CD-R's Unreadable after 2 years?

[Roundabout]

I don't post to the media forum often, but I was wondering if anyone else has the same problem with CD-R's. I ran across this article today:


You know those CD-Rs that you've trusted your most precious memories to? They could be little more use than coasters after just two years.

Entire article here: LINK

I've had numerous CD-R's become unreadable, and they were stored in nearly ideal conditions. Low humidity: ~50% or less, normal temps: ~60-75F, and out of sunlight (kept in a zippered CD holder).

I've taken some out only to discover that they are totally useless. Not readable on any CD-ROM and the data is lost. I guess it's more common than otherwise thought, according to the article. I'm wondering about the hundreds of DivX discs I have on CD-R now, and how long they'll last. If my LiteOn won't read them in a couple of years, my wife will kill me as all her Russian TV shows and Films will be lost.

Anyone have any idea of an actual storage medium that'll last more than a couple of years (besides tape, not very practical). So much for archives. From what the article says, DVD-R isn't much better. All your once-in-a-lifetime photos can be lost forever if your disc dye is crap, apparently most of them. Yikes.

[Supreme2k]

I have some 10 year-olds (or just about). They play perfectly. They had better, at $7-$20 each

Luckily, I didn't buy them, nor the $6K 1x burner they were made from

[Lobe]

what brand?
everything(i have checked at least) going back to '97 is all good, but they are mostly all Taiyo Yuden. the few bad ones i've found are Memorex 700MB ones because at the time TY didn't make 700mb...for a reason I see. It seems the slower speed media 2-8x was much better.

[scottb721]

I've heard that with the increase in burn speeds dye layers have become thinner which then leads to longevity problems.

If so then perhaps slower CD-Rs might last longer.

[indolikaa]

I just played the Backdraft soundtrack I <BLAH BLAH BLAH>'d from <BLAH BLAH BLAH> back in 2000 and burned to a Memorex 'Gold' CD-R.

It plays perfectly. And since it's been under the carseat for the last 2 years, I would think the Arizona summer (please see 'Hell' in the dictionary for further information) would've done gone and flucked it up good.

This is what you get for not using Central Committee-approved media, Comrade.


To be honest, I've got some CD-Rs from the Napster Orgy of 2000 that have been treated like total shit. And they still play fine. They shouldn't, but they do.

[Tom Lewandowski]

I have dozens and dozens of CD-R's dating back to about 1998. Many are music CD-R's, along with games, data, software backups, etc. Never had a problem with any of them -- and they HAVEN'T been stored in ideal conditions. Mostly name-brand, like Maxell, TDK, SONY. But also a slew of no-brand cheapo's that have held up just fine over the years.

[888888]

Maybe the key is not storing them in ideal conditions as this seems to be a trend. I say attach your CD-Rs to the soles of your shoes with gum and take a nice walk- relax, they'll be alright- but no Sharpies.

[indolikaa]

Maybe the key is not storing them in ideal conditions as this seems to be a trend. I say attach your CD-Rs to the soles of your shoes with gum and take a nice walk- relax, they'll be alright- but no Sharpies.

That's right. Sharpies are for sniffing.

[Roundabout]

This is what you get for not using Central Committee-approved media, Comrade.

Ya znayu...Ya durak!

Thanks for the responses, guys. The defective CD-R's are of different brands, some Memorex, some KHypermedia (cheapo), couple of Fuji. Too bad there's no way to tell in advance which will work longer than others. Is there any way to tell by dye color? Or the fact you can see through most of them like paper? I noticed that on the ones with darker blue dye, they seem to get darker over time, don't know if that's normal or not.

Do labels have anything to do with it? Seems more that have labels are unreadable than ones that don't. Maybe there is a reaction between the glue on the label and the dye layer? Dunno. But I'm thinking I should never use labels again. Besides the hassle and cost of label and ink, there's the possible damage factor. I know everyone says not to use them on DVD-R's but maybe not a good idea for CD-R's either.

Some of the cheapest no-name CD-R's with no printed label (mfgr info) seem to work better than more expensive ones. I guess it all comes down to dye quality. Is there any site you know of that has quality/longevity info for CD-R's?

Thanks again for input.

[Laddydaddy]

888888 wrote;

Maybe the key is not storing them in ideal conditions as this seems to be a trend. I say attach your CD-Rs to the soles of your shoes with gum and take a nice walk- relax, they'll be alright- but no Sharpies.

I've been telling people that for years, but nobody listens. :P

[hech54]

There is really only one word I can think of in response to"CD-R's Unreadable after 2 years?".....and that is BULLSHIT.

Sky is fallin....THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!!!

[paulw]

"There is really only one word I can think of in response to"CD-R's Unreadable after 2 years?".....and that is BULLSHIT."

Hardly. I've had disks go bad after 6 months. Princo comes to mind.

The problem these days is that even the "named" brands like Verbatim arn't made by MMC any longer. The last batch I got show CMC Magnetics in the Nero disk ifo program.. You can no longer by what's on the label. Kodac were the best brand that came out. Pity they stopped production..

[Kolosus]

Stick with japanese made media. Taiyo Yuden. Mitsui. Even Ricoh. These are reputable brands that have a proven track record. I use cheapies when I don't care about the longevity of the data.

Having said that, even my oldest "el cheapo's" still read fine.

Regards.

[redwudz]

I've had some SVCD's recorded on CD fail. They have faint blotches on the writing surface. Especially noticeable when they are left in the player. I suspect it's a problem of heat possibly delaminating the plastic coating. Of course they were the cheapest crap CD's I could find, so the fault was entirely mine. On the other hand I have many CD's burned over ten years ago that are fine. Stick with good brands.

[lordsmurf]

This is one of those really aggravating topics where fiction tends to win over fact....

Most likely cause is the discs were always bad. With CD's, the top layer is subjected to more wear than a DVD, so be careful. Then you have players and lasers to consider. So many factors, but it's easy to blame media when it's not the case.

It's not chemically or physically feasible or possible for a dye-based medium to have "disc rot" which is a case limited to pressed metal media.

Laminates, glues, etc ... none of these often-cried potentials are very likely or very possible.

I have CD's from the early 90s in my car .. they've ALWAYS been in my car, in excess of 100 degree heat, down to sub-zero temperatures. They still play great .. though the same can't be said about the player.

My first DVD-R's and DVD-RW's from 2001 are still fine. Only ones that "died" were LD media that never acted right to begin with (I wish testing software existed years ago), and then the -RW media because they have limited re-use lifespans.

Once a disc is burned good, it's fine. Nothing can change that. If you have troubles, consider other options as being the true problem.

[The village idiot]

BLAH BLAH BLAH
I have el cheapo disks burned in or around 1999 that still work. And guess what?
I labeled them with SHARPIE!
Of course I also had some disks that were only good for a few days. Storage was sitting on a shelf or in a box, nothing special. Maybe it only happens when you go to great lengths to store them in a perfect environment

[vcdforme]

Yawn........

Azo (blue) the worst. You're lucky if data is intact
Cyanine (early TDK green) 5 years---
(tdk changed this formulation due to bad press)
I think they now use,
Phthocyanine (chicken soup green) 100 years
All the above is believed to be worst case scenario.

The funny thing is that Azo is the best initial copy,
with fewest errors, Phthocyanine the worst errors.
but what do you want? An error free disc or one that will
last?

Please, no "My discs don't have errors, they play perfectly".
They do, and they might.

Check articles by Glen Meadows, Stephen St. Croix,
or some other nuts that have spent a heck of alot more time
on this than I.

[TerminalVeloCD]

I have had mixed results with CD-R media over the years. The worst discs I've ever come across are CMC-made Imations dating back to 1999. They had a silver reflective layer covered in a gold and black label and a dark blue cyanine recording layer. I was lucky to go through a 10-pack without making a single coaster! (BTW, this was with a Diamond Data 4x4x16 CD-RW)

In my experience, anything made by Taiyo Yuden seems to be of good to excellent quality. I have discs that I recorded in 1999 that have as few C1 errors as a freshly burnt TY 48x! Other good manufacturers that spring into mind are Ricoh (Made in USA), and RITEK. Everyone seemed to complain about the earlier RITEK cyanine discs, but I have never had a problem with them, and I still have some of this type of media lying around (branded as TDK) - they burn perfectly on my LiteON LTR-52327S with very low C1 and no C2.

Regards,
TerminalVeloCD

[SanderMan]

I had cheapo discs failing on me within a few months( that's write for instance... crap). And some philips cd-r's from more than 10 years old that still play perfectly.