I’ve noticed many EDC’s pictured here include a 128 MB USB drive on the key ring. Given how many magnetic fields we’re exposed to anymore, does anybody worry about their data being lost? I’m too cheap and distrustful to pay for remote server backup, but I’m considering different ways to back up my personal data in case of home disasters that would destroy my computer and peripherals. My prejudice is to back up to CD’s and store them in the safe deposit box, with relatives, and with my bug-out stuff. As far as I know, CD-ROM’s are not subject to corruption by strong magnetic fields like I assume the USB drives are.

How do people use or like the little USB drives? I saw a Victorinox SAK packaged with one at Target last night, which is what prompted my question.

The question is why do you think USB drives would be corrupted by magnetci fields. They are not magnetic media, they are flash rom (EEPROM). Flash roms are the kind of thing you put the software on for a satalite or spacecraft where your getting exposed to much more radiation than here on earth.
I use multiple forms since each has advantages and disadvantages.
My flash drive I keep my calendar and address book on and it it automatically backed up each time I plug it in via a simple hotplug script. Those two files are my absolute most important to me so the flash drive is the third form of backup. I backup those files and all my other data to CD's at regular intervals and do a quick dump of everything to an external hdd in between. This way I'm covered for differnt kinds of failures of backup systems.

Thanks, I didn't know and thought they were magnetic - hence the question. I had a vague recollection of someone telling me flash drives were a magnetic medium.

You can get quite a bit more storage than 128 Mb for cheap. I think I just paid something around $17 for 256 Mb. Still a small-ish amount by todays standards, but fine for my son who needed it for homework assignments from school. I've personally never experienced any data loss or corruption off of any of these USB thumbdrives. Pretty cool and reliable gadgets in my opinion.

512M and 1G are starting to show up for $50 or less now. I have a 128M Lexar Jumpdrive and it died on my a month or so ago and was still just within the 2 year warranty. I sent it back to Lexar who then sent me an e-mail stating I could reply back that if data recovery was not necessary I could get my warranty replacement returned to me quicker. Since it was a backup of a backup I electec to not bother with their recovery, but it was interesting that they even ofered it which is abnormal for data storage devices. So even though I paid a bit more for the brand name (well that was all the store had a couple years ago) if data recovery service is included it makes me feel a bit better about using it. I may just buy a 1G here soon, thats more than a CD.

It would be great if someone would post the advantages and disadvantages of the different media.

Here's a readable description from Wikipedia.

There have been previous threads that sort of cover what you want. Not exactly though.

Backups: Make 'em often, Make multiple copies and spread 'em out.

Eugene--mind elaborating on what you meant by "died on you"? You're the first person I know who has had a USB drive fail on them, so I'm curious to know what happened.

I imagine that there are different types of failures. Some may prevent you from accessing the memory, but the data itself is still safe. In other cases, the data becomes corrupted somehow.

If you go with backups to CD's, don't forget to physically protect them. A hard case, like those cheap plastic ones, will help protect them against scratches. Scratches to the "bottom" surface are not as critical as scratches to the "top" surface, which could damage the shiny coating that your data is actually stored in because the plastic is (usually) thinner on the top surface, particularly with cheaper brands.

For long term archiving, it's best to avoid writing on the CD's, but if you do, don't use permanent markers like Sharpies, which contain chemicals that may damage the plastic over time. You can buy markers made for writing on CD's.

CD's could also be damaged by heat, so even in a safe deposit box, fire could still damage the CD's. If you keep a set at home, then use a fire safe designed for computer media. Paper burns at a much higher temperature than is safe for things like diskettes, so not all fire safes are created equal.

It must have been something in the USB interface as it wasn't detectable by any system I plugged it into.

USB Flash: Fairly robust and small size. Small capacity, High cost/MB
Removable Magentic Media such as Floppy, LS120, Zip, Jazz: Small capacity, unreliable, many differeing and propritary formats.
Spare Hdd: Fast, Easy, Good Cost/MB. Vulnerable to drop (removable or external) or virus, OS error/corruption.
CD/DVD-R: Decent capacity, low cost/MB. Vulnerable to scratches, melting.
Tape: Low cost/MB, good capacity, Slow and drives are $.
Internet service, gmail drive, etc: Good cost/MB sometimes free, slow, potentially unrelaible (most list they are not resposible for data loss), possible privacy issues.
There are many more.
Basically don't rely on just one. I have my most important files in a flash drive that stays in my wallet with my house key so I have to take it with me, then CD's with documents backed up and then an external HDD for quick dumps of the whole hole folder, though I need to get another drive, I've grown over 20G of data (the 20G drive that came with my laptop I put in a $12 external case when I put the 60G drive in my laptop). Also have a few pictures on my website so that makes 4 methods for me.

I use a Memorex 1gb USB drive. I back all my important stuff as well as work, and personal odds and ends. I have carried on my neck, keychain, bottom of a book bag and it keeps on ticking.......i think they are worth every penny they cost........rugged , plenty-o-storage, and reasonable price.........the best way to go for "simple" data backup for your EDC, or B.O.B.

Man, I thought I got a sweet deal through my grad school at $27 for 256 Mb...then again, Best Buy was selling the same stick for $45 so... <img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Is that a PDA you're talking about?

I use a PDA all the time, and if there were a way to easily sync that info to a flash drive... hmm

I read recently that it's a good idea to have at least three copies of your work. Some suggestions were the hard drive, CD, Zip or Jazz drive, flash drive and hard copy.

If you wanted to have multiple methods, you could get mini CD-RW's (if the 128Mb will hold what you need backed up) and then you could use the same mini RW to back up things time and again, and they are a lot smaller to carry than standard CDs.

Thumbdrives are nigh on indestructable and almost impossible to loose data on. That being said, a transient EM signal or static shock on the pins could toast your data. That can be prevented by using the cap. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I like a bigger cap, like the SanDisk MiniCruizers have. I usually put a wrap of electricians tape around the body to make it VERY snug, and go with it. MAYBE an xray machine could do it, a medical xray probably would.

CDs are cheaper in terms of MB/$, and are almost impossible to scramble in term of loosing thier data. Sure, a big enough EM signal could do it, as anyone who has ever microwaved an AOL CD can tell you, but pulses that big are pretty hard to find unless you are right under a really big radio antenna or in a microwave. And the former is unlikely; if you are in the latter, you have other problems.

If you want really stable long term, go hard copy with archival inks on rag paper, hermetically sealed in a nitrogen atmosphere. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

FOr what you are talking about, I'd say use mini-CDs. They hold 185 or 210MB, depending on the brand and style you get, and the fit in the little, inner ring area of you CD drive. Use universal formats for your documents, and any machine that SHOULD be running can read them. They also take up no room in your BOB.

For the stuff you send away, regualr CDs are much better buy.

But for day to day, USB-based flash memory trumps all the others.

Steadler alcohal pens. Staples has them, Office Max should ahve them to. They come in a clamshell that has a black, red, green and blue. Pricey, but they are all I use on my CD archives and DVDs.

You see the same pens being sold at Brigade Quartermaster and (IIRC) Ranger Joes for writing on acetated maps.

No, its a regular old USB flash drive. Every USB device has a vendor and product ID (sort of like the mac address in a network card). Any of your open source OS's have a simple table where you put in the device id and a script to call, so I just looked up what my drive reported and plugged in a simply script that copies the files to it every time I plug it in. That was my most important backup is automated completely.

I use those mini cd's a lot. They are handy because you can still get 3.5" floppy cases for next to nothing now. Pages to hold them in a notebook or day planner, small hard or soft cases for singles, etc.
Avoid zip and anything else by Iomega as much as you can, I've seen way too many people get burned by them.

USB flash will go through Xrays just fine.
CD's don't get damaged due to the EM in a microwave, they get damages because the shiny layer will conduct and then arcs and sparcs. You can see the same effect with tinfoil.

anything I'm going to keep I print a label and stick it on. I figure that gives it an extra layer of protection too, but don't ever try to remove a label from one <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I have read that the adhesive used by regular labels (like for envelopes and manila folders) can eat through the thin plastic tops of cheaper CD's and damaged the shiny layer over time, similar to the damage of using regular permanent markers.

A label can also unbalance the CD when it spins. I've heard CD's with labels that didn't "sound right" spinning in the drive, although I did get the data off just fine.

In addition to ironraven's suggestion, I have a set of Imation alcohol pens made for writing on CD's. It comes in a set of red, blue, and green pens. I think it was from CompUSA and cheap.

USB Flash drives are fantastic little devices.
But as with everything you can and do get problems.
So far I have had the plastic break that held my 128Mb drive to the keyring. I have bent my 256Mb drive in half. and at work I have had a 256Mb drive die and not be recognised in any computer.
I was one of the tech's that supported a 600+ computer educational network, and I have seen quite a few problems there. Mostly it is users who dont use the Windows "Unplug or Eject Hardware" and just pull them out. This can corrupt data, loose files or corrupt the format on the drive. Sometimes you can reformat them and they will work again, sometimes bin them.
There are some brands I will not use now because of the problems I've seen with them, but I have found the majority to be very reliable.
I carry a 512Mb drive all the time, and I would highly recomend them.

But as always dont rely on only one backup. Add them with CD's or another form of backup.

Ouch! As a bit of a computer geek, that's painful. It's like saying, "My dentist doesn't prepare his patients for tooth extraction. Mostly he just pulls them out." <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, pulling out your USB without ejecting--big no-no. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

PS After a quick shower, I realized there are two meanings to my joke--dentist doesn't give anasthetic, or dentist doesn't give patient any notification that he's going to pull a tooth. Both are painful. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, you are getting an induction effect from the microwaves. Same principle as powering an electic fence by dropping a coil of wire under a high tension line. Technically it is an electromagnetic effect.

Sharpie has recently come out with a version for CD/DVD use. They are the double end fine/ultra fine version.

I went into the local Best Buy a while back all set to buy a spindle that had 50 mini CD-R's. Then I came to realize that they didn't sell cases for them! The guy I asked said that I could put them in a regular cd case, and I said, "Yes, but that defeats the purpose of a smaller storage space!"

My data backup:

2 #2 pencils, erasers, scrap paper if I can find it, pocket knife to sharpen, and 10 (hopefully 10 after the sharpening) fingers to count on. I can make it to 20 with minor difficulty, and over that, I'll be arrested.

Peanut

When I was reading a computer magazine at the dentist this weekend, I ran across another option for a USB flash drive. Edge makes the DiskGO! line of storage products, including a USB wrist watch. Available in 256, 512 mb, and 1Gb capacities. The 1Gb is only $79. Check it out here .

It has a little USB dongle that stores flush with the band when not in use. When you need it, pull out the dongle and hook it up to your computer's USB port. It appears as a removable drive. And the whole thing is water resistant to 100m to boot.

The main drawback for me is that it uses USB 1.1, which is signficantly slower than USB 2.0, so if you're routinely transferring large amounts of data over, it could take a while. However, if you're just storing infrequently changing files for an emergency, speed is not a big issue.

Other than that, seems like a great EDC option for data storage. Kind of James Bond-ish, actually. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />