Maintaining Offline Media
No storage media will last forever. Lifespan depends on environmental factors, usage rates, wear and tear, component quality, and manufacturing of the device. Below are the data storage lifespans for specific media types.
External Device | Life Expectancy Optimum Environmental Conditions |
|---|---|
CDs, DVDs | Between 2 and 5 Years |
Blue Rays | Between 5 and 10 Years |
M-Discs | Too new to be determined, but > CDs/DVDs/Blue Rays |
Hard Drives | Between 3-5 Years |
Magnetic Tape | 10 – 20 Years |
Other Flash Storage (USB, SD Cards, Solid State Devices) | Memory does not degrade because of age, but rather the number of write cycles. |
Offices retaining electronic official records must establish a routine schedule for recopying records maintained on offline media periodically to ensure that no information is lost.
- Official records on more durable media should be inspected and recopied on a regular interval if they are retained for more than two years or if the media is frequently used to access the records. Most department records have a retention period shorter than five years.
- Offices maintaining electronic records on offline media must have a migration strategy in place to ensure the availability, integrity, and usability of the electronic records across hardware and software changes until the expiration of its retention period.
- Keep electronic media away from sources of electromagnetic radiation such as magnets and motors.
- Protect external data stored from environmental factors. Keep USBs, flash drives, memory sticks/cards, PC Cards, CDs, DVDs, Blue Ray, M-Disc, or magnetic tapes in a clean space with dust protection and out of direct sun-light. Avoid touching the surface of storage media; skin oils can interfere with their ability to store data.
- Maintain proper temperature and humidity. A climate-controlled office environment usually suffices. Ideally, magnetic tapes should be kept in 65°F to 75°F temperature and 30% to 50% relative humidity. Optical data storage media (Platters, CDs, DVDs, Blue Rays and M-Discs) are more environmentally tolerant, requiring 14°F to 122°F temperature and 10% to 90% relative humidity.
Department offices retaining official records are subject to Texas Administrative Code
“Minimum Requirements for all Electronic State Records” describes specific standards and procedures related to the maintenance of storage media for electronic records, and data tape libraries, storage facilities, and standards for optical media used to store electronic records as digital images.