Do you guys keep your iso files after installing a game?

[Spkilla]

So like the title says, do you guys keep your iso files after you install a game, or do you delete it?

I need some input, as i'm worried i wont be able to find a working download of a bunch of games in my collection if i decide to migrate to a new computer and am pondering should whether or not i should delete the isos/installation files.

Or is there a way to migrate games that need to be installed without reinstalling them?

Also wondering if how uploaders here with huge collections keep all those rars on their pc? tons of hard drives ? or do they even play the games they upload?

 

[Keitaro Urashima]

I keep it, even original one that I bought.

 

[|♚|KK|♚|]

I delete it after installing the game on my PC.

 

[pingtoryan]

There are games that could be directly copy-pasted into another machine and works and those that requires proper installation...moving the latter without reinstalling them needs you to know how it works, however, as you need to replicate the condition which makes the game work manually...which involves fiddling with registry, if not even more.

...and I keep my ISO files in backups...never know if anything would happen...and I prefer having my games installed properly. Download links don't last forever, so you are better off keeping them on hand.

 

[Spkilla]

Guess i should start redownload 2 tbs worth of isos lol...and order a couple more 4tb drives thanks

 

[moemoe-kyun]

I don't keep the iso but i keep the original archive :P. The reason is sometime there is useful information in the original archive.

My way for backup is HDDs. I don't trust online storage. They can disappear one day and all the collections will be gone. Beside, some services may be good but the price isn't cheap at all...

But the HDDs have its cons: The data may be corrupted because of bad sector... You may want to buy new HDD. I don't mean the old HDD can't be fixed but keeping data in that HDD isn't safe either. And moving data is nightmare... It's good if there is none error. But if there is/are... it's another story :D.

 

[pingtoryan]

Already lost one HDD...but that's life...

Getting them all down to DVD takes forever, and even that isn't too safe...

 

[moemoe-kyun]

DVD's life time is shorter than HDD. Right?

 

[HatoriTakaya]

DVD's life time is shorter than HDD. Right?

HDD lifetime is based on it's condition, the amount of writes and reads and how you take care of it. With that said, it's cheaper than DVDs in the long run.

On the other hand, DVD's can be easily have its life span shorten with a scratch or accidentally breaking it in half (dropping the HDD replicates similar issues if done frequently).

So if you're going to constantly access it, go for HDD. Especially if your system can handle 5 HDD or more. And even then, you can store your HDD in a safe, dry area with the factory sealed bag or HDD cover cases to get back to it.

 

[FlowerTradeWinds]

Or purchase a archive FTP account from us with games, CG, doujin, etc from the past 20 years. (~50TB assorted)

It is pretty stupid to try to re-download several TBs of files again
1. You won't know if the game is working or not, unless you test every one of them
2. You won't know if you downloaded the latest (available) version or an older one, or if it has been mislabeled
3. Are you going to spend the time renaming or organizing your downloaded files?
4. Are you actually going to play those games?
5. Do you have redundancy or backup for your harddrive/DVD/Blu-ray discs?
6. Can you keep track of what you have already downloaded?
7. What are you going to do with the files out there polluted with Advertisement and/or Password?

Consider all the trouble, you may as well purchase from DLSite/DMM whenever you want a game, it will be cheaper than all the time and equipment you put in

 

[pumasrevenge]

After downloading the iso file and installing the game, I remove the iso file to one of my three external HDD.

Then after playing the game I either delete the iso file from my external HDD or in a few cases I don't delete them if the game was something special for me. In the end I downloader over hundreds of games already but from only seven I still have the iso.

My preferred method to store my files are still HDD's. For small files I use filehosters as well, but since my upload speed is limited to 120 kb/s I can't imagine uploading whole games at the moment.

 

[Gururururu]

Usually delete all the iso files after playing the game for a while. For some older/rare games I upload it or keep it in my HDD.

 

[Vice]

Yeah i do i keep it in my external HDD or i make a folder named "download games".
Even though i have hundreds of games><

 

[Hawky]

When I download games I keep the iso files, as because if I were to uninstall that game at some point and then being interested to re-play it, then it would be difficult to find the game again as games downloaded are now hard to come by unless there is one site who has it up all the time but that is rare. I have an external HDD to keep my ISO files for all my stuff downloaded, and I also sort out all the ones I have if I wanna keep them or not, depending how good or bad they are.

 

[ariaXholmes]

Yup i Keep Mine in my external Hdd when the time i need it too play again i'll just reinstall it again, but mostly i forgot where did i put it then gonna re download it again ^^

 

[demonicslayer]

I kept all the ISOs unless I am lacking of space and the game is branded as failure or I wont bother to play the game again...

 

[ivory7777]

if i like the game i keep the iso file on a external HDD.

 

[fathanalentez]

nope , i always deleted it after i instal it

 

[NvivN]

since i have a slow internet and storage is cheap I keep their ISOs around.
nothing is more frustrating that wanting to re play a game you once had and finding out their torrent no longer have active seeds or their source is gone.

 

[progste]

I keep them if I like the game, especially if it's not an official copy because you never know if it will become difficult or impossible to find some time in the future.
Then again when i really like something i buy it if i can

 

[rockleevk]

So like the title says, do you guys keep your iso files after you install a game, or do you delete it?

I need some input, as i'm worried i wont be able to find a working download of a bunch of games in my collection if i decide to migrate to a new computer and am pondering should whether or not i should delete the isos/installation files.

Or is there a way to migrate games that need to be installed without reinstalling them?

Also wondering if how uploaders here with huge collections keep all those rars on their pc? tons of hard drives ? or do they even play the games they upload?

I Always keep them on my HDDs, and yeah, tons of HDDs are needed for that as well. I play what I can with my free time, wish I had more to play more of it but at least I try to keep my backlog nice and tidy.

-rockleevk

 

[kucing_miaw]

So like the title says, do you guys keep your iso files after you install a game, or do you delete it?

I need some input, as i'm worried i wont be able to find a working download of a bunch of games in my collection if i decide to migrate to a new computer and am pondering should whether or not i should delete the isos/installation files.

Or is there a way to migrate games that need to be installed without reinstalling them?

Also wondering if how uploaders here with huge collections keep all those rars on their pc? tons of hard drives ? or do they even play the games they upload?

I keep it on my ext. hdd. I know it will need a lot of HDDs, but I prefer it because who knows? maybe sometimes, in the future I need it. But now, I'm also considering keeping it in the cloud, because it's easier like that (if your subscription ended it will be read-only). I also make a database of game names that I have downloaded and create a structured folder so that makes me easier locate and (maybe) redownload it.

 

[rockleevk]

I keep it on my ext. hdd. I know it will need a lot of HDDs, but I prefer it because who knows? maybe sometimes, in the future I need it. But now, I'm also considering keeping it in the cloud, because it's easier like that (if your subscription ended it will be read-only). I also make a database of game names that I have downloaded and create a structured folder so that makes me easier locate and (maybe) redownload it.

I agree on the last sentence, always trying to keep up a folder structure where to locate them (pretty hard when you're seeding torrents, takes time to have everything in its place with multiple HDDs, I mean).
So that's why I bought a NAS (up to 32TB space) where to store what has been tested and where I keep it as clean as posible, while I'm still sorting other files on my PCs/laptops.

-rockleevk

 

[FlowerTradeWinds]

100TB is nothing hard if you know some programming and have experience with dealing with those files...
Sadly very few people release stuff with archiving in mind...

"As clean as possible" sadly means nothing nowadays since there is no clean source for many files, doujin CG is particularly bad in this regards.

32TB should be enough until 2020. Just make sure you make backups because files get damaged even with RAID-5 or RAID-6.

 

[rockleevk]

100TB is nothing hard if you know some programming and have experience with dealing with those files...
Sadly very few people release stuff with archiving in mind...

"As clean as possible" sadly means nothing nowadays since there is no clean source for many files, doujin CG is particularly bad in this regards.

32TB should be enough until 2020. Just make sure you make backups because files get damaged even with RAID-5 or RAID-6.

By 2020 I'll be surrounded with more boxes or I'll even install a rack in my room, haha.
I think...

-rockleevk