Can't Erase Tapes
Besides being bulky and temperamental, VHS tapes also don't store data once its recorded over, and therefore it can't be recovered. How to Recover Information From VHS Tapes Recorded Over Video recovery of a recorded-over VHS tape is not feasible, so don't get too fixated on recovering that old footage. The drive can't write that slow. Tape drives have a minimum speed, so they write at that speed, then stop, rewind, then start again, stop, rewind, and so on. Because of the tapes' magnetic nature, powerful magnets can profoundly distort the data on them, or sometimes even erase them. Even your standard ceramic (refrigerator) magnet is powerful enough to damage the tape, if left in direct exposure.
How to Recover Information From VHS Tapes Recorded Over Video recovery of a recorded-over VHS tape is not feasible, so don't get too fixated on recovering that old footage. For a variety of technical reasons, VHS tapes aren't able to store video data once its been recorded over, in fact when a VHS tape records over something it erases the footage that previously occupied the tape. If something was recorded over on a tape that you really think you can't live without you can try consulting a professional service that specializes in video tape repair, recovery and restoration, however the chances that much of the recorded over material can be salvaged is very slim and the process is usually rather pricey, so be prepared to pony up some serious cash.
Transfer all your VHS recordings to backup tapes, or better yet transfer them to a digital format. By doing this you will not only avoid the embarrassing and painful possibility of recording over them, but you will preserve the video at its current quality. Anyone who has watched an old VHS knows that over time VHS recordings lose their quality. Although transferring video from VHS can be a time consuming process, if you care about the content of the video it's also a worthwhile one. Tapes that are old, damaged or not working for some other reason such as the presence of mold or dust can often be salvaged. Whatever you do, don't try to play a VHS that is not in good condition, as this could worsen the situation. The best thing to do is contact your local video repair service and have them look at the tapes.
Since damaged and dated VHS tapes are common these days the procedure is relatively common and shouldn't put you out too much.
Can't Erase Tapes Youtube
A week after a terrorist attack obliterated their offices, tenants of the World Trade Center are slowly piecing their businesses back together again. In addition to the horrific human toll -– thousands of WTC employees are missing and assumed dead –- companies that were housed in the towers are facing computer equipment losses to the tune of $500 million, according to financial services firm. But one asset most tenants avoided losing on Sept. 11 was electronic data. They had learned a valuable lesson after the 1993 WTC bombing: Back up information often and completely.
Can Magnets Erase Video Tapes
That attack, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000, spurred companies to prepare for possible future disasters by investing in data storage and recovery services to protect reams of electronic information that they produced on a daily basis. A report by Morgan Stanley's technology team characterized the WTC as 'probably one of the best-prepared office facilities from a systems and data recovery perspective,' because tenants had learned to back up systems following the 1993 attack. Most companies use one of two methods to back up their computer systems. Smaller companies tend toward the cheaper option of manually downloading data onto magnetic tapes, while larger companies rely on 'hot backups,' a service that can cost companies tens of thousands of dollars a month. The latter option simultaneously copies all electronic data entered into the company's system onto an offsite computer over high-speed lines. When disaster strikes, hot backups allow companies to tap into a live system with little or no interruption.
Can't Erase Tapestry
Backup tapes don't have the same advantages; it takes at least 24 hours to extricate the information from magnetic tapes and transfer it onto a new system, said David Johnson, vice president of Data Center Services for, a Houston-based data storage and recovery firm. If you back up your system once every seven days -– say, every Friday night – and a disaster occurs Friday morning, you've lost a week's worth of work.
Also, if a company stores backup tapes onsite and their offices are wiped out, they're at a total loss, he said. 'A lot of companies are just now realizing the potential of losing IT infrastructure and what it will do to them,' said Johnson.
When Houston, Texas, was brought to a standstill by floods last June, some companies using tapes for data storage lost significant amounts of information, but companies using disk-mirroring service did not, he said. Many companies in the WTC switched to hot backups after the 1993 attack, according to, a data management system located in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. EMC had 25 clients located in the twin towers. After the first plane slammed into Tower One, EMC was alerted that something was wrong when their clients' computers 'phoned home,' said company spokeswoman Anne Pace. A recovery service with seven WTC clients, started calling clients seven minutes after the attack, said company spokesman Dave Palermo. Sungard's CEO was listening to a traffic report on the radio when he heard of the attack and alerted his employees. (Three Sungard workers from other divisions were visiting clients in the WTC that morning and are presumed dead, he added.) 'It was an all-hands-on-deck experience,' he said.
'Our core function is to get their information back up and usable.' They were able to provide office space and equipment to their clients within hours of the attack, he said. Although Sungard's clients relied on tapes for data storage, they didn't lose much information because the attack happened early Tuesday morning, and the company could rebuild systems using tapes that were sent to storage on Monday evening. In the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd, Sungard deployed a fleet of 18-wheelers equipped with workstations and communications lines to provide temporary office space to their clients. One of them was a bank that used the semi as a branch office, he said., a data recovery and storage business, mirrors 80 of information for seven customers who were housed in the WTC. The company bought more than 3,000 personal computers to support their clients who lost equipment in the attack.
Comdisco faced the Herculean task of relocating the New York Board of Trade, which had been at Four World Trade Center, to a temporary office. As of Monday, 150 trade center employees were working out of Comdisco's recovery center in Queens. 'We created a smaller version of the trading pit, with the appropriate trading desks, said Alan Graham, president of the company's Web services division. 'We got people trading in coffee, sugar and cocoa at our offices.'