Re-connecting older backup drive to restore files from

Can you take a backup disk 'offline' by disconnecting it, start using a new backup disk, then at some point in the future disconnect the newer backup disk, re-connect the first (older) backup disk and recover files off of it?

bokehboy wrote:
I am thinking of creating longer-term backup 'records'. I understand the difference between archiving and backing up, and this would be somewhat of a hybrid -- sort of like an informal form of archive. External hard drives are getting so cheap these days (ballpark of a dime per GB) that I was thinking of saving each year's worth of backups on a separate hard drive (the time factor may vary, depending on the rate at which I am creating new content).
That would certainly work, at least for a while.
For really long-term storage, there are at least two unpredictables: will future versions of OSX (say, 10.9.x) be able to read and restore TM backups that are a couple of major releases old; and will an external disk that gathers dust for a few years still work reliably?
Another method would be to burn a set of DVDs, but Time Machine is just so dang convenient.
Similar unpredictability. DVDs may be even less reliable, long term, than external HDs.
Big data centers periodically read-in old backup tapes and write out new ones, as tapes can deteriorate, too.

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