On 03/13/2012 09:17 PM, John R Pierce wrote: > On 03/13/12 7:05 PM, Nataraj wrote: >> I would have to dig up some references, but I have read some articles >> that claim that the reliability of a drive that is in full time >> operation in a server, running 24hrs/day and maybe even seeking under >> heavy load is way different than a drive that you run for a day or two >> and then it sits in an environmentally controlled storage, powered down >> for most of its lifetime. At least from what I read, the failure rate >> is much lower for the same drive used under the later conditions. > on the other hand, the vibration and shock of transport is more likely > to make a drive fail, so its all a tradeoff. > > > You could take your chances on the dyes with optical media. Some say that in a proper controlled environment, they will last much longer. The best media I think are the ones from Japan and singapore. There are several places in Japan that now ship to the US for reasonable rates. I just ordered from 1 on ebay. I think the reality is that nothing lasts forever. Optical media is probably much more likely to survive ICBM's, but then you may not have a drive to read them... Nataraj