Hey, weird tech #hardware question.

What is the best, most reliable, long term, but still easily accessible, non-cloud storage option for massive gigabytes of data?

Like, I have a xxx terabyte backup drive, but someone recently told me that those aren't reliable long term, unless consistently powered up, as bits can disappear, corrupting files. (It seemed crazy, but other posts seem to confirm it.)

So, if not xternal SSD, are lots and lots of cd/dvds still the most reliable storage media? Surely no?

#datastorage #backups #archives

@MissConstrue HDDs are a good cost‑effective choice for large, accessible long‑term storage. SSDs/NVMe are non‑volatile but NAND cells can lose charge if left unpowered for long periods (worse with high temperature and heavy prior wear); for archival SSD use, power or refresh them periodically (intervals vary commonly months to a year depending on drive and conditions). For multi‑year archives, prefer HDDs or tape/M‑DISC, 1/2
@MissConstrue 2/2 keep multiple copies in different locations, store media cool/dry, and migrate/verify data every few years.