How long will a hard drive last if it sits on a shelf?

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: pradeep1
I've got hard drives back from 1990-1992 or so in the 10 MB to 120 MB (note megabytes) range that still work when you plug them up.

I also use an external HDD as a backup device, but I would not use that as long term storage. Archival quality DVD-R would probably be the best bet for you for long term safe storage.

I remember looking at a case of DVD-R's once and I noticed that it said that its life would be greater than 100 years, so if possible and convenient enough, DVDs would be a good option.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Smartazz

Originally posted by: pradeep1
I've got hard drives back from 1990-1992 or so in the 10 MB to 120 MB (note megabytes) range that still work when you plug them up.

I also use an external HDD as a backup device, but I would not use that as long term storage. Archival quality DVD-R would probably be the best bet for you for long term safe storage.

I remember looking at a case of DVD-R's once and I noticed that it said that its life would be greater than 100 years, so if possible and convenient enough, DVDs would be a good option.

One problem with this is that lots of CD-R and CD-RW discs claimed this too -- and then turned out to be very wrong. DVD discs should be better, but they just haven't been around long enough to see how they really hold up over long times in real-world conditions.

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: Smartazz

Originally posted by: pradeep1
I've got hard drives back from 1990-1992 or so in the 10 MB to 120 MB (note megabytes) range that still work when you plug them up.

I also use an external HDD as a backup device, but I would not use that as long term storage. Archival quality DVD-R would probably be the best bet for you for long term safe storage.

I remember looking at a case of DVD-R's once and I noticed that it said that its life would be greater than 100 years, so if possible and convenient enough, DVDs would be a good option.

One problem with this is that lots of CD-R and CD-RW discs claimed this too -- and then turned out to be very wrong. DVD discs should be better, but they just haven't been around long enough to see how they really hold up over long times in real-world conditions.

Yeah, that's true, only time will tell.

 

[Alyx]

If you decide to go with a hard drive I'd use a Sata rather than an ATA. Once Sata CD drives become more popular I'd expect PATA connectors to begin disappearing. All the new dells that come in at work no longer have a standard ATA controller already, everything is SATA. You'll likely be able to find one in 10 years, but I would bet it won't be on one of the newest few generations of computers.