Ok, I scan bill stubs and stuff and record and store them on a port. HD so I don't have paper all over heck and look like a pack rat. My question to U is:
Whats the best long-term storage device? This is what I know plz supplement my knowledge!
Hard drive - can crash, wear out over a few yrs.
Floppy can't hold much, magnetically prone to data loss
CD can scratch, deteriorate and degrade over time
Flashdrive???? don't know squat. Thanx 4 your answers.
2006-06-25 11:01:41 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
You guys know your stuff!
2006-06-25 16:28:39 · update #1
I believe a research by some U.S agency found that laser disks I.E. Cd's or DVDs are the most safest and most economic way to store large amount of data. As to hard drives I doubt they will crash however all they are is just large magnetic storage. Hard drives are basically large floppy disks and are vulnerable to magnetic forces and will deteriorate over time. Flash drives or bubble memory are a great way to store data for long term. However they are limited as well in the amount of time they can hold the voltage. I.E when they discharge after a large period of time of no usage I believe the standard is 3 years, all your data will be lost. Another disadvantage of flash memory is its high price per gigabyte. Cd's/ DVDs are cheap ready made and will not deteriorate for at least 200 years which is more then the current average lifetime. They scratch only if you misuse them and even at that if the scratch is not passing through the plastic protection to the silvery cover it is fixable.
2006-06-25 11:51:38 · answer #1 · answered by yairs2000 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I prefer using two hard drives one for important data "slave", and the other for the operating system "master" etc...
The odds of the data drive crashing are slim.
Flash drives sound like a good bet, and the benefit of taking them anywhere is most definitely a plus, some even come password protected.
2006-06-25 11:09:09 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
optical disk is sitll the berst, use cdrw, they are thicker, ctore them where they will not get scratched or too hot, and they will outlive you. they are by far the best, I work in the medical field, we all use optical storage for safety and longevity
2006-06-25 12:28:58 · answer #3 · answered by butchell 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋