RE: CD-Rs vs. Store-bought CDs (WAS: Do Burned CDs Have a ShortLifeSpan?)

["Joe Malin" <jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com>]

Hi!


I have to add that I've read about bacteria that eat the dyes used in
some write-yourself CDRs! Commercial non-writeable CDs don't use that
type of technology, though.

The longest-lived media I can think of is stone. That's followed (in
rough order) by clay, leather/parchment, and old-fashioned linen-based
paper. My guess is that "machine-readable" media first becomes unusable
because nobody can find a device to *read* it, and that happens *long*
before the media itself decays.

My favorite examples would be old style IBM tape and 5.25" floppy disks.
Even if you could find a IBM 3700 tape drive or an old floppy drive,
what would you connect it to?

Having said this, the best thing would be to backup your backups to
fresh, "modern" media every 2-3 years.

Joe

Joe Malin
Technical Writer
(408)625-1623
jmalin -at- tuvox -dot- com 
www.tuvox.com
The views expressed in this document are those of the sender, and do not
necessarily reflect those of TuVox, Inc.	

-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+jmalin=tuvox -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jmalin=tuvox -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
Of Keith Hansen
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 7:02 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: CD-Rs vs. Store-bought CDs (WAS: Do Burned CDs Have a
ShortLifeSpan?)

We've talked about the longevity of CD-Rs.  One way to back them up
would be an external hard drive.  What is the reliability and longevity
of external hard drives?  Any good/bad experiences with them or with a
particular brand of drive?

I have numerous CD-Rs of music.  They are important, and I wouldn't want
them to rot away.  However, I hate to buy a hard drive and back them up
immediately; they may begin to decay tomorrow, or not for years.
Perhaps I'll watch for the first signs of decay before running out,
buying the hard drive, and backing them up!

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