SSD, HDD, DVD, Flash Card or Magnetic Tape: Which media will hold data for more time with less $? [closed]

Question

Possible Duplicate:
What lasts longer: Data stored on non-volatile flash RAM, optical media, or magnetic disk?

I have a lot of really important information stored on an external hard disk (old photos, movies and documents). I was wondering if I could just keep them on this drive or if I must copy it to a DVD, SSD, Flash Card or Magnetic Tape to keep this data stored and secured for at least the next 5 years.

Does anybody know what the average idle life-time of each one of them is?

I have some DVDs that had problems with humidity and one Flash card that had problems idling for two years. Do SSDs and HDDs have similar problems?

I am actually thinking about the cheapest method that could safely store data for a long time period.

Answer 1

Cheap / Reliable / Large

You only get two.

The best long-term storage medium is tape. That said, you may not have enough data to justify the cost.

What you should do is make multiple copies. Will it all fit on a DVD? Burn it to a DVD and copy it to an offline hard drive. And put it on a flash drive for good measure.

Since it's important data you should be treating it as such. And in the case of media such as SSD, flash and HDDs, try to keep them offline when you don't need it. It'll prolong the life.

Also consider using an online backup service to store the data for you. There's cheap options out there (Backblaze).

Answer 2

I second MikeyB, you have to choose between large, reliable, and cheap. Backup tape is about $100 a cartridge, and that's assuming you already paid a couple grand for a drive. Not worth it it for the average home user.

Keep two copies in different media, e.g. one on DVD, one on and HDD. If you need to access the data regularly, make a third copy for everyday use. Keep the HDD offline and the DVDs in sleeves and in a cool, dry place.