Home > Archive > Cobol > January 2006 > OT but possibly important: shelf life of CD's
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OT but possibly important: shelf life of CD's
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| Peter Lacey 2006-01-30, 6:55 pm |
| Kurt Gerecke, a storage expert at IBM Deutschland Gmbh, is quoted in the
January 20 issue of Computerworld Canada as stating that burned CD's,
unlike pressed original CD's, have a shelf life of 2-3 years, and
recommending that for long-term storage magnetic tape should be used.
He would seem to be a plausible source! Is there anything else current
in the news about this? (I don't get many of the trade mags). If it's
true - what are the implications for cold storage? Or are CD's not used
all that much? (I'm asking because it's something I've never had to
worry about. I have 30-year-old 800bpi tapes that are still readable!)
PL
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| James J. Gavan 2006-01-30, 6:55 pm |
| Peter Lacey wrote:
> Kurt Gerecke, a storage expert at IBM Deutschland Gmbh, is quoted in the
> January 20 issue of Computerworld Canada as stating that burned CD's,
> unlike pressed original CD's, have a shelf life of 2-3 years, and
> recommending that for long-term storage magnetic tape should be used.
> He would seem to be a plausible source! Is there anything else current
> in the news about this? (I don't get many of the trade mags). If it's
> true - what are the implications for cold storage? Or are CD's not used
> all that much? (I'm asking because it's something I've never had to
> worry about. I have 30-year-old 800bpi tapes that are still readable!)
>
> PL
Can't quote specifics but was surprised to see a small article in the
Calgary Herald about a year back making exactly the same point. The
'bits' deteriorate over time. I can't recall exactly, but I believe mag
tapes were the recommended storage device.
Jimmy
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| Donald Tees 2006-01-30, 6:55 pm |
| Peter Lacey wrote:
> Kurt Gerecke, a storage expert at IBM Deutschland Gmbh, is quoted in the
> January 20 issue of Computerworld Canada as stating that burned CD's,
> unlike pressed original CD's, have a shelf life of 2-3 years, and
> recommending that for long-term storage magnetic tape should be used.
> He would seem to be a plausible source! Is there anything else current
> in the news about this? (I don't get many of the trade mags). If it's
> true - what are the implications for cold storage? Or are CD's not used
> all that much? (I'm asking because it's something I've never had to
> worry about. I have 30-year-old 800bpi tapes that are still readable!)
>
> PL
Though only applicable to PC's. I have gone to drive bays with 120meg
disks in them for backup. I have 4, which I revolve. Not suitable for
archiving, but very functional for backup. Works well.
Donald
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| epc8@juno.com 2006-01-31, 7:55 am |
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Donald Tees wrote:
> Peter Lacey wrote:
>
> Though only applicable to PC's. I have gone to drive bays with 120meg
> disks in them for backup. I have 4, which I revolve. Not suitable for
> archiving, but very functional for backup. Works well.
>
> Donald
Are you still using LS-120s (120 MB "SuperDisks" the size of 3.5"
floppy disks)? I used these about 6 years ago for daily backups. Within
a year 1/7 drives failed and 2/7 disks failed.
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| Donald Tees 2006-01-31, 6:55 pm |
| epc8@juno.com wrote:
> Donald Tees wrote:
>
>
>
> Are you still using LS-120s (120 MB "SuperDisks" the size of 3.5"
> floppy disks)? I used these about 6 years ago for daily backups. Within
> a year 1/7 drives failed and 2/7 disks failed.
>
That should have read 120 GB. I am refering to removable IDE drives.
Sorry for the missunderstanding.
Donald
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| Alistair 2006-01-31, 6:55 pm |
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Peter Lacey wrote:
> Kurt Gerecke, a storage expert at IBM Deutschland Gmbh, is quoted in the
> January 20 issue of Computerworld Canada as stating that burned CD's,
> unlike pressed original CD's, have a shelf life of 2-3 years, and
> recommending that for long-term storage magnetic tape should be used.
> He would seem to be a plausible source! Is there anything else current
> in the news about this? (I don't get many of the trade mags). If it's
> true - what are the implications for cold storage? Or are CD's not used
> all that much? (I'm asking because it's something I've never had to
> worry about. I have 30-year-old 800bpi tapes that are still readable!)
>
> PL
When audio cds first came out, the quality of the audio was said (by
hi-fi buffs) to be substantially improved by keeping them in freezers.
I think the idea is that the 'bits' shrink slightly and therefore
appear to represent more correctly (I know the English is bad) the
digitised signal. However, by  ing an object and then warming it
back up to room temperature can only do damage to the media (I would
suspect condensation would cause layer separation and the repeated
changes in temperature would cause erosion to the foil and hazing to
the carbonate surface).
I would suggest making two copies; use one and store the other one away
from sources of heat, UV, moisture, dust and children.
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