What is the best way to store computer data?

I want to ensure I safely store things from my computer hard drive somewhere else as well. I did have an external hard drive (seagate freeagent) which crashed and deleted data so that unit makes me not want to buy another. CDs or DVDs can wear out. Best, cheap solution would be great!What is the best way to store computer data?
Burnable CDs have a theoretical life of between 50 and 100 years. DVDs have a theoretical life of between 10 and 25 years. I don't think anyone's done a life estimate on flash drives or memory cards.



But redundancy is the key. ALL hard drives will eventually fail. If you have the data on 2 external drives, the odds of being hit by lightning on a clear day in the desert are probably greater than the odds of both drives failing at the same time. When the first one fails you replace it and back up the data from the second one to the replacement. (That's the idea behind RAID 1 or RAID 5 - if a drive fails, you replace it with no loss of data.) If you use redundant drives, AND optical backup (that you check every 6-12 months), you're probably safe forever.



I just use a flash card and 2 hard drives - and a good backup program.
Your CD/DVD will stll be in a closet 100 years from now with all the data on it as long as you are careful with them, keep them protected and out of the sun light. Don't use cheap CDs or DVDs for important Data. Put it on a Thumb/flash drive and then set it 's attributes to read only and store it in a safe place and use it only when you need to. Dedicate an external hard drive only for data you want to keep and keep the junk off of it.What is the best way to store computer data?
DVD disc are the best way, no need to worry about them waring out, as you'll probably not be around by the time that happens.



you should try a slightly more expensive dvd, or if you can find them 'archival' dvd-r's which have a much longer time befor deterioration.



the only problem is getting your data off. i burnt some data, took a few minutes to burn, 4 hours to take data off of a full dvd-r!



there are also other methods, like saving to a online storage site, emailing files to yourself (which might take you for ever) Tape drives, Zip drives.



i profer putting them onto a hard drive, not only are they accessable quick, but dont scratch, or get lost, or take an age to search for.
REDUNDANCY is the key.



Even though you stored your stuff on an external HDD, you put too many eggs in one basket.



Had you backed up to several external storage devices, and placed them in different locations on Earth, you would have a much smaller chance of losing stuff and a much greater chance at recovery.



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*What is the best way to store computer data?
buy an external hard drive.
cds dvds or flash drive
Cassette tape.