Obsolete digital storage formats including Syquest, floppy disk, Jaz drive, and Zip drive - old storage formats

Old Storage Formats Make Bad Backups

We’re working on a digital photo organizing project that involves lots of old storage formats, including digital storage. Most of these formats are only 20-25 years old, but technology changes fast and without special equipment these memories are very difficult to preserve.

Many of our clients ask us questions about image resolution and file formats, but we shouldn’t overlook how we store our digital file. This snapshot shows four of the most popular digital storage formats of recent decades, but today they’re obsolete and almost inaccessible. 

Obsolete digital storage formats including Syquest, floppy disk, Jaz drive, and Zip drive

The lessons for all of us are:

  1. Use the best available storage for today. We recommend USB thumb drives for smaller projects and external SSD hard drives for larger projects.
  2. Check your backups regularly.
  3. Technology keeps changing, so be prepared to migrate to new storage formats in the future.

Interested in working with Chaos to Memories?

If you’re near Chicago and ready to get started, come visit our Wheaton Studio Monday – Friday, 10-5. Please bring your memories with you.

Contact us for more information, shipping instructions, and to get started on your project.

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