[X4U] OT-backup suggestions for a business

[Zane H. Healy]

> Thanks for the suggestions Zane.
> 
> But why would the media in the safe be toast? Is it that the safe will 
> be hot enough to melt the tapes...but not burn important papers?
> 
> So how about small hard drives, would they stand up to the heat better?
> 
> David

As I just mentioned in another email it has to do with optimum storage
conditions.  Tapes are very temperature sensitive, the further you get above
60-70F the shorter the lifespan.

The interesting thing is, that for something like the old 9-Track tape (the
big tapes the size of a Frisbee you see spinning on giant tape drives in old
movies) if you're trying to recover date from a tape that is so old that it
has become sticky, you need to actually bake the tape.  Of course on
something like this, you have exactly one shot to recover the data.

Back to your quesiton, I honestly don't know if it would melt the tape, but
if there is a fire, and the fire safe reaches high temperatures it will
seriously degrade the tape.  You *might* be able to recover the data after a
fire, a profession data service *might* be able to recover it, however, I
sure wouldn't bet my lively hood on it, as it would be a longshot. 

Another question would be, is the fire safe in question susceptable to smoke
or water damage in the case of a fire?

		Zane