Is there a foolproof longterm storage solution for jpgs on flash drives?

[yoda313]

I'm trying to head off any possible loss of data on my familys digital picture collection. Currently I'm at the 7gig range.

I burned a bunch to two single layer dvdrs and had them put in a safe deposit box for safe keeping. I just bought a no name cheap flash drive (lexar on sale at officemax the other week). I'm putting the updated pictures on that and put that in the safe deposit box.

I'm sure everyone will chime in and say online storage but I'm leary about a few things.

One is price. It seems like 5gbs is the max for free storage. Amazon offers that but that includes any music you put in their cloud system and that eats into it. Than you have to start paying for storage.

Two is rights and privacy. I don't always read the legal jargon on all the online stuff but with family photos I'd want to be a little more protective of it than some other non essential stuff. I want what is mine to be air tight and bullet proof and spy proof. That would tend to lead to physical media as a means of long term storage.

These aren't works of art that are worth millions or anything. But they are important to me and my family so I want to preserve them.

I'm not to worried about incompatibility as usb should be around for a long time to come (for the flash drive) and while disc drives will eventually be phased out for online cloud storage (once internet access is a human right and promised access for life). But both usb and disc drives should be plentiful enough for the forseable future to ensure that there will be a way to access them in the future.

So are there any high rated flash drives designed for long term storage? I would think an ssd drive would be overkill here and I'd hate to buy a 60gb or more ssd drive for less than 10gb of photos.

One other thing this needs to be small for physical media since its for a safe deposit box - they aren't huge after all.

So if you have suggestions for either a cheap and secure online storage solution (one that is trusted for this purpose) I'd be interested for uploading the collection. Also if you have a listing of long lasting (years or decades preferably) flash drives I'd be very interested. Plus I'll still be burning some to dvdr just because they are inexpensive and don't take up much space.

Thanks.

Oh and I do realize "foolproof" may be a bit of an unacheivable goal. How about very low failure rate?

Edit - of course I have backups of the photos on separate drives and I do plan on copying them over to whatever new computer I'd end up buying next. So I won't be without access to them. This is more intended for offsite storage solutions in case some thing happened at home - you know fire or natural disaster like a tornado or something.

Edit - also I could be talked into a bluray burner possibly. But then you have the issues of burnt discs and longevity with that. So its up in the air again. Of course I suppose regular updating and replacing of the backups would be a way to go.

[TreeTops]

I personally stay away from the plastic storage devices, DVD's, BlueRay, etc. for my important archival stuff. Nobody knows how long they will last and there is some evidence that some don't last long at all. Just leave one of those out in the sun for a couple of days and you will see what happens.

Nothing beats storage on a hard drive or two. And if you are really worried just put them in your bank safe deposit box when they are full.

Remember that storage medium is a changing thing. File formats change also. OS's change...You will have to copy the important stuff onto the newest medium every 10 years or so. "You know the drill"

[yoda313]

storage medium is a changing thing. File formats change also. OS's change.

True but I think usb harddrives will be accessible for a long time down the road. They are so pervasive that there will be a demand to be able to access them with whatever the next standard is.

As for file formats I don't see jpg ever going away. I think they are here to stay. Until some main stream camera company starts using something else and wants to start a new format war I don't think jpg is in jeopardy.

OS do change of course but basic access to usb and jpg should be commonplace for the immediate and intermediate future, I hope.

You will have to copy the important stuff onto the newest medium every 10 years or so. "You know the drill"

That I do plan on doing. I will dump the pics on the next computer I get, whenever that will be. So I will always have them with me.

Nothing beats storage on a hard drive or two. And if you are really worried just put them in your bank safe deposit box when they are full.

My only concern with that is storage space. Safe deposit boxes aren't infinite in size. Though the new pocket size wd passports and the newest seagate usb drive that I just bought are very slim, small like a deck of playing cards (as close an analogy as I could come up with). Thats why I'd rather have something smaller still like a thumbdrive or discs.

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I was starting to rethink my reservations on online storage. The thing is a yearly subscription, if cheap enough, would equal any hardware cost I'd get on the onset.

For example if I could get at least 10gbs of storage space for $10 a year (just throwing out a number) that would take 5 years to equal a 50.00 harddrive. And any variation on that theme would work.

Plus I'd have the ease of uploading and keeping track of what I've got on backup. Though I'm sure I could do a screenshot or something of what was uploaded to a physical drive.

So I'm still unsure.

One other thing I've thought of but haven't done is give a thumbdrive to my grandmother for storage. She is 90 and is NOT TECH SAVVY at all. No computer no cell phone, you get the picture. So I could just take a drive over or some dvdrs and put them in a drawer somewhere and just make sure it doesn't get lost. That would be one extra layer of protection from a home disaster.

So I'm thinking things out here. Other thoughts are welcome. And if there are any claims on long life thumbdrives for backup storage I'd be interested in checking them out - 8-16gb size would be ideal.

Thanks.

[yoda313]

Well I decided to upgrade my free amazon cloud drive. I went with the 20gb for 10.00/year plan. That was the best price I saw after a brief search.

Google drive was going to be 30.00 for 25gb a year. I checked photobucket or maybe it was snapfish that had I believe it was 20gb for 25.00 a year, might have been more storage than that but it was more expensive than amazon. Also norton does have a online storage option but it was going to be pricey too.

So I think for 10.00 a year to get 20gb of storage space is a good deal. Now I can do my initial backup of my pictures. After that it won't take much to upload new pics.

I don't really take that many pictures. But when I do (usually at family gatherings) I take a LOT of pics.

Well now I feel better. I'll have multiple backups locally and offsite. I figure I trust amazon as much or more than other sites. They are one of those "big wigs" that should be big enough to be secure. Well as secure as any thing online can be these days.

So my goal for backups is nearly met. Now if you'll excuse me I have just over 7gbs of photos to upload.

Edit - wow it says 8 1/2 hours left to upload! I don't upload much stuff so I don't know if thats normal for 7.4gbs on a cable connection. Anyway I need to do this so I'll let it keep going (its almost 1am anyway so i'm not gonna be doing much online later

[TreeTops]

"wow it says 8 1/2 hours left to upload"

I've heard that problem before. Seems like Cloud storage takes a really long time to upload large files. Some Cloud sites install a special up-loader that 'they say' is faster but I wonder. That's something that the Cloud lovers don't talk about much.

I still think a couple of large external drives would be a better deal for archiving data/photos etc.

[yoda313]

I still think a couple of large external drives would be a better deal for archiving data/photos etc.

I do have them. I just want an affordable easy offsite solution. Call me paranoid. But I'm not super paranoid. Not yet anyway, at least about data that is
Edit - this is just for the pictures. Otherwise I'd have to get a much larger data plan.

[lordsmurf]

Solid-state media is prone to failure.
There are tons of people online who have lost photos from SD cards and flash/thumb drives.
More than hard drives and discs, yes.

It's not archival.

[yoda313]

Solid-state media is prone to failure.
There are tons of people online who have lost photos from SD cards and flash/thumb drives.
More than hard drives and discs, yes.

It's not archival.

Thats good to know.

What about ssd physical drives? Do they have long term viability or are they as good as a regular platter drive?

By the way I think I'm happy with my storage solution. A mix of multiple harddrives, keeping the original memory cards, burning to disc, and now the online storage with amazon. I think I should be safe. So long as I'm vigilant in updating the stuff I should be fine.