As several of the commenters pointed out there is a big difference between a media safe and a fireproof safe. The SentrySafe.com web site has a good article on Underwriters Lab (UL) Fire Testing certifications. A fireproof safe is designed to protect documents by not letting the internal temperature of the safe rise aove 350° F. The temperature at which paper chars is around 400° F. The UL endurance test subjects the safe to a temperature of 1550° F for a period of time: 1/2 hour, 1 hour, or 2 hours. Then the fireproof safe gets a UL rating based on its ability to maintain a temperature below 350° for one of those time periods. The safe I purchased was rated for 30 minutes at 1200 ° F while maintaining an internal temperature of 350° or less.

In hindsight, I probably should have purchased a more expensive safe with a higher rating (more time at 350° F). I needed a fireproof safe that was large (for heat dispensation of the hard disk) and included a built in power strip for the Powerline network. Few fireproof safes I could afford met these criteria.

To find out what would work and would be cost effective, I researched the typical house fire and found that few house fires maintain a temperature of 1200° F. Also, placement of the safe is critical to the duration and intensity of heat its exposed to. In my situation, the safe is on the first floor next to an exterior wall with a crawl space underneath. My rationale is that the safe would not be exposed to intense heat for a long period of time.

In terms of media storage, I have purchased a media safe that goes inside my fireproof safe for my negatives. Negatives (slide and film) need to be stored at a temperature below 125° F with less than 80% humidity. Unfortunately, most media storage safes are small so you need to choose your negatives carefully.

Operating Temperature of Hard Disks

The operation of a hard disk generates heat. The hard drive I used includes two small fans to transfer heat from inside the case to the external environment. However, this hard drive is enclosed in a 23 cubic foot safe. Won't the hard disk overheat? The answer is no if you open the door every couple of weeks. The safe I purchased included a dehumidifier rod which is used to remove humidity in the safe. I merely substituted the hard disk for the dehumidifier rod to reduce humidity in the safe. I also own a Wireless Temperature Monitor from Brookstone. I measured the temperature inside the safe for a month and it never went above 75 degrees. The movement of the air within the 23 cubic feet of space within the safe is enough to dissipate the heat.

Scheduling File Replication Several of the commenters recommended Karen's Replicator. Karen's Replicator is a Visual Basic application that makes it easy to setup, schedule, run, and report on file copy operations. I looked at the web site but didn't have time to download it myself. I'm working with Alex (here at Pure Networks) on a PowerToy for Network Magic to automate home network backup. We expect to post it sometime next week to the PowerToy web site.

My General Lack of Intelligence

I'm not a rocket scientist but I have a passion for making home networks work for the average guy/gal. My background is that I'm the founder and CTO of Pure Networks. Before Pure Networks, I spent 10 years at Microsoft in a variety of roles. The most recent of which was the development manager for Microsoft.com and MSN.com. While I know a lot about home networking, I also know that I have a lot to learn. Keep the comments coming!