Flash media longevity testing -- 5 years later

  • Year 0 – I filled 10 32-GB Kingston flash drives with random data.
  • Year 1 – Tested drive 1, zero bit rot. Re-wrote drive 1 with the same data.
  • Year 2 – Tested drive 2, zero bit rot. Re-tested drive 1, zero bit rot. Re-wrote drives 1-2 with the same data.
  • Year 3 – Tested drive 3, zero bit rot. Re-tested drives 1-2, zero bit rot. Re-wrote drives 1-3 with the same data.
  • Year 4 – Tested drive 4, zero bit rot. Re-tested drives 1-3, zero bit rot. Re-wrote drives 1-4 with the same data.
  • Year 5 - Re-tested drives 1-3, zero bit rot. Re-wrote drives 1-3 with the same data.

Will report back in 1 more year when I test drive 5.

The full test plan is available in the year 4 blog post

FAQ: https://blog.za3k.com/usb-flash-longevity-testing-year-2/

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