Ssd vs. Thumb drive for backup.

[sturg]

So my old WD EHD finally bit the dust and I need to get a some new storage for backups. Is there a significant difference between the RELIABILITY or LIFESPAN when comparing ssd's to flashdrive memory? I don't need to consider large capacity or speed. The drive in my work laptop is 121gb, and my other is 500gb. I don't have or use large photo or video files. What are your thoughts?

 

[pigoo3]

I've always been of the mindset that USB thumb drives are ok for temporary backup storage...but maybe not the best solution long term. I have no data on this...but also felt that the "el cheapo" thumb drives (the kind you might get for free at various places/companies as logo promotional gifts)...are not the best quality flash storage.

Here's an interesting article discussing longevity of spinner HD's & SSD's:

SSD vs HDD Lifespan | Which one is the best?

What Are the Differences Between SSD and HDD? Which one is the best？SSD or HDD lifespan. Follw this guide to learn overall information on SSD vs HDD Lifespan.

4ddig.tenorshare.com

I'm sure long term lifespan (SSD's vs. spinner HD's) can be a debatable topic.

I think if I had to choose between ONLY a thumb drive or SSD for backups...I'd go with SSD. But if I could choose between thumb drive, SSD, or spinner HD...I'd go for spinner HD for long term backup needs.

Still least cost/GB...and I have a lot of experience with them from a long term durability standpoint.

Nick

 

[MacInWin]

I really don't think there is any need for an SSD as a backup drive. RDHDs, although slower, are just fine. After all, the backup isn't in daily use so speed isn't as much an issue.

 

[pm-r]

I really don't think there is any need for an SSD as a backup drive.

I would tend to agree with Jake, but then my backup needs are pretty minimal and I don't really need anything "faster" than the spinner drives I currently use with carbon copy cloner, 1 firewire 800 and 1 Thunderbolt connected drives.


This fellow makes some interesting points, especially concerning flash drives and their memory type:

Unlike HDDs, SSDs use flash storage technology. USB drives also use this technology, but SSDs provide a more advanced version designed to handle the daily demands of computers and server

SSD vs. HDD vs. USB Flash Drive: Everything You Need to Know

How do SSDs, HDDs, and USB flash drives differ in terms of storage, speed, usage, and price? Let us show you while we break down the pros and cons for each type of storage.

www.maketecheasier.com

I guess it would always help to know what kind of memory chips each solid state drive actually uses to help make one's judgment on reliability. But I would guess that "more reliable chips" are always going to be substantially more expensive than the storage on a spinner HDD hard drive.

But does anyone still use just a single Backup Source these days, considering all the warnings so many have provided to use more???




- Patrick
=======

 

[krs]

So my old WD EHD finally bit the dust and I need to get a some new storage for backups. Is there a significant difference between the RELIABILITY or LIFESPAN when comparing ssd's to flashdrive memory? I don't need to consider large capacity or speed. The drive in my work laptop is 121gb, and my other is 500gb. I don't have or use large photo or video files. What are your thoughts?

For reliability and lifespan I would use a brand name spinner external hard drive, I think they are better than SSDs and definitely better than flash drives in that respect.
I just foud some old IDE drives and they mounted fine and all data was readable.
Besides, with a spinner one often gets a warning (gets noisy) before it bites the dust, SSDs and flash drives just die.

 

[pigoo3]

But does anyone still use just a single Backup Source these days...

I would say quite a few. Especially considering many folks have zero backup! Lol

But if we're only talking about folks that actually have a backup...dual or redundant backups are certainly better.

Nick

 

[krs]

But does anyone still use just a single Backup Source these days, considering all the warnings so many have provided to use more???

I do in a sense,but I "leapfrog"

I make a clone of each of the Macs in the family once every few weeks or so on an external spinner, then a few weeks later I make another clone on a brand new external spinner.
The idea was that the next backup a few weeks later,ie the third one, would be done on the external I used for the first backup, but that never happens - I end up buying another spinner for the third backup.
So now I have a stack of external drives with backups going back a few years.
I know, doesn't make much sense, but I'm a bit lax since I never had an internal drive just fail outright without warning. But with SSDs in all our Macs now, I'm getting a bit nervous sineI won't get any warning, so I will probably make backups more often but still usethe "leap frog" method.

 

[pm-r]

I know, doesn't make much sense, but I'm a bit lax since I never had an internal drive just fail outright without warning.

Just out of Interest in case you were interested, our iMacs have suffered from two sudden deaths experiences when their spinner hard drives suddenly up and died with absolutely no kind of warnings, but one issued a very small high pitched squeal as it died and the iMac went black. And that was during the middle of the afternoon and it had been running well. So you never really know when...



- Patrick
=======

 

[krs]

So you never really know when...

....yes.I know.
Most Macs in the family are portables - they are moved all over the house and to the backyard several times each day and are often used until the wee hours of the morning, so my options to make a clone are limited.
I was going to set up TM via the USB port on our router, but then I found out the ISP had that USB port disabled.
However, all of that is not a problem because I have mac-forums.com.
Should a drive fail and if I don't have a recent backup, I can always come back here and whine

 

[pm-r]

However, all of that is not a problem because I have mac-forums.com.
Should a drive fail and if I don't have a recent backup, I can always come back here and whine

I guess that could be funny only if you actually didn't have anything worthwhile to backup.


That reminds me of an elderly lady I was helping with her Mac several years ago and she gave me absolute **** for suggesting she possibly get a backup setup, and during her somewhat fuming rampage she noticed there were about 10 emails in her email inbox which I had been asked to fix as she was not getting any email, and she demanded to know why I had bothered to leave them in her inbox.

There was not a single file or photo or music or anyting she had that needed to be saved. Or should I say she didn't want to have any of it saved. Big understatement... and certainly no reason to have any sort of backup... Not exactly normal.



- Patrick
=======

 

[krs]

Well, it's not that I don't have a backup, in fact I have many.
Worst case is that the backup could be one month old.
Not a problem for emails since I have Apple Mail set up to keep them on the server for one month with the POP account and the rest of new items in that month I might lose - not that important.

 

[Rod]

Last year while in Australia I realised that all the data that is most valuable to me is in my Documents folder. So yes, I have a Time Machine backup on a spinner HDD and a Data only CCC clone on an SSD of my M1 MBP but I also have a CCC clone of my Documents folder on a SanDisk thumb drive in a safe in Australia.
I update it once or twice a year when we return to Australia and it contains all our legal documents, wills, contact numbers, land titles, tax files, our Apple ID's, etc etc. In short everything our family would need should we die or all our devices be destroyed/lost in some disaster.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I really don't think there is any need for an SSD as a backup drive. RDHDs, although slower, are just fine. After all, the backup isn't in daily use so speed isn't as much an issue.

I think that the speed of your external backup hard drive is more than just of passing importance. Often when your internal hard drive dies you need to be able to get work done immediately, and so you need to be able to work with your backup drive efficiently (whether or not you boot from it.) If your backup drive is terribly slow, it might make you want to tear your hair out.

At the minimum, I'd avoid the extremely inexpensive WD and Seagate branded external hard drives that are tiny, use the USB port for power, have no cooling, and which are irresistibly dirt cheap for their large capacity. Using one of these is penny-wise but pound foolish.

Have a look at this article:

Six Lessons Learned from Dealing with an iMac’s Dead SSD

Six Lessons Learned from Dealing with an iMac's Dead SSD - TidBITS

After working through the failure of his iMac’s SSD, Adam Engst shares the lessons he learned with regard to backing up, restoring, and eking out the most life from old hardware. Hint: waiting to upgrade hardware and software can make troubleshooting and recovery more difficult.

tidbits.com

 

[Slydude]

I have to agree about the frustration associated with working from a slow external drive. Been there. Done that. Don't want to do that again.

If boot time were the only issue it wouldn't be too bad because you could boot from it at startup and leave the machine running either till the end of the day or indefinitely. The file load time, especially for large files, that drives me nuts.