Are USB flash drives more reliable than external HDDs?

[wooxie97]

Since I only have around 30 GB of files to backup, im wondering if I should buy multiple 16 GB drives to back them up instead of buying a external HDD that has a high fail rate, or are they the same?

 

[CaedenV]

generally speaking, a HDD (or SSD) is always going to be more reliable than a flash drive. USB flash drives are made to TRANSFER files, not to store them. Still, you get what you pay for, and I have had a few flash drives that have lasted a very long time.

The bigger issue than reliability is that of redundancy. If you do not have a file in at least 3 locations (one of which is off site) then you didn't really care about the file. All of my files live on my HDD, and are then backed up nightly to a RAID1 array. Bulk media like music and movies are also backed up on optical media (typically the original disc it came on, but home made stuff is burned to disc), while smaller media like pictures and documents get backed up on cloud services.

There is then a small army of flash drives and external HDDs that I have for various projects, but I treat these as file transfer devices as I do not trust them in any kind of long term fashion.

If you really only have 30GB of files to back up then I would throw $20 at a cloud storage solution as that is the cheapest and (typically) most reliable solution. Getting an external 1TB HDD will only cost you ~$75, but that is a lot of wasted space... though you would be amazed at how quickly it can fill up! The other option is to get an external SSD; they are a bit more expensive per GB, but they are a lot faster, and if you are in a mobile situation they can take a lot more of a hit than a HDD can.

But, while you should absolutely have a 32-64GB flash drive, you should never trust them for storage as they are easily broken or misplaced.

 

[wooxie97]

generally speaking, a HDD (or SSD) is always going to be more reliable than a flash drive. USB flash drives are made to TRANSFER files, not to store them. Still, you get what you pay for, and I have had a few flash drives that have lasted a very long time.

The bigger issue than reliability is that of redundancy. If you do not have a file in at least 3 locations (one of which is off site) then you didn't really care about the file. All of my files live on my HDD, and are then backed up nightly to a RAID1 array. Bulk media like music and movies are also backed up on optical media (typically the original disc it came on, but home made stuff is burned to disc), while smaller media like pictures and documents get backed up on cloud services.

There is then a small army of flash drives and external HDDs that I have for various projects, but I treat these as file transfer devices as I do not trust them in any kind of long term fashion.

If you really only have 30GB of files to back up then I would throw $20 at a cloud storage solution as that is the cheapest and (typically) most reliable solution. Getting an external 1TB HDD will only cost you ~$75, but that is a lot of wasted space... though you would be amazed at how quickly it can fill up! The other option is to get an external SSD; they are a bit more expensive per GB, but they are a lot faster, and if you are in a mobile situation they can take a lot more of a hit than a HDD can.

But, while you should absolutely have a 32-64GB flash drive, you should never trust them for storage as they are easily broken or misplaced.

so USB flash drives are more reliable if i keep them safely? and I got 50GB of storage on dropbox for 2 years (from android), but it's going to take ages for them to upload on my 1mbps upload speed,i'll try to though.but for easy access, should i use USB flash drives or external HDDs if im using them correctly.

 

[CaedenV]

no, flash drives are simply not reliable. period. end of story. Great for moving files around, but they just fail. It is a part of life.

 

[popatim]

cloud is either expensive or sucks. I would see if your router has a usb slot on it for throwing on an extenal harddrvie and use that if you dont have room on your pc. Plus I would also backup to DVD's or flash drives whichever you prefer. You never want your important files in just 1 location. I too prefer 3; a working copy and 2 separate backup copies. All storage devices fail. Its how prepared you are for that eventuality that makes all the difference.