There are a great many ways to record and preserve data. When the digital method of storage was devised, people believed that their documents and memories would be preserved permanently. Unfortunately, scientists now realize that this belief was mistaken. The problem is real, and no one should scoff at dire predictions of data loss. That videotape of your first steps as a baby or your family’s summer vacation may not last long enough to engross your children or grandchildren.
Many things can cause data to disappear. Tapes may eventually dry out, break, or lose their magnetic charge. Even if tapes survive, the machines on which they are played may become obsolete. Technology changes so rapidly that both the data formats and the machines needed to access the information are vulnerable. For example, documents that you saved on a 5 ¼-inch floppy disk may be lost to you when you trade in your old computer for a model that does not have the appropriate disk drive. In a high-tech lab at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., out-of-date recording machines of all types are preserved in working order. Technicians are laboring to transfer priceless information from old formats to more stable ones. However, despite great care, the transition from one format to another is not always perfect. Errors may creep in, making the original information unintelligible or unreliable. Long-term solutions have not yet been found.
This possibility of the impending loss of data vexes all those who want to preserve memories and information. Sooner or later, scientists will solve this problem. In the meantime, the best thing that you can do is save your valuable data in the simplest possible form.