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best media for backups

S

smith94672

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 3, 2005
Messages
153
I have lots of old files that I want to store for my entire life. (I understand that no form of backup is guaranteed to be permanent so I expect to have to make backups all over again on different media at least a few times in the long term. )

I'm thinking of storing my files on BD-RE media. My only qualm is that BD-RE usually has a max write speed of 2x and can easily take hours to write. It's also a hassle of having to put the BD-RE discs somewhere safe but they're not too fragile or big enough to cause a problem. BD-RE, I feel, is fairly priced. That said, all this is coming from someone who never ran or burnt a single BD disc before.

Compared to the disadvantages of SSD, HD, USB external drives, and CDs, are BD-RE discs relatively better for long-term file storage?
 
Yes, BD's are the best form for long-term storage at the moment because they do not use organic materials like CDs and DVDs use. Some of the BD-RE discs can be burned at 4x, but it may still take awhile. It really depends on how much data you want to backup. If we're talking 10TB, it may take some time, and honestly, external USB HDDs would be the better option at that point.

Just make sure to keep them in a non-moist, normal-heated environment. Putting them into a sealed fire-safe is also a good idea for long term. As soon as the media becomes obsolete, just transfer the data to more recent storage.

I've had CDs and DVDs last for over 8+ years now, and they are still functional. If they can last that long without breaking down, BDs should work very well.
 
If you want to make sure you never loose the data. You should at least store the same data to 2 drives/disks in 2 different places. 1 Media can easily break.
 
I've gone with multiple, synchronized 2.5" SATA drives with a caddy system in the main system which authours the archives. I'm in the process of converting to this from multiple copies on DVD+R stored in different locations. An important part of long term archives is off-site storage.
 
I'm in the process of converting to this from multiple copies on DVD+R stored in different locations.
Click to expand...

I assume you only have a few GB of data to backup and not 100s or thousands of GB. I did DVD+R backups 7 to 9 years ago. Back then DVD+R media was even cheaper than the tapes that I used (50GB ADR) however the price of DVD media has not really decreased much since then with all other media having significant reduction in price.
 
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Red Falcon said:
Yes, BD's are the best form for long-term storage at the moment because they do not use organic materials like CDs and DVDs use. Some of the BD-RE discs can be burned at 4x, but it may still take awhile. It really depends on how much data you want to backup. If we're talking 10TB, it may take some time, and honestly, external USB HDDs would be the better option at that point.

Just make sure to keep them in a non-moist, normal-heated environment. Putting them into a sealed fire-safe is also a good idea for long term. As soon as the media becomes obsolete, just transfer the data to more recent storage.

I've had CDs and DVDs last for over 8+ years now, and they are still functional. If they can last that long without breaking down, BDs should work very well.
Click to expand...

Where did you get the info on BD's? I've looked around for that info and what I got was that they aren't tested and their longevity is unknown at this point.
Panasonic recently came out with what they claim is 'archival BD' but again the article that mentioned them said they are untested.

Good to here that you did good with CDs and DVDs. According to an article from a gov department they tested those out and found the results varied a lot, but that certain CDs lasted very long.
 
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