What about Blu Ray drives?? (Score 1)

My first option would be to get a spare 250GB HDD and put a usb 2.0 cover to it. I would also make a general backup of the entire 200GB to DVD's. Sure it takes some time but the files are worth it. This already should have quite a bit of redundancy. Redundancy is the name of the game with backup. Now any optical media is good for at least 10 years, but you can buy specialized media that has a 100 year life span. So I really am confused at why optical media is considered inferior to magnetic tape media. Magnetic tape media is much more delicate and prone to data loss than optical media. Also with optical media even if it is not readable due to deterioration, it can always be read with specialized more sensitive equipment. The future of optical media looks very bright. Blu Ray players are already available. They can handle around 30gb now and should be able to handle up to 60gb quite soon. So 3 discs should easily cover all your present needs.