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I have located magnetic 1 inch tapes created in the mid 1980s on a Honeywell 96 tape recorder. &nbsp;What is the likelihood that these are still readable. &nbsp;Does anyone have an estimate on the life span of these tapes.<br />
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Thanks
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I have located magnetic 1 inch tapes created in the mid 1980s on a Honeywell 96 tape recorder.  What is the likelihood that these are still readable.  Does anyone have an estimate on the life span of these tapes.

Thanks

Old storage tapes

Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media used to retain digital data. In addition to local storage devices like CD and DVD readers, hard drives and flash drives, solid state drives can hold enormous amounts of data in a very small device. Cloud services and other new forms of remote storage also add to the capacity of devices and their ability to access more data without building additional data storage into a device.

Storage

The term "Backup" means the methods and processes involved to copy computer data (system data as well as application data) to media other than the ones where the data originally live (disk, tape, optical, cloud). "Restore" in turn means the methods and processes involved in data recovery, i. e., bringing back copied computer data to their original location. Backup/Restore primarily serves as a means of protection against data loss, be it due to disaster, corruption or sabotage. It can also be used for recovering data from an earlier point in time and even for cloning machines or applications. There is a wide variety of backup/restore software available, from expensive commercial products to free or open source tools.