What is the reliability of SD cards & USB flash drives?

[Imzadi]

I still have an old Windows ME computer with a 5 GB hard drive. (Not a typo.)

Even after scrupulously removing all unnecessary files, programs, etc., now that I'm loading MPEG pics & MP3s onto my computer, I'm down to the last 300 MBs that are free on my computer. I keep getting a "low disk space warning."

I want to off-load some of my files (especially pics & MP3s) onto SD cards & SanDisk USB flash drives that I recently got. But I'm unsure of the reliability of them. Will they freeze, crash, the files get corrupted, (or whatever ) if I access the SD cards & flash drives too many times for my programs, or rewrite to them often and i end up losing all the info store on them?

I have a remote backup for my crucial files, but will I need more cards & drives just to backup these cards & drives?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Servants of Evan]

I was taught at a tech seminar recently that flash memory does actually have a life cycle. In your case, I would seriously consider getting an external (connected via USB) hard drive. They're not that expensive and you would be all set (and wound't have to juggle all the memory sticks).