Ensure your digital hardware and physical media is cared for by following our simple steps It’s a known fact that digital hardware can, and will eventually, fail and will need to be replaced. You can assume that 5 years is typically the expected lifespan of electronic devices. It’s a costly enterprise in general but can be more costly if devices aren’t appropriately looked after. Misuse could reduce their lifespan and necessitate more frequent refreshes. There are steps that can be taken to get the most out of your precious digital assets: Keep your devices and cables clean (preferably in a protective case when not in use). Make sure your devices aren’t exposed to extremes of temperature or contaminants like liquids. Keep the manuals and instructions that accompany devices. Handle physical media carefully (in spite of the hype in the 1980s that CDs were indestructible they are in fact fragile and susceptible to scratching and warping, which can compromise their contents). Keep physical media clean and preferably in protective cases, like jewel cases for CDs, when not in use. Ensure physical media, like USB drives or USB peripherals are removed (or ejected) from the device as per the manufacturer’s recommendations to avoid media and data corruption. Ensure physical media is appropriately labelled so you know what it contains. This article was published on 2024-08-21
