I think you're wasting your time burning dvds. They're physically unstable, slow, bulky, and prone to failure when inserted into a drive. I just took a quick look on New Egg. A 128 gig Patriot thumb drive (a decent brand) is $48. You can have your pick of 500 gig USB drives (Toshiba, Seagate or WD) for under $60. Get one of one, one of the other, and know that you have plenty of capacity and security for many years into the future. You want another free backup copy? Maybe you've already done this, but if you have more than one PC in the house, put a copy of your stuff on the other one's hard drive. Most people have unused space on their hard drives. Edit to add PS: If you want to join the ranks of the backup paranoid (like me), never have more than one back up copy plugged in or actively being used at the same time. One power surge could take out all copies of the entire collection. Where I live, we almost never have lightning and few real power surges. Still, I don't take any chances. This post was edited by snidely on Fri, Feb 14, 14 at 20:30

Thanks, all! These letter-sized prints cost me only $1.50 apiece. This is why I wait for sales. The quality is better than anything you could get at CVS or Walmart. I've had good experiences with Adoramapix.com, too. Their regular prices tend to be lower than Mpix, but I haven't noticed as many sales.

Here is the little bit of knowledge I have about storing photos. Use non-acid paper available in scrap book stores, photo stores, and hobby stores. Never use plastic that contains PVC. Oddly, I've heard sandwich bags are ok. However, its best to use acid free paper which does not collect moisture like plastic can. And do keep in a low moisture area that is not subject to very high or very low temperatures. For precious photos, put an archival quality paper between each photo. Store in acid free cardboard boxes. Be sure and write the names of the photographed people on the backs of each photo. Google storing or protecting photos for a lot more info. Supplies probably available on line.

I always find folks laughing when the companies toot about guarantees for 100 years! Whenever my friend, my upline when I was a CM consultant, tells about the long guarantee, there is always someone in the crowd that comments how none of us will be around 100 years from now to know it the researchers were right. That is so true. I guess we just have to trust the researchers. That is why I stick with the reputable companies like CM, Mrs. Grossman, the big names. They have a lot invested in having a good product. Sometimes I see an odd brand sticker but I pass cause I just don't know if it is any good.