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The original was posted on /r/datahoarder by /u/Skarmory113 on 2024-04-02 03:35:09.

Original Title: We all know that SD cards and flash drives can’t reliably hold data for many years. However, can an SD card/USB drive be considered reliable after it has been unused for say nine years but then you format it?

Now I know that SD cards and USB drives can’t really guarantee to hold data for more than a year or two. Without being used. But what if you find an old USB drive from nine years ago, format it, and then want to store it for say six months. Are you likely safe? Even though it INITIALLY wasn’t powered on for nine years? like will it still be as reliable of a drive even if it has been untouched for nine years?