Question: Which is better: CD-R disks or flashdrives?

Does anyone know which is better for storing photos and pics from a digital camera and the internet, longterm: blank CD-R disks or Flashdrives (aka memory sticks)? (I'm looking for best picture quality or resolution and lasting the longest (because of degradation over the years). If it makes any difference, these pics will mainly be viewed on a desktop computer (as opposed to a PS3 or laptop).) Any suggestions?

-Mike

it's all relative - a good flash card will last longer than a bad CD, but most classes of flash device, particularly flash drives in my experience, could "go bad" much more suddenly and for less apparent reason. I don't know of anyone that generally recommends flash devices, and particularly pen drives, for archival use.

If you get a good CD-R type, such as Taiyo Yuden or Falcon Century, and are willing to (learn to?) do a Disc Quality check both after the burn and (for example) anually thereafter, you can be effectively be guaranteed continued data integrity for a very long time.

Any data that is not backed up will eventually be lost. Why not use both?

why bother with cds if theres a fairly large amount of data ? , go with dvd nowadays what i tend to see for the cost of good cds you can get verbs for like 2 pence extra a disk

on svp 100 ty cdrs £21 70 gb storage if my maths is right

100 Verbatim +R MCC004 £20.10 430 gb of storage yet again if my maths is correct

and hi lin

My thoughts exactly. Always keep your data on at least TWO media types.
Flash + CD
HD + CD
HD + Flash
DVD + HD
DVD + Flash
etc....

Flash memory may not be suitable for long-term storage. Manufacturers would typically quote a data retention period of 5-10 years without power for memory cards & USB drives.

Well, here is the backup regime I would recommend.
1) Primary copy: System hard drive
2) DVDs if there are a lot of photos, preferably 8x Taiyo Yuden DVD+R or some AZO Verbatim, these to be used for primary backup and for viewing on other machines from time to time. For smaller amounts, CDs might be better.
3) If you happen to be renting a locker or storage area in a public warehouse, or have another off-site storage option, I would recommend as a third and final backup, for the most important things, the Falcon Century CDs, or if you can't easily get those, Taiyo Yuden CDs. This so that for example in the event of something really bad happening like a house fire or a flood or something, your most important pictures, such as those of family, will be preserved on top-rate media off-site.

CDs are simpler beasts with less physical compression and a larger CRC margin than DVDs plus you lose less in the event of the failure of a single piece. Falcon for example, asserts a 300 year lifespan for its Gold Century range of CDs, but for their DVDs in that range, only 100 years.

Flash media is best for (semi)frequent use, it's meant for quick rewriting and is based on a series of electrical charges - a very complex one if the device is using MLC flash. And as I mentioned before, they are also prone to sudden and seemingly inexplicable failure.
Optical media, and especially write once media - operates by a system of permanently written, i.e. "burned" pattern of data, and as such has some inherent advantages.

I would say your asbolute best bet for backup/archiving important data is a high quality recordable optical disk.

Off-topic:

Hi stranger

First of all, thanks to all of you who replied. I really appreciate it.

Second, to answer some of your replies: I have my pictures on hard drive, but I'm worried about possible viruses/worms destroying them, despite having a good anti-virus program (therefore, the question I asked). Even though, I agree with most of you about having two or more types of backup, I really can't afford it right now. Hate to sound cheap, but there it is. I can really only afford buying the blank disks that are sold at my local stores. Wal-Mart only has Maxell and Memorex CD-Rs, while Dollar General only has TDK. I can't write to a DVD, because my hard drive has a DVD-ROM. So, it sounds like CD-Rs are my best bet.

My question now is, are the CD-R brands that I mentioned good enough for backing up my pics? Which is the best of those three that I listed?

TO SEAN W: I noticed on your replies that you are avoiding all TDKs. I'm assuming that means CD-Rs and DVD-Rs. Why are you avoiding them? Is it because of errors, picture quality, losing data, or all of those reasons?

-Mike

Out of hundreds of CD-R's, I have never had one go bad (besides scrathes and damage of course), and out of 5 flash drives, I have had one die on me.

IMO, flash drives are good for temporary transfers, and such, but if they go bad, then they are pretty much done. If a CD starts going south, there may be a chance that a diferent drive could still read it, and thus you could still recover the data.

So yes, the answer would be multiple back ups. External HDD, optical disc, flash drive, etc.

Off topic, but related, I have never had a Sony flash drive go bad on me (some have been made in Malaysia, and some in Tiawan), but my 16GB SanDisk (china) died after a few days. It looks like even the new Sony drives are still Tiawan, while it seems like every other brand is China.

@knight1024 I didn't see your post until just now

Ok, so CDs are your only option.
Look in Wal Mart, or Target or a similar store, and look for (specifcally) Sony Audio CDs. If the package says "Made in Japan" grab them. Greedily. With both hands. Because for the most part - and definately in this case - Made in Japan = Taiyo Yuden.

(This is of course, assuming that you are in the U.S.)

I have "avoiding TDK" in my signature because there was some talk on these boards about TDK DVDs being unstable after burning. However it seems that the problem was much more specific, still these days I tend to trust only Verbatim and Taiyo Yuden (and more recently Falcon) as most other things tend to be hit and miss.

In terms of cost, even the best CDs should be cheaper than the cheapest flash drives per GB, in addition to being far more stable.