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    Author Topic: Would it be beneficial to copy your wallet.dat file across an entire backup usb?  (Read 1267 times)

    • gigabytecoin (OP)
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    June 19, 2011, 07:17:18 AM
     #1
    I was reading about bit rot and began wondering about my backup ideas.

    If I copied my wallet.dat file 1,000,000 times across the entire partition of my usb drive... or perhaps created ~20 partitions that each contained a copy of the wallet.dat file...

    Would I somewhat protect myself against bit rot?

    It sounds like it only affects single bits at a time and on a specific area of the drive. So if I made multiple copies on the same drive then surely one copy would work correct?

    Obviously I will be replacing my backup media every year or two but the less often I have to the better.

    If I could just create 1 million copies of my wallet.dat file and leave it on a USB until the product itself deteriorated that would be amazing.

    Somebody told me about OTP (One Time Programmable) solutions as well but they are not easily attainable, or so it seems. Know of any good links?

  • Garrett Burgwardt
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    June 19, 2011, 07:19:56 AM
     #2
    Bit rot is only one of many problems. Worse would be complete failure of the device.

    I recommend paper as a long term archival solution: http://www.ollydbg.de/Paperbak/index.html

  • gigabytecoin (OP)
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    June 20, 2011, 07:41:15 AM
     #3
    Quote from: Garrett Burgwardt on June 19, 2011, 07:19:56 AM
    Bit rot is only one of many problems. Worse would be complete failure of the device.

    I recommend paper as a long term archival solution: http://www.ollydbg.de/Paperbak/index.html

    Thanks for that, pretty amazing you can store 3MB on a sheet of Paper.

    I remember buying a Mac 15 years ago that only had about 80 MB of hard disk space... or about 27 sheets of paper's worth Tongue

  • kjj
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    June 20, 2011, 07:58:55 AM
     #4
    In my experience, flash drives tend to fail all at once, rather than losing a sector at a time.

    I would make about 3 copies.

    Put one away, and never, ever use it again.
    Put the second away, and check it once a year or so.
    Put the third away, and check it every week or month.

    Or, take the second and third copies, and check both of them every week or month, and if either one goes bad, or does anything even slightly unusual, replace it with a new copy of the one that isn't broken.
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  • pokwer
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    June 20, 2011, 09:11:57 AM
     #5
    I think the basic premise of digital continuity is to keep the data moving -- a given storage medium is only good for so long -- in order to be sure of the integrity of your data, it should be moved every few years.  Keeping many copies is a good idea but it's also important to take into account the life span (not to mention compatibility with modern devices (5.25" floppy anyone?)) of the device or storage format.  Because of the small amount of data, paper is an option for storing wallets long term.  There is also archival digital media available, such as these CDs which claim to be good for 100+ years:  http://longnow.org/store/archival-media-kit/

  • fornit
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    June 20, 2011, 11:05:28 AM
     #6
    imho, normal cds are not so bad.
    they usually dont fail completely, so copying the encrypted wallet all over the disc makes it very likely that a copy survives for a long time. plus they are dirt cheap, so you can keep many of them.

    not really a professional solution but a very good start especially if you dont want to invest too much time or money.
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