Originally Posted By: Alex

By the way, keep in mind, that any solid state flash cards/drives (SSD) cannot be stored forever as DVD disks (the later also depend on storage environment a lot, though). It is crucial to have them powered at least twice a year, and rewrite with the data every 2 years, otherwise the stored data may start deteriorating. Also, it is better to use fresh (brand new) cards for long term storage, as with every rewrite cycle the data retention time will be reduced. In that regard ordinary hard drives might look more attractive as they seem to keep data much longer, however, for hard drives, there are three main factors affecting their data retention time: magnetic field breakdown, bad environmental conditions, and mechanical failures. So, it is recommended to rewrite long term storage hard drives (which are sitting on the shelf, not powered) every 2 years as well, including a mandatory low level reformatting procedure.


I've been doing some poking around concerning memory stability vs environmental stresses. Flash memory cards are near indestructible, but the data will start to degrade sooner. They're really ideally suited for transporting, not long term storage, of data. I feel that duplicate flash memory cards are the best solution for scenarios where rough handling is expected, but data only has to be stable for a few months. If you've got the money, an IronKey D250 ($100-$600 ea) is a heck of a way to transport data.

HDD and DVD+/-R seem to be the big ones when it comes to not loosing data. HDD can tolerate slightly higher long term storage temperatures then DVD's, but obviously don't tolerate getting dropped as well as the ligher discs. JVC rates their archival DVDs at -20C to 50C for long term storage and -40C to 60C for <2 weeks, and WD rates their Elements external drive at -20C to 50C. Sandisk rates their SSD internal drives at 0C to 70C.
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