hi, i have cds i used for djaying,i had them backed up hdd which is failing,so need to move to other hdd on my pc.
but obviously it will get to stage when ill have to move them from the new location too!
what is my best option for backing these up? so i dont have to move them again for long time
thanks

 

External USB HDD, maybe?

 

I'd buy a M.2 2230 drive and stuff it into a small and really sturdy USB 3.2 or 4 case.

 

Sign up for free at https://mega.io/de/ and get 20 GB free!

 

always make 2 backups

 

Thanks for replies everyone,usb sticks,are they like hdd,after 10 years (in my case,20) need to transfer again? do they need fired up on pc every now and again?

 

So I keep reading, but just this weekend, I plugged in a 1TB G-Drive SSD that I'd not used in 5+ years, and it's working 100%.

So 1) your mileage may vary, and 2) take whatever you read with a grain of salt.

That said, for strictly backup purposes, SATA HDDs are your best bet. At least the data on those can be recovered, if need be.

**********************************​

For added perspective, I have two Apple iPods - the old ones. I've not used them since before the pandemic, so at least 6-7 years.

Also this weekend, I plugged them both in (to charge), and both of them (a 120GB and a 160GB) are still working 100%. Hooray for HDs.

 

If your hard drive ever crashes, you'll certainly be glad you have a small online backup.
An SSD should be connected to power/a PC at least twice a year; otherwise, it can develop a memory leak.

Of course, you should also burn all your valuable files to CD/DVD or Blu-ray at least once.
Keep in mind that water damage or fire can happen, even if it's rare.

A fireproof case is fire-resistant and waterproof.

 

NAS

 

For flash memory (SSD/USB stick/SD card/NVMe/M.2), temperature and density determine how long you can leave them unpowered without losing data.

You can leave the device without power for at least ... if your flash memory's density is...

SLC => ~one decade
MLC => ~half a decade
TLC => ~two years
QLC => ~one year

I've had 8 or 9 HDDs fail over the years, 0 flash devices so far. It's bound to happen at some point though.

 

I like naked 3.5" hds, I label them with a brother sticker printer and I have slot in carriers in the 5.25" bays of my tower.
on some other workstations I use external USB 3.0 bays.

 

which part of "but 100TB do not fit on 25gb storage" did chatGPT not understand?

 

this bit of kit,i can put a 3,5 sata hdd into it,then connect the dock to pc via usb?

 

Did you even read his post properly? They're fantasizing about 100 TB.
They can spare us their idiotic, stupid comment about ChatGpT.

 

I don't know if 1TB is enough. You can get a free terabox account with 1TB.

 

As was already mentioned, stay away from random access memory type storage mediums like NVMe, SSD, USB keys, etc for long term storage. Decent hard disk drives that you *USE FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES are still your best and cheapest bet for long term storage.

*Archival storage use ==> plopping the data on the archival medium (using CRC's to maintain data integrity) and that medium stays locked away on a shelf never in constant use, or worse, installed in a machine where it's getting beat on 24/7/365. Basically it means that the storage drive never gets used unless you need to install/retrieve data to/from it. Use an external sata drive dock for this purpose.

 

Last edited: Mar 1, 2026 at 10:09 PM