Important Tip

Important Tip

I started copying my CDs and DVDs on to my external hard drive. I found out from Richard that copies made on CDs and DVDs have a life expectancy of about 4 years. The surface they use is vegetable based (I didn’t know that!) and you start losing the sound and picture. If it’s manufactured the life expectancy is about 25-30 years.

If you want to preserve your pictures or other information you should make copies on a hard drive. The hard drive has a different surface so they will last a long time. Of course, if you notice that your computer is having trouble starting to read your external hard drive you should buy another one and copy everything from one to another.

The reason why I say external hard drive is that most people will fill up their computer hard drive with DVDs that made. The info that you don’t access often put on your external hard drive.

I bought an external hard drive that Richard’s friend brought into the country from the US (they are cheaper than in Ecuador). It only cost $139 for 500 GB. You can buy larger hard drives if you want.

If you purchased any CDs or DVDs, and paid a good price for it they could still have made it from CDs bought in a store and copies made from their computers. So it’s good to copy them on your hard drive. I bought some that cost a good bit and I can tell they were made on store bought CD/DVDs. Others I know they are made by the manufacturer, so I won’t copy them unless there’s enough room. (It’s always good to have a back up made as you never know what might happen to them.

After all, can you image all your family pictures/videos made with a digital cameras gone!

Hope this tip is helpful.