Guide

How long storage media actually lasts

Every storage medium has a realistic working lifespan, and the biggest risk is treating any of them as permanent rather than as something that eventually needs replacing or re-copying.

Mechanical drives wear through moving parts

A drive with physical moving components has a finite expected working life shaped by usage and simple mechanical wear, similar to any other mechanical device that runs continuously.

Solid-state storage wears differently, not infinitely

Storage without moving parts avoids mechanical wear but has its own limits tied to how many times its memory cells have been written to, meaning heavy, constant use still shortens its working life.

Unused media is not automatically safe media

A drive sitting unused for years is not guaranteed to retain data indefinitely or to still function when reconnected — periodically refreshing older backups onto newer media is a simple way to avoid this risk.

Questions people ask