Release issued by Ontrack:
Don’t let data loss ruin your holidays ~ but don’t panic if you need to call in the experts ~
Ontrack, the world’s largest data recovery company, has produced a list of top tips to prevent photo loss from digital cameras. With Kodak predicting that camera sales will grow by 37% per year until 2007, it’s likely that many households will have one wrapped up under the tree this Christmas.
Unlike the foolproof methods for saving and protecting traditional film photographs, such as the trusty old shoebox, any kind of digital storage – hard disks, CD-ROM, DVD or tapes – is vulnerable to technical failures. Ontrack is advising that there are simple precautions that can be taken to vastly reduce the risk of losing digital memories.
1. Download as you go – Worse than losing or damaging your digital camera is losing every single image you took on your trip home during the holidays. Download new photos to your computer at least once a month
2. Back up, back up, back up – Even if you have a state-of-the-art hard drive, make secondary backups on DVD, CD-ROM or other medium for extra security
3. Divide and conquer – Keep secondary backup copies in a different location from your primary backup. Preferably, these backups should be located away from your computer to protect against fire/flooding
4. View it or lose it – Check your digital photos at least once a year to make sure that they are still readable. Stay current with technology so if in a few years your old computer, camera or media becomes discontinued or obsolete, you can transfer your photos to new media
5. Be kind to media – Storage media is small and fragile, so keep it stored in closed compartments that also protect it from bending, flexing or crushing (i.e. your back pocket is not a good place to store photos!)
6. Lock and go – If your removable camera media has a ‘write protect’ switch, enable it as soon as you take it from your camera. Cameras that allow you to protect/lock individual photos are a particularly good investment
7. You can depend on data recovery – Have the name, website and telephone number of a reliable and respected data recovery company to hand. In the event of data meltdown, experts from an experienced data recovery company will be the only people able to help retrieve digital memories
“Digital cameras represent the next phase of tracking memories,” said Jim Reinert, senior director of software and services for Ontrack Data Recovery. “Losing your digital camera photos is tantamount to losing a photo album in a fire – the difference is, with the advances made in data recovery, there is no need for your memories to be lost permanently.”
Ontrack’s data recovery solutions include a lab service staffed by specialist engineers and a range of DIY software that can be used at home.
For further information about data recovery please visit the website at www.ontrack.co.uk or www.krollontrack.co.uk
