Backing up of all the important and sensitive data is a good thing. However, this good habit also leads many to create a backup of backups, just in case to be certain if the original and backup got corrupted or compromised, their files will remain still safe. While, it’s not a thing to condone but it creates a problem of redundancy and clogging up unnecessary storage which you could have used it for something else. To address such issue, SanDisk has comes up with a Memory Vault flash drive that promises to keep the data intact for up to 100 years.
Packaging:
SanDisk bundles the Memory Vault with a USB 2.0 microUSB cable, a quick start guide, writeable labels for the Vault and a storage pouch.
Design:
Memory Vault is a flash drive but don’t think of it as a conventional looking USB flash drive. It has a rectangular soap-like design and boasts a metallic casing that not only makes it look premium; it adds to the durability as well. The metallic chassis also adds to the drive’s weight and features a rubber at the bottom for grip, an LED light on the top and a USB port on the side. Overall, the SanDisk Memory Vault sports a clean design and is built to survive the harshest of conditions.
Performance:
The rugged physical structure is just one aspect of the product. In fact, the magic lies inside which SanDisk touts for reliability. SanDisk calls it the Chronolock technology which does the work in combination with the proprietary ASIC controller, non-volatile memory and a system firmware to tie the two together. Now as you would imagine, it’s virtually impossible for anyone testing SanDisk’s claim of protecting data up to 100 years, they have illustrated for the curious how they achieved this conclusion. SanDisk has a detailed explanation on this page.
Since it functions like a normal flash drive, we didn’t face any compatibility issues with Windows OS and Mac OS X. As for the speed, the Memory Vault displayed a satisfactory performance with read speeds ranging in between 15-17MB/s and write speeds hovering around 3-5MB/s.
SanDisk targets Memory Vault as a device to backup content but we were surprised to find SanDisk didn’t bundle any backup software. Of course, drag-and-drop is the easiest method but a tool where a user has an option to backup the content segregated on the basis of images, videos etc. could be useful.
SanDisk’s Memory Vault drives come with something called as “Preserve-only” mode. What this mode does is that it disables writing on the disk and will make it as “read-only.” This according to SanDisk is done to extend the lifespan of the flash memory. However, we see a few issues cropping with this feature. First, is that SanDisk does not explicitly mention the number of read and writes that can be done on the Memory Vault before it activates Preserve-only mode and secondly, even if it did activate, there seems to be no way of deleting the content since it basically locks up the device. Perhaps, if SanDisk would warn users before the activation of Preserve-only so that a user would be ready to store the most valuable data to him on the drive.
Conclusion:
SanDisk has priced the 8GB Memory Vault at Rs. 3,499 and 16GB at Rs. 5,499, which may seem an awful lot but the fact that it helps protecting your graduation images or your first child’s birthday pictures for more years possibly than any other backup solution.
Rating: 
Pros: Build Quality, Data retention up to 100 years
Cons: Limited Storage options
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