Memory sticks ... yeah, memory sticks

[Hans L]

You know, you start thinking of backing up stuff you have on your computer that is not changing anymore, archival stuff, and you think, well, a memory stick or two per 'stuff' would be good. And then, you realize you have no idea about the size, quality and price of memory sticks. But you know that it is quite a lot of money for the big ones, so you want to be careful. And, you realize you need to ask for advice. So that is what I am doing.

Where do you go to find good advice on memory sticks? Are there such places? Or do you simply have to do it by expensive trial and error?

Thanks in advance!

Hans L

[Bonebreaker777]

Do you mean Sony Memory Stick? Or a regular USB flash drive?

As long you mean a USB flash drive, you have several options.

First it is the interface which it will communicate trough. USB 2.0, USB 3.0 or eSATA.

USB 2.0 is the most common but could leave you bottle necking you system if you have a USB 3.0 around (a PCIe card could cost as little as £10 with 2x USB 3.0 ports at the rear and a internal header to connect them to the front).

USB 3.0 is the most sensible way to go. Could be a no if you have nowhere around you a USB 3.0 interface to connect it to.

eSATA is rare, but it is fast.

Did you ever though about 2.5" HDD/SSD in enclosures? Could be even 1.8", SSD or HDD. Personally I would find them more reliable for back up.

[Hans L]

Bonebreaker, thank you very much, I was thinking USB flash drive, so your advice are in the right direction. But if HDD/SSD are safer, I will consider them. Can you give me a hint about what brand and model to look at to get an idea about capacity/price?

Thanks again.

Hans L

[mikeo01]

Backing things up is never 100% safe. Flash memory have write limits, but also the connection between the chip and medium is flimsy and can break over time.

Hard drives are discs, so there's always a chance a disk can mess up, the heads getting caught on the platters, disk errors, bad sectors etc.

I would use more than one storage media to back up, you could use DVD optical discs to back up because that's a physical write onto the disc layer then you store it, and also use a separate flash/hard drive.

Nothing's certain, so as long as you have multiple back ups on different storage medias you can be certain if one fails you have another to relay on

[scaryjim]

Biggest question is how much stuff do you have to back up? A couple of GB, a couple of TB? It all makes a difference

Probably the best medium-term archive solution is tapes, but there's obviously a reasonable entry cost to that (a few hundred for the drive, then more for the tapes). Medium capacity USB drives - particularly USB3 - are affordable and if stored carefully should last a while. As mike says, if you absolutely cannot afford to lose any of the data then back up twice, to two different media, and store in different locations.

There's not really a right answer to this one...

[Hans L]

Mike and Jim, wise words. I will, as the next step, check and see how much I need to back up of the things that does not change anymore or that change very seldom.

I'll be bakk!

Hans L