Giving clients back recovered data, backups, etc. What device / drive do you use? Do you have a go-to?

[VirtualLarry]

Doing a bit of debate over what device / drive / media to give clients, when I perform some data-recovery of older systems, before I install a new SSD and put a fresh copy of Windows on a system, say a laptop.
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Options are generally:
1) Portable External HDD, 1-2TB
This option is generally, I feel, "the best", for longer-term storage, and write-speed transfer rates. Most laptops have less than 1TB of factory capacity, and you can fit a Macrium Reflect system image of the original disk, as well as a file-copy archive of pictures / media / documents, etc. on them.
The downside, is that they are rarely available for less than $40-50, which if I'm charging them $50 to recover data off of an older PC, they may balk at the added expense of a HDD on top. Plus, I would estimate that most people don't have more than 100MB of pictures and whatnot on their PCs, unless they're a "media hog".

2) USB Flash drive, 32GB/128GB/256GB
This option is not so great for longer-term storage, as I fear for bit-rot, once the client receives the data, they make look at it once, and store it away somewhere, and then try to access it 10 years later, and it could be corrupted by then beyond repair.
The upside of these, is that they are cheaper, in terms of absolute cost, compared to a 1-2TB portable external HDD, only around $10-15 for a 128GB of sufficient quality.
This option also only works when the client has a small(er) set of data to preserve.

3) DVD-R/BD-R disc
These are more durable, possibly, than either one of the two other options, AND cheaper, but they take longer to prepare (although, using the file-splitting option when making the system image backup with Macrium helps A LOT).
Downside is, they may become obsolete faster, as they require an optical drive to access and restore.

In some cases, I may use two or even all three of these options, to give the client their data. (Using the HDD first, to backup/archive, then copy the file-copy backup to USB, and burn the file(s) of the image backup to DVD/BR, and possibly also make some "archival" disc backups of the file-copy data (pictures, media).

Another consideration, is if they are put on optical (DVD) or USB flash drive, some "smart TVs", or "HDTVs with DVD drives" will be able to view most pictures and movies from the old PC, without involving copying to a new PC. (Some people may not even have a "new PC" to move them to, as they may be scrapping their PCs entirely, and moving to laptops, phones, or even "Smart TVs").

One consideration that I use to reduce cost, is that since the copy of the client's data is basically intended to be write-once, read-rarely, I sometimes optimize on the cost of the portable external HDDs, by using Factory Refurb drives (from WD, usually), which are available on ebay from time to time in qty., and quite a bit cheaper (like 30-40% less cost than new). Unfortunately, they're still $30-35 generally though for a 2TB, so still not as cheap as a USB flash drive, in terms of absolute cost.

Edit: Also, if this is an "upgrade from HDD to SSD and fresh copy of Windows" procedure, then I generally physically remove the old HDD during the process, and give that to the client as well, and tell them to keep it in a safe place, as an "ultimate backup" of their old system. I may use an inexpensive (under $10) USB3.0 to 2.5" SATA enclosure to put an old laptop SATA HDD in, to make it a portable external on it's own, simply to both protect it, and facilitate access to it, should someone with a "higher pay grade", want to access the original HDD, without having to physically re-install it into the system (on some laptops, it's rather involved to replace the HDD/SSD, and having to do it repeatedly, kind of gives me some psychological pain).

 

[mindless1]

I wouldn't worry about bit rot, just tell them it may not last forever. I would do the same with a HDD too, if it's sitting in a drawer unused for a decade, I have no confidence of the viability after that long, but for that matter, back in the day it was common to see people suggest that CDRs would last 50 years, then a few bad batches later I realized that is highly variable even in proper storage conditions.

SO, that brings me to tape. It's the only medium I have long term confidence in from a write-it-yourself aspect rather than factory pressed optical disc, but also impractical for needing the tape drive.

I'd break it up by capacity needed. ~235GB (formatted) or less, USB flash drive. More than that, USB external HDD.

Backing up a bit, what are they asking for? And willing to pay for? I mean if the original HDD is still working and you're doing a clean OS install on an SSD, you can just give them the old HDD and let them deal with it later. If the drive hasn't failed, and it's a desktop PC, in the past I have sometimes just unplugged the power and data cables but left it in the system since it's not doing any harm in there and is easy enough for someone to plug the cables in later if they need to get anything off.

I used to assume people didn't have much data they needed but these days it could be highly subjective. One person may have nothing but another may have many years of stuff including video and the more likely they are to enlist someone else to fix their system for them, the less likely they have any other backup, nor are they likely to in the future. At the same time, most people won't need a backup of their entire old OS partition, just certain data if you want to take the time to extract that, and if you gave them the entire OS partition backup (even if done as files instead of an image of it) they might not be able to find their data later... depends on the client, some will have no problem but others will.

You can only do so much then it's on them, including whether they backup the data elsewhere or need TV/etc access, but what you could do is provide to them a condensed list of the options and associated prices including your hassle (labor) to do it, better in an email instead of trying to list them in realtime. For a laptop that could include the option of them buying an external enclosure, or if the data is more valuable, a new external HDD.

I like USB flash drives and if a client is unsure I would steer them towards one. I'd tell them to refresh the data within 10 years then let their valuation of that data guide them on whether they actually do that, though if it is just a few dozen GB I would copy that to a folder on the new SSD too, or only there if they didn't want to pay for any further drive or media. You can't be there to make backups for them whether it's past data or future.

 

[Murloc]

Price list with the options (incl. labor) is a good idea, with a notice saying that if they care they should backup the files immediately after receiving them as you will not hold any copy of the files.

It's not your problem what happens afterwards, bit-rot or any of that stuff.