Category Archives: Hardware

How Long Does Backup Media Last?

Are you backing up? If not, get started. If you do, which media do you use? Optical media (CDs / DVDs)? Hard drives? USB flash memory? Tapes? Do you know how long these media last?

Unfortunately, your data, emails, photos, videos, music … are more fragile than you think. Hard disks last about 5 years. Optical media will do between 5 and 10 years depending on quality. USB flash memory seems to be better than that. Tape is the royal solution, with 30 to 50 year time horizons. But they are majestic, indeed,  when it comes to price. They may be overkill for most of us.

Whichever method you use, get the low-down on this vital question from PCMech (www.pcmech.com) – click here for the full article. It’s a must-read.