Stored data doesn't last forever: a powered-off hard drive is generally trusted for 3–5 years, an unpowered SSD for roughly 1–2 years before charge leakage risks data loss, and USB flash drives for about 5–10 years — all shorter with heat, humidity, and cheap components. No single copy is an archive.
Why storage quietly dies
Hard drives fail mechanically — bearings, heads, motors. SSDs and flash lose data electrically: the cells hold a charge that slowly leaks, faster in warm storage. Nothing announces the decay; you find out at restore time.
What actually preserves data
Rotation and redundancy, not “better” drives: keep 3 copies on 2 media types with 1 off-site, refresh copies onto new media every few years, and keep one copy fully offline — an air-gapped vault covers that layer.
FAQ
Do drives last longer powered on or off? Different failure modes: powered drives wear mechanically; unpowered flash leaks charge. Rotation beats either strategy.
What if a drive already failed? Stop writing to it immediately — recovery steps are in The Phoenix Restoration Protocol.