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Rotating memory, a MECHANICAL DEVICE (platter and read/write head actuator etc) will fail Long before a solid state device given safe handling procedures for both systems.
Whew.. Thanks. I thought I was going crazy when the first replies were "a hard drive is safer" from a mechanical failure stand point.
Um no. In the respect FLASH DRIVE > HARD DRIVE all day.
From a "losing it in the washer" or "dog eating it" view point: HARD DRIVE > FLASH DRIVE.
To the original querstion of "why is the stick the same price for a fraction of the space?".
Because it fits in your pocket. Paying for that convenience.
The real reason the hard drive is cheaper is that even though it is much larger, has moving parts, etc it is far less expensive to store data on magnetic devices than on memory.
A 32 Gb flashdrive has no less than 32 x 8 billion transistors in it. It is still harder and more expensive to manufacture.
Flashdrives are much less vulnerable to physical problems, but they do fail. The SD cards used by cameras fail (same technology as flashdrives). I bet most of us here have experienced that.
If these files are important, DO NOT rely on one copy of the files. All hard drives fail eventually. It is just a question of when. Flash memory will fail too.
So you should always have at least one backup, preferably two of all important data.
Do they do the same thing? A flashdrive that is about 32 gb costs like $60 and I found an external hard drive that is 500 gb that costs $60... Why does the 32 flash drive cost the same even though it has way less? I want to save my videos recorded from my digital cam. I want something to save it to that is reliable and won't get damaged, something I won't lose the files because they are VERY important. Which one should I choose? Please explain the difference between an external hard drive and a flashdrive. Are both of them good for saving video files?
If these are very important files, store them offsite. An external drive sitting next to your computer is useless if you have a fire, house gets broken into, etc. I use DropBox for my important documents and there are a ton of other options out there.
It does depend how much space you need though, if you're talking about actually storing a full 500gb of video it may not be the best option.
Why do they cost the same? Who knows, really but Flash drive has the size going for it, its small size makes it very convenient to carry, store and use, etc.
True, external drive using a platter based hard drives will eventually fail due to their moving parts where a typical flash drive has none, however, a flash drive memory is considered a "temporary" data storage medium as it is a volatile memory that is susceptible to other external factors that could make it lose its data.
So imho, ultimately, what you will be needing/using it for would provide you the answer to make the right choice.
If I were to buy an external hard drive, would I have to later download software to go with it? ...
No, unless it's a fancy storage drive. Once you connect it and switch it on, your OS should take just a minute to see that it's there, and it'll look just like an internal hard drive (this is true for both Windows 7 and Mac OS X).
Flashdrives are much less vulnerable to physical problems, but they do fail. The SD cards used by cameras fail (same technology as flashdrives). I bet most of us here have experienced that.
Nope. Sure haven't. The only memory stick that ever failed on me was one that I physucally broke.
I have two dead SD cards sitting on the desk.
One I got a lot of use from. The other croaked with almost no use.
With large capacity thumb drives getting very affordable, I may add one to the mix. But, I don't care about toting it around.
But, I do yield to more knowledgeable inputs that my earlier input may have been in error.
My backups are a couple of nekkid hard drives and a Thermaltake HD dock.
If I go to Windows 8, I will buy a new hard drive, do a clean install, and pull the existing drive to plug into the dock, for back up and to import files.
Nope. Sure haven't. The only memory stick that ever failed on me was one that I physucally broke.
I have had two SD cards, one SanDisk, one Kingston fail in the last five years. "Thumb drives?" The first one I bought, when 32Mb was a big one, died long ago. I would never rely on one for serious reliability. They fail. Everything fails. SSD have documented lower reliability for writes than reads. Not low reliability, lower.
But everyone should periodically ask themselves the question what happens if this device fails?
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