Back up those treasured memories ....

[Hornspieler]

.... on an external Hard Drive.

Some 20 years ago, I decided to put all of my disks and those of my late brother in law onto CDs for safe keeping.

I used an editing system (Magix Audio Labs in my case) to clean up scratches, tape hiss, and generally to enhance those treasued memories.

So, looking at my shelves of CDs last week, I decided to preserve those memories going right back to my childhood of such great artists as Heddle Nash, Norman Allin, Dame Clara Butt, Webster Booth, Peter Dawson, Gracie Fields, Fodens Motor Works and other great Brass bands, featuring such as the great Harry Mortimer - and then started on my inherited collection of Jazz and swing 78s ranging from the twenties, thirties, right up to the arrival of "progressive Jazz" - as epitomised by the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Dexter Gordon.

I recorded much classical music off air from Radio 3 including live performances by many orchestras featured in the Proms over the past twenty years and also chamber music and recitals by newly discovered artists.

I started a collection of commercially produced CDs and copied my disks and cassettes onto writable disks.

So, over 300 CDs on my shelves, of which the majority were "home made" on those easily obtained blank discs.

But, running a few the other day, I discovered that the commercially produced disks sounded as good as new, there was much distortion on the home-made products.

So I have purchased an external hard drive with a capacity of 1 terrabyte (1,000 Cicabytes) and am working my way through putting everything that I have on my shelves onto that hard disk , rescuing what I can in the process. and keeping that drive only for music in the form of wave files.

I shall expand on my findings later.

In the meantime, Happy Easter, everybody!

HS

[slarty]

Make a back-up of the HD once you have finished transferring.
It means buying another HD, but it is neccessary.

[cloughie]

.... on an external Hard Drive.

Some 20 years ago, I decided to put all of my disks and those of my late brother in law onto CDs for safe keeping.

I used an editing system (Magix Audio Labs in my case) to clean up scratches, tape hiss, and generally to enhance those treasued memories.

So, looking at my shelves of CDs last week, I decided to preserve those memories going right back to my childhood of such great artists as Heddle Nash, Norman Allin, Dame Clara Butt, Webster Booth, Peter Dawson, Gracie Fields, Fodens Motor Works and other great Brass bands, featuring such as the great Harry Mortimer - and then started on my inherited collection of Jazz and swing 78s ranging from the twenties, thirties, right up to the arrival of "progressive Jazz" - as epitomised by the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Dexter Gordon.

I recorded much classical music off air from Radio 3 including live performances by many orchestras featured in the Proms over the past twenty years and also chamber music and recitals by newly discovered artists.

I started a collection of commercially produced CDs and copied my disks and cassettes onto writable disks.

So, over 300 CDs on my shelves, of which the majority were "home made" on those easily obtained blank discs.

But, running a few the other day, I discovered that the commercially produced disks sounded as good as new, there was much distortion on the home-made products.

So I have purchased an external hard drive with a capacity of 1 terrabyte (1,000 Cicabytes) and am working my way through putting everything that I have on my shelves onto that hard disk , rescuing what I can in the process. and keeping that drive only for music in the form of wave files.

I shall expand on my findings later.

In the meantime, Happy Easter, everybody!

HS

I'm no techno but have the 'home made' CDs deteriorated with time or were your transfers never of the quality of the commercial products. In general I would have thought that age and discolouration of CDs (PDO and cheaper non-music CDRs) would possibly make them unplayable but not distorted - but then may be I'm making assumptions and talking rubbish.

[Hornspieler]

Make a back-up of the HD once you have finished transferring.
It means buying another HD, but it is neccesary.

Good advice, Slarty.

I also have another 1TB drive on which I back up all of my data from both of my computers and this includes the contents of this newest external hard drive. which I am currently using solely for Audio files.

The problem with these self made CDs is that the last parts of the content, being on the outside of the disk has been corrupted by some external force. This has not happened with any of my commercially produced CDs or Cassettes (So far, after 60 transfers at the time of writing)

Only another 300 or so cds and cassettes to process.

HS

[ChrisBennell]

Make a back-up of the HD once you have finished transferring.
It means buying another HD, but it is neccessary.

Absolutely agree with that - in fact I keep 3 copies of everything - (including, I'm afraid, the CDs themselves!)

Interesting that Hornspieler mentions distortion on some of the original home-made CDs. I have found that some CD players are more sensitive to them, whereas they will often happily accept commercial ones. It may be worth trying them in a different player - I've found my PC will play anything for example. And I have hundreds of home-made CDs.

I was also getting distortion on some home made CDs last year (crackling and spitting), but managed to resolve it by burning the files at a much lower speed - .

[MrGongGong]

http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news/?id=465

[Hornspieler]

http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news/?id=465

Will someone please explain to me the relevance of this to the subject under discussion?

Having found myself in a situation where half of my CDs are distorted, my object in posting this topic was to warn others to check their CD collections and prevent any further damage to what might be irretrievable losses.

HS

[frankwm]

Most folks faced with 'unplayable' CD's will try computer-ripping with software like "Exact Audio Copy" (free) which is invariably able to correct read-errors; though, to an extent, the read-speed/that ability can rely on the CD/DVD drive used...trying more than one is advisable.

Presumably you'd already tried that route.....?

[MrGongGong]

Will someone please explain to me the relevance of this to the subject under discussion?

Having found myself in a situation where half of my CDs are distorted, my object in posting this topic was to warn others to check their CD collections and prevent any further damage to what might be irretrievable losses.

HS

When I read this book I found it had some interesting things to say about the compulsion many folk have to "remember" things. To make backups of backups of backups without really questioning whether what one was "saving" was of value (in the widest sense).

"Loosing" recordings (and I speak as someone who has thousands in various states) isn't necessarily a disaster.
There can be virtue in forgetting and rediscovering.

[doversoul1]

When I read this book I found it had some interesting things to say about the compulsion many folk have to "remember" things. To make backups of backups of backups without really questioning whether what one was "saving" was of value (in the widest sense).

"Loosing" recordings (and I speak as someone who has thousands in various states) isn't necessarily a disaster.
There can be virtue in forgetting and rediscovering.

…overriding our natural ability to forget –
I rather like this expression.

We tend to think that our memory is something that can be shared but in reality, it dies with us. Sorry to be a wet blanket but most THINGs we leave behind will be clatters for our children to clear out. I have decided to live with minimum THINGs around me. These days, I prefer to spend my mind on the present and not on an effort to keep the / my past. It makes life simpler and I like it better that way.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

…overriding our natural ability to forget –
I rather like this expression.

We tend to think that our memory is something that can be shared but in reality, it dies with us. Sorry to be a wet blanket but most THINGs we leave behind will be clatters for our children to clear out. I have decided to live with minimum THINGs around me. These days, I prefer to spend my mind on the present and not on an effort to keep the / my past. It makes life simpler and I like it better that way.

"Things", yes - and I am much attracted to the suggestion that our possessions are the things that start to possess us.

But Hs is talking about photographs and recordings - things that specifically evoke memories. Photographs, particularly of people whom we shall never see again, are incredibly precious - creating intensely vivid connections.

And for an ex-professional performer, recordings of his own work has a much more intimate importance than (say) my huge collection of CDs.

"Treasures", indeed, these aren't the same as other "things" - and whilst we're in the first age of computer technology, it's much easier for the techno novice to lose them than pre-digital photographs. Wise advice.

[doversoul1]

"Things", yes - and I am much attracted to the suggestion that our possessions are the things that start to possess us.

But Hs is talking about photographs and recordings - things that specifically evoke memories. Photographs, particularly of people whom we shall never see again, are incredibly precious - creating intensely vivid connections.

And for an ex-professional performer, recordings of his own work has a much more intimate importance than (say) my huge collection of CDs.

"Treasures", indeed, these aren't the same as other "things" - and whilst we're in the first age of computer technology, it's much easier for the techno novice to lose them than pre-digital photographs. Wise advice.

I see the point you are making but my point is that our treasures can easily be just things and worse, clatters to our children except may be a very few ‘things’ that were actually shared. As for my own past, I find that what I can remember is enough. I suppose that means I have no particular achievement to look at and remember

Seriously, I feel quite detached from the past these days. It’s the present that matters.

[ed.] I think I have derailed this thread, so maybe the point about memory should be left here. Sorry about this.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Seriously, I feel quite detached from the past these days. It’s the present that matters.

Just remind me - what is your favourite type of Music?

You are quite right about "clutter" - when my trustees come to sort out my estate (many, many years from now, I intend!!) there will be a lot of recycling involved. But I think the old photographs will be valuable to them - there's stuff here going back over a hundred years (no - not of myself!) which I think some of them will find fascinating. What will happen to the stuff on computers and external memories ... I'll have to get them printed onto paper!

[cloughie]

Just remind me - what is your favourite type of Music?

You are quite right about "clutter" - when my trustees come to sort out my estate (many, many years from now, I intend!!) there will be a lot of recycling involved. But I think the old photographs will be valuable to them - there's stuff here going back over a hundred years (no - not of myself!) which I think some of them will find fascinating. What will happen to the stuff on computers and external memories ... I'll have to get them printed onto paper!

But maybe they will not appreciate, what I must assume from your postings here, your very interesting recorded music collection.