Among the most valuable tools a future genealogist will have is the ability to search databases which are natively digital, by which I mean the digital record is the original record. Digital records are created along with paper records these days, so whoever is using the record won’t have to read old-style or sloppy handwriting. Thousands of hours are being saved as records will no longer have to be indexed by hand, and the ease of creating perfect digital backups of records means we will no longer have to worry about deteriorating original sources, nor copies with errors.

However, digital records are not invincible, and they are not immortal! We still need to be careful that we actually use the means to create backups, and then keep the backups in more than one place. A hard drive crash these days could potentially be as devastating as a courthouse fire was in the 1800’s – unless the files are properly backed up. Fortunately, the governments we trust to be keepers of important records are usually careful to back them up. Are you, as a family historian, taking the right precautions yourself?

Here are a few tips and things to remember about digital records:

1. Back up your files, photos, documents, etc., and periodically test the backups to make sure they still work. Too many of us have had the sad experience of having a hard drive crash, a corrupted file, or some other unforeseen mishap which lost us hours of work, or worse, irreplaceable photos.

2. BACK UP YOUR FILES. This is your second warning!

3. Keep your backups in a safe place, and preferably in multiple locations. (It didn’t work for Voldemort and his soul, but you haven’t given three teenage wizards the incentive to destroy your family history.) Remember that a computer CD won’t survive a fire any better than an old family bible.

4. As technology changes, be sure to transfer your files and media to the new file types or disk formats while it’s still easy to do so. Already it’s difficult to find a computer with a 3.5-inch disk drive, which I recently needed in order to copy the files my grandparents prepared for a family history book they printed in the 1990’s, and it wasn’t immediately obvious how to use the files properly. Be sure you keep your old programs and machines around until you’re sure you can access your data via newer methods.

I’m already a victim of digital record loss, now what?

It’s an awful feeling to realize your work or files have been lost. Is there anything you can do? It could be a long shot, but I’ll extend a line of hope – sometimes you can recover at least some of your data.

Did you know that email service providers usually keep a record of the emails you’ve sent, unless you’ve deleted them? This includes any attached files. Those pictures or files you lost, did you ever email a copy of them to anybody? Did your cousin Frank ever ask for a copy of your GEDCOM file? Look in your “Sent” box and open the email and download the files. Voila! You’re back in business. Other places you may have put photos are sites like Facebook or Flickr. You should also consider contacting family, friends, and relatives; they might have some of the same photos. They might even have important photos you didn’t know existed.

Did technology pass you by, and now the only copy of your journal is on a 3.5-inch floppy disk? Ask around to see who might still have such a disk drive lying around, or you might try a local computer shop or Family History Center. I was able to check out a 3.5-inch disk drive at the Family History Library that plugs straight into a USB port.
For older formats, if you can’t find a machine that will read it, you might try inquiring at a university or college’s computer science department to see if they have some way to recover your files.

Do you have a file that won’t open anymore? With my grandparents’ files, I discovered that they simply needed a modern Word file extension in order to be recognized. In other cases, it may be that your file format is obsolete. If your favorite program won’t recognize the file because it’s in an old format, consider trying to use an open-source alternative; open-source programs often support a wide variety of file types, even older ones.

Did your hard drive crash? It’s expensive, but services exist which may be able to recover at least some of your data. Check at computer repair shops to see if they offer data recovery services.

While they aren’t digital records, old media such as 8mm videos and audio tapes can suffer similar fates. Fortunately, there are services available to transfer videos and recordings to DVDs and CDs. But what if your film or tape seems damaged beyond repair? Even if your local video transfer service can’t help you, don’t just throw it away. You never know; someday a technology will be developed which will be able to recover your recording. If they can recover faded writing on ancient papyrus, why not your old home movies?