I found a cd last night with some kits that I had bought this past spring & summer. I really didn't remember making the cd but I'm so glad that I did.
I burned 3 cds last night of kits. I bought an external hard drive a year ago & it's still working fine. I can't believe the one that died was less than 6 months old.
I need to get my lightscribe installed quick! I have this program called 3D-Photo Album which makes fun presentations for pictures. I could make some fun Christmas presents with that software.
Rhoda