Should I keep these?

[thisdude]

I'm currently in a backup project and I've got ALOT of old software. But should I even make ISO backups of theses old software? I've got old versions of Visual Studio, every Office back to 98, every Windows os back to 98 SE.

Have any of ya'll come across a situation where you needed an old, OLD, version of these software? To help someone or you personally needed it?

Space to back these up isn't a problem. It's just the time. For example Visual Studio Pro 6 is 5 DVDs. It's going to take a long time to rip copies of everything.

I attached a picture of a few of the things I have, to bring back memories of the old school geeks around here, lol.

[Charisma Veteran]

I don't know if you need to, but I think I would just for fun! And because you never know. And because hoarding is less likely to get you on a reality show if it's in digital format...

Check and see if all the ones you have are available on oldversion.com. If they are, just save any pertinent license keys. I'd probably only make it a point to save any that aren't on that site.

 

Or even just download the installers from there rather than trying to rip from the physical media you have, and still end up with a digital archive of all your old software already in your possession.

[T3X4S]

Well, one way you can look @ it is this:

Only backup the ISOs if:
You wouldnt be able to download the ISO should you throw it away, then need it in the future.
You have plenty of space to hold what might be worthless ISOs
You think you might need legacy software for a project

You should keep it if:
Software is less than 7-10 years old.  OR, was on a machine, or used in a project withing last 7-10 years. (keeping it for some strange audit where you need to provide old licensing)

You should not keep them if:

You have plenty of :
1.) Storage
2.) Time (to do all the saving as ISO)

Some of those (win98) are so stupidly old they should have been tossed a decade ago.  Unless you are just hanging on to them for sake of nostalgia -

I would :

Take all the ones that are less than 10 years old and keep the disc & licensing if you might be audited. (if this is work related)

I would:

Make fun of you if these are your personal items (not work related) and you are seriously debating such silliness

**Since this sounds like your personal collection, I want to know where you live so I can call that show Hoarders & give them your address.**

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

Can't even imagine how much crap I have. I even have all the Windows 3.2 floppies...

[thisdude]

I have 2 of those old black CD 3 ring binders with the zippers that were so popular in the 90's for your music CDs, lol, full of PC software and PC games. They've been in my garage forever. And I'm in the process of going through and figuring out if I really need to keep any of them. Along with backup old old family photo/video DVDs, misc stuff like sonogram DVDs, random stuff the kids made at school that was put on DVD. And those 2 binders are just PC software and videogames. I have got a few others full of music CDs. And I need to decide if I should just chunk them or rip them.

 

@T3X4S I like those ideas on where to draw the line. I'm the resident IT guy for all my family and friends. So it's actually been useful to keep some software handy.

 

@Charisma I don't think the type of software I have is available online at sites like oldversion.com because it's mostly Microsoft and Macromedia (before Adobe scooped them up lol). But yeah keeping the licenses on a notepad or word doc wouldn't hurt.

 

4 minutes ago, Mindovermaster said:

Can't even imagine how much crap I have. I even have all the Windows 3.2 floppies...

Yeah all this stuff I have has been sitting in one of those big plastic bins in the garage. And I've finally gotten around to going through it.

[Compuspital]

Me personally I collect old software for the Nostalgia in me.  It takes me back to a more simpler time therefore I do not ever get rid of any of it, and I keep Collecting more.

 

[thisdude]

1 minute ago, installshield_freak said:

Me personally I collect old software for the Nostalgia in me.  It takes me back to a more simpler time therefore I do not ever get rid of any of it, and I keep Collecting more.

 

I feel ya on that man. I came across my old Microsoft Works 8.5 CD, lol. And a Duke Nukem 3D level builder cd lol. I'm seriously dating myself here.

[Compuspital]

I've been looking for Microsoft Visual Studio 5 for a while as well as VB 4 to make more of my collection complete

[thisdude]

But for me personally, I'm trying to clean things out. If I knew you man I'd just give you this entire bin and say have it lol.

[Compuspital]

I have Every version of Windows to date, I also have DOS images on cd that I downloaded years ago from Microsoft Website. on CD-R's I have the Plus! packs for Windows 98 and 95

 

If you pm me I'll send you my address, and I'll send you a few bucks for Shipment and for the software

 

[thisdude]

lol I came across several Plus! cds too.

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

In the days before broadband, I would assemble a collection of the latest installers for programs a few times a year. Will I ever need old ICQ and RealPlayer installers? Hell no. I don't even have an optical drive. I still like having them, though. CDs don't take up much space.

[thisdude]

ICQ was awesome back in the day!

[Rigby]

I've kept every CD for every piece of hardware I've ever bought. Every motherboard, video card, printer, modem, etc. They are all in a big 100 pack spindle and go back to the late 90s. I don't know why I keep them, it's just something I do. It is fun to go through them sometimes though. "ASUS P3B-F? I remember that!"

 

I still have all of my Windows CDs too going back to NT 3.51, some OS/2 CDs, and my original 5.25" floppy disks for Windows 3.0.

[T3X4S]

1 hour ago, Mindovermaster said:

Can't even imagine how much crap I have. I even have all the Windows 3.2 floppies...

Why  though ?
Nostalgia ?  They are floppy disks, old junk, they have no value.
You dont keep them out on the coffee table as conversation pieces
You dont need them
You arent using them

So why have them still ?
Just havent gotten around to tossing them ?  


Im a bit of a minimalist, I keep nothing around.
Any computer other than my desktop is either given away, or thrown away - I wont use it - 
(just gave away a computer to a fellow neowinian last week.)  It wasnt working - so I dont need it
He paid the shipping, now its his - boom, gone.

I know everyone is different, but I just want to understand why people keep things around they dont use.

Are you planning on getting rid of all the old stuff ?

(not trying to be a nosey jerk, just trying to understand)

4 minutes ago, Rigby said:

I've kept every CD for every piece of hardware I've ever bought. Every motherboard, video card, printer, modem, etc. They are all in a big 100 pack spindle and go back to the late 90s. I don't know why I keep them, it's just something I do. It is fun to go through them sometimes though. "ASUS P3B-F? I remember that!"

 

I still have all of my Windows CDs too going back to NT 3.51, some OS/2 CDs, and my original 5.25" floppy disks for Windows 3.0.

I just threw up in my mouth

 

[+Zagadka Subscriber²]

I guess it is kinda like keeping old pictures. Reminders of times. Mainly, some people are just mentally wired to horde, from minor things like keeping old disks or letters to more serious conditions. I tend to even keep birthday cards.

 

I also keep mine because I piggybacked e-mail databases on those disks.

[thisdude]

2 minutes ago, T3X4S said:

Why  though ?
Nostalgia ?  They are floppy disks, old junk, they have no value.
You dont keep them out on the coffee table as conversation pieces
You dont need them
You arent using them

So why have them still ?
Just havent gotten around to tossing them ?  


Im a bit of a minimalist, I keep nothing around.
Any computer other than my desktop is either given away, or thrown away - I wont use it - 
(just gave away a computer to a fellow neowinian last week.)  It wasnt working - so I dont need it
He paid the shipping, now its his - boom, gone.

I know everyone is different, but I just want to understand why people keep things around they dont use.

Are you planning on getting rid of all the old stuff ?

(not trying to be a nosey jerk, just trying to understand)

I think it's mostly nostalgia for us older geeks. If you're a bit of minimalist then you understand that if something brings value to someone then that's worth keeping, everyone is different. Minimalism isn't necessarily about just getting rid of everything.

 

 

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

 

I make an ISO of every computer CD and DVD I receive.  There's no reason not too, really.  Hard disk drive space is cheap and you never know when you might need a specific version of a driver or application.

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

 

[Compuspital]

I have been collecting Software since I was 11 years old, I am now 33 so a vast majority of my time on pc's I've learned everything that I know myself.  Nostalgia always reminds  of much simpler days when we didn't have to login to use our pc with an e-mail address.  I used to have Floppy diskettes of Dos but I now keep the .ima  files for the operating systems, because sometimes you never know who you will run into that needs an older operating system. The emissions testing facilities here in Denver still use Dos and Windows NT 3.1 for the most part. I have 3 giant binders full of software.

 

[Guest]

just download it off some other freak on the net if you need them again.

[Rigby]

6 hours ago, Zagadka said:

I tend to even keep birthday cards.

Me too, I can't imagine throwing away birthday cards. I have every card my parents ever got me from the time I was one year old on.

 

6 hours ago, T3X4S said:

I just threw up in my mouth

Overreacting just a bit aren't you?  I know some people like to be neat and minimalist but come on, it's one DVD spindle.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

7 hours ago, T3X4S said:

Just havent gotten around to tossing them ?  

That's about it. Do I need it? No. Is it nostalgia? Yeah..

 

I have:

 

Win 3.2 floppies

Win 95

Win 98

Win 98se

Win 2000

Win 7

[thisdude]

Lol cool, nice to know that I'm not the only one that has a bunch of old software on CD/DVD. I found some floppy disks of Dungeon Hack and Pool of Radiance, lol. Yeah those will definitely go into recycle.

[+Biscuits Brown MVC]

I had an old CD case full of old (back to Win 95 era) software that I finally tossed out about a month ago after trying to install some of it.  It was tough to throw out but without a system to ever reinstall to, it was just taking up space. 

[thisdude]

9 hours ago, T3X4S said:

Well, one way you can look @ it is this:

Only backup the ISOs if:
You wouldnt be able to download the ISO should you throw it away, then need it in the future.
You have plenty of space to hold what might be worthless ISOs
You think you might need legacy software for a project

You should keep it if:
Software is less than 7-10 years old.  OR, was on a machine, or used in a project withing last 7-10 years. (keeping it for some strange audit where you need to provide old licensing)

You should not keep them if:

You have plenty of :
1.) Storage
2.) Time (to do all the saving as ISO)

Some of those (win98) are so stupidly old they should have been tossed a decade ago.  Unless you are just hanging on to them for sake of nostalgia -

I would :

Take all the ones that are less than 10 years old and keep the disc & licensing if you might be audited. (if this is work related)

I would:

Make fun of you if these are your personal items (not work related) and you are seriously debating such silliness

**Since this sounds like your personal collection, I want to know where you live so I can call that show Hoarders & give them your address.**

I appreciate the suggestions but I think you're projecting about yourself at the end here.

[thisdude]

3 minutes ago, Zag L. said:

I had an old CD case full of old (back to Win 95 era) software that I finally tossed out about a month ago after trying to install some of it.  It was tough to throw out but without a system to ever reinstall to, it was just taking up space. 

Yeah that's what I'm doing right now. Project Clean Out Garage, and this plastic bin of music and PC CDs has to go. After is going through all the spare PC parts, cables, old gadgets, ugh.