Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • IT query- pics/video as attachments
  • chopchop
    Free Member

    Probably a daft question, but how long do pics and videos last as attachments- ie, do they stop working after any length of time?

    I’ve set up an email account for my lad and I’ve been sending pics etc of him as he grows up to the account from my phone. Will these attachments still open and show the content in @15 years?

    Cougar
    Full Member

    If it’s actually an email attachment, it’ll stay forever unless you’ve got some sort of retention period set up. I’d take a backup just in case, though.

    chopchop
    Free Member

    How could I find out if there’s a retention period on the account? It’s an Outlook account. I’m also putting everything on an external harddrive and these emails are a backup to that.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    Cougar
    Full Member

    There won’t be unless you’ve set one.

    They’ll also be in your Sent Items, of course.

    chopchop
    Free Member

    Ok, thanks for that.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Might (possibly) have more of a problem opening them, though – file formats change, and older formats can sometimes be hard/impossible to open, particularly if they’re vendor-specific (for example a Nikon RAW file would be more vulnerable than a standard PNG)…

    Cougar
    Full Member

    .JPG is about 20 years old now, I think it’s probably going to be around for a bit yet.

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Yeah, but the OP hasn’t said what format he’s using…

    Other suggestions:

    Make sure you login to the email account regularly, just sending stuff won’t guarantee it’ll stay active.

    If your files are really important I’d be making a backup on an external disk drive (NOT a usb flash drive) too.

    For photos etc. I’d also consider paper copies, I’ve used these guys and the quality/service is excellent. Nothing like as bulky as traditional photo albums, either.

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)

The topic ‘IT query- pics/video as attachments’ is closed to new replies.