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Long-term storage reliability of various media

I’m looking for a reference of statistics on long-term storage/archive reliability for various types of media. That is, I’m looking for information, comparisons, charts, graphs, test results, etc. on how long data can reliably be stored on as many types of media as possible (e.g., floppy, tape, CD, DVD, flash-drives/memory cards, HD, SSD, device firmware/EEPROMS, heck, even punch-cards and stone tablets if they have it).

Obviously there won’t be data on things like 50-year reliability for DVDs, but presumably the data would be updated as time goes by, similar to antivirus comparison databases.

Utility to optimally distribute files onto multiple DVDs?

I have a bunch of media files which I want to record to DVD, but since each DVD only fits 4.5GB, I have to find the optimal way to organize the files to use the minimum number of DVDs (otherwise the empty space left in each DVD can easily add up). Are there any tools to help with this?

Many years ago there was a DOS utility to do this with floppy disks.

What is naming convention for subtitle files?

I use VLC that automatically opens subtitles with same name as movie:

Movie:    [Name].avi
Sutitles: [Name].srt

But i wonder how should i name subtitles if i have more than one.

How can I repair a broken AVI file?

I have an .avi file that is about 110mb. When I try to play it with VLC Media Player it says something like "This file is broken. Attempt to repair?" and after it does its thing it is still unable to play it.

Is there any other software out there that can possibly get whatever video it can out of it? Maybe one that specializes on that sort of thing? I'm not very hopeful because I figured if anything could be played out of it VLC would have managed to do it, but I figured I'd give it a shot anyways...

What application do you use to play and manage music on your computer? [closed]

What software do you use to play and manage music on your computer? Include a link if you can, so others may discover great software!

Please, one application per answer. That will allow the votes to bubble the most popular answer/application!

Can I activate Windows XP Pro installed from Retail (or VL) media with OEM key?

I have Windows XP Professional OEM key on the sticker on the computer, but I don't have a OEM media to perform reinstall. I could obtain (it doesn't matter how) an installation ISO images from MSDN site, but as I understand these are only images for Retail and Volume Licencing versions. So, can I use Retail (or VL) media to perform install and activate with OEM licence key?

What is an effective way to get the count of file types on the drive?

I have a 2TB drive with a ton of media from the last 10 years. Audio, video, photos, etc... Ton of files.

Is there an effective way to summarize the file types on the drive? For instance, I'd like to see how many music files (.wav, .mp3, .aac, etc...), videos (.mp4, m4v, .mpg, .avi, .mkv, etc...), photos (.png, .jpg), etc... I have.

Assign custom keys to keyboard media buttons

I've a Microsoft Wireless 800 keyboard that has media keys such as Play/Pause, Volume Up/Down/Mute, etc. But it doesn't have any for Previous/Next song/video/whatever. I'm looking to map a couple of standard keys (Scroll lock and Pause Break in particular) to the above ones.

Is there an app that lets me do that ? I'd also like the ability to toggle the custom mapping.

My keyboard has no "media" keys; can I control media without them?

My USB keyboard does not have "media" keys -- that is, dedicated keys for play, stop, next, prev, volume up/down, etcetera.

For the sake of this question, I would prefer not to install additional software if I can avoid it.

Is it possible to issue some standard key sequence on a generic USB keyboard that emulates these play, stop, etc. multimedia keys?

Like Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F12 or something obscure like that?

What's the fastest way to transfer files between 2 computers? [closed]

Let's say that I have 80Gb of data to transfer from one computer to another. What's the fastest method to transfer that files?

• Network transfer?
• DVD Recording?
• Copying in a pen drive?
• Removing one HD and placing as secondary in the another PC and copy and paste the files?
• [another suggestion?]

Does it make sense converting a file to a higher audio bitrate?

When a certain file (mp4, flv, etc) has a 95 kbps audio bitrate - does it make sense outputing to a higher bitrate when converting to mp3 or other format (be it lossy or not)?

Would this result in higher audio quality or just in a bigger file?

Edits after a lot of answers+comments:

• I am not talking about the output having better quality than the input: obviously, that is not possible. (Except for going from a lossless format to the original wave.) I am talking whether an output with a higher bitrate than the input will have a better quality than it might otherwise have.

• please consider that I am aware that converting between lossy formats is not recommendable. Only that in some cases an original cd/wave may be unavailable. The question is just about the usefulness of optionally increasing the bitrate when converting.

• maybe a sub-question is useful: is the answer dependent on the type of the output file (lossless or lossy)?

• the most voted two answers below (this and this) seem to say different things, namely, the later says that Bitrates are not directly comparable and if the original audio is in a more efficient format, then the output (less efficient) audio should have a somewhat superior bitrate (the same idea here and here) - but while the less efficient is mp3, I am not sure which exactly are the more efficient formats. (is it aac?) (-- And in general the answers seem to fall in one of the two positions represented by the most voted answers.)

How to test your backups against medium degeneration?

Because most storage media degenerate over time (CD, DVD, harddisk, tape), it is very important to test your backups. Is there a way to monitor the condition of your backups?

I am looking for both hardware and software solutions, as well as strategies you can use. For example:

• Hardware solution: using the S.M.A.R.T. features of harddisks; ...
• Software solution: using a backup tool that calculates MD5 checksums; using a tool for checking the Reed-Solomon ECC on CDs; ...
• Sample strategies: keeping multiple copies of your backup and doing a file comparison every month; scanning every now and then the MD5 checksums calculated by your backup tool; ...

Using the same Windows 8 Upgrade installer on multiple PCs

As per the article How the new Windows 8 license terms affect you:

You may transfer the software to another computer that belongs to you. … You may not transfer the software to share licenses between computers.

But what if I have a bunch of PCs with a mix of XP/Vista/Windows 7? Can I purchase either the Windows 8 Pro Upgrade $40 (download only) or $70 (DVD) version (both of which come without a key) only once and use it to upgrade all the PCs? Since I'm not sharing the license and each PC has its own valid genuine license, it should be allowed, right, or is it illegal? Even if they want people to shell out $40/$70 for each PC, how would they enforce the use of the installer/media on only one PC each?

I have been given to believe by a source that the installer will only check for the previous OS' key, which is what is confusing me (I have never purchased an upgrade version before this, only full retail or pre-installed versions). Is this true or will I need to enter two keys to make the upgrade work, one for the previous version and then one for Windows 8? If the latter is the case, then the issue is solved since obviously the same Windows 8 key will not be valid for multiple PCs.

How to convert media using VLC?

How can I use VLC to convert media? for instance WAV to MP3.

I searched the internet and all the tutorials I found describe the process on older VLC versions (my version is 1.0.0)

Alternative to DVD Player on Mac OS X [closed]

DVD Player is probably the program I use that crashes the most. Are there any alternatives?