Don't panic - your valuable data is safe on CD after all...

[HillJack]

Dahna McConnachie, Computerworld

25/01/2006 08:22:39

Don't panic - your valuable data is safe on CD after all, according to recordable disk manufacturers.

Two CD makers have hit back at recent claims by storage experts that users of recordable disks are in danger of losing their information as the disks deteriorate.

Recordable disk vendors TDK and Memorex claim their disks are a reliable archival media that will stand the test of time (See story).

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Full story

You are in breach of the forum rules and are being issued with a formal warning for sending me a PM I found offensive.`I gave you a chance to calm down and reconsider, but so be it. Life goes on..
/ Moderator offline

[Kingnog]

I don't beleive either claim. I have cd's that have lasted many years, so I know for a fact that good media (even some so-so ones) will last well over 5 years. However, I don't believe the claim (as made by TDK in the article) that cd's will last 70 years. In the real world (not in-lab tests), it is practically impossible to preserve it for such a long time in ideal conditions. I'll believe it in about 60 years or so, when my cd's still function (not that anything will be able to read them!)

[Xylob the Destroyer]

[TDK] also advises that CDs be marked only with a specially designed CD marker pen.

let me guess, TDK will be more than happy to sell me one....
I'll stick with my good old Sharpie for now.

I'm sure it's all a matter of purchasing a quality product and then following the directions.
I too have several very old burned cd's that are just fine. Others have become worthless after less than a year.

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

[TDK] also advises that CDs be marked only with a specially designed CD marker pen.

let me guess, TDK will be more than happy to sell me one....
I'll stick with my good old Sharpie for now.

I'm sure it's all a matter of purchasing a quality product and then following the directions.
I too have several very old burned cd's that are just fine. Others have become worthless after less than a year.

Three words:

SHARPIE IS KING!!!!!

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

And btw...

I trust more the backups I have in CDs than the ones I have in DVDs.

[offline]

Again, this is NOT News as outlined in the sticky. Moving this to media.

[lordsmurf]

TDK is fairly accurate. The only thing I'd dispute is the 70 years is maybe still stretching a bit as far as an AVERAGE shelf life goes (few decades less).

And then the marker comment probably refers more to people trying to use ballpoint pens and pencils, as Sharpie discs are specifically made for this sort of writing environment.