CDs, DVDs fragile after all

[beana5]

So says an article from the associated press. No they do not last 100yrs, yes they are prone to a multiude of problems ranging from "CD-ROT" to "LACQUER SEPERATION".The article goes on to say these disks require vey careful handleing. There is the quality factor with the disks to be considered when they are selected to be used. I hope M/S gets the best disks avaiable when makeing their products.Not an encouraging article. Could explane some of the problems re:disks expressed on this forum? Meanwhile handle the FS9 start up disk Very carefully. Hint, for cleaning use CD/DVD-cleaning detergent,isopropl alcohol or methanol to remove stubborn dirt.Also wipe disks from the center and then out to the edge,if you wipe in a circle,any scratches may follow the tracks of the CD,rendering them unreadable. These comments are from the article. Find it if you can,read it, and make your own evaluations.
REGARDS VIN

[Wichita]

>So says an article from the associated press. No they do
>not last 100yrs, yes they are prone to a multiude of
>problems ranging from "CD-ROT" to "LACQUER SEPERATION".The
>article goes on to say these disks require vey careful
>handleing. There is the quality factor with the disks to be
>considered when they are selected to be used. I hope M/S
>gets the best disks avaiable when makeing their products.Not
> an encouraging article. Could explane some of the problems
>re:disks expressed on this forum? Meanwhile handle the FS9
>start up disk Very carefully.

Who uses a FS9 startup disk? I'm not worried about any of the disk pertaining to FS,you will only use them for 2-3 years at the most,they won't go bad in that short of time. If they did rot I'm betting that MS would swap you for a new one. I am a tad worried about all my music CD's though,I got tons of oldies that are hard to replace. I haven't noticed any of them skipping,most are about 10-15 years old by now.

David

[JimmiG]

Yeah, no need to worry about FS because a new version comes out every 2-3 years anyway. I have a few older sims such as Flight Unlimited II/III though and I have burnt a couple of copies of them just to be safe.

For backups, CD-R's are quite useless unless you make multiple copies. Some of my oldest CD-R's are totally messed up now - several has had the "gold" layer separate from the plastic.

[davidd]

Mr Beana5,

I have a lot of background in this area since I was a CDR/W engineer. The seperation and rot issue will only occur if the disc if badly mistreated for a long period and only to recordable media. The type that you buy Microsoft products on are high volume pressed versions, which will last longer than recordable versions because they are substantially different in construction. Though it has been mentioned, it doesn't matter after about 5 years anyway.

Have you have ever rented a DVD movie to find it skipping and restarting due to abuse (ie pizza, candy blotches and careless types)?

There is little bit of care that is required, but any exposed surface has a chance of getting messed up. Though CD/DVD's are more physically durable and the reader specs call for triple data checks
during the reading process, we will have to wait a little longer for the next storage breakthrough to solve this problem.

My guess is a small storage unit similar to todays USB keychains, but with a much higher capacity, read-only and cheaper. The first generation would use high density flashRAM and would start at 2GB. The next generation would be crystal based and start around 10-20GB.
(and would be readable/writable and bigger versions would begin to replace mechanical HDDs)

Available about the time FS2008 comes out. The question is;
Is a miniture, removable 10GB storage device big enough in 2010?

DMD

[davidd]

Those are the ten for a dollar versions. You get what you pay for with computer components. Go for a name brand and pay a little more for long term storage. Also, keep away from light, heat and moisture.
Also, below freezing in not good either. Morale of the story is - Don't store in the garage.

DMD

[beana5]

Hi Mr Davidd. Yes the article can be considered a bit provocative. As I indicated, all can make their own analasys, assuming they read it. However comments like yours are most informative. While they recognize the potential problems, these problems can only happen under extreme conditions as you may have correctly indicated. I feel that somewhere there may be factors that can be considered, and thought about. Regarding the use of disk 4, to initiate startup of FS9, is that not so? Or is there another way of which I am not aware of? In any event, thanks for your knowledgeable post.
" Let us not worry, let us be happy, for the best is yet to come"
VIN ;)

[cat]

My oldest music CDs are from 1983 & are perfect.

I never touch the playing surface, handle with care,
don't leave them uncased & keep kids away from them.
Peter Sydney Australia

[cat]

Bigger problem is the storage of photographs. Wait till
you precious disks won't read your jpegs in the future,
or your once-only digital shots, evaporate when a memory
stick goes on the blink.
I keep all my great photos in hard copy, despite the
sneering of the industry.
Peter Sydney Australia

[beana5]

Yes Peter from downunder, Your rite, those kids, damm i got a bunch hanging around me,Its not thatI dont like them, I really do! "BOILED" that is "SEE YA AROUND MATE"
VIN N.Y. U.S.A. ;)

[someone]

It's alot easier for a printed photo to get damaged/lost/destoyed than a digital one. As with any backup, don't rely on one single media for backup. I keep all my digital pics on my HD, a copy on my notebook and a second PC, and I back them up regurlarly to DVDs as well.

I have some music CD's that I burned with my first CD burner which stayed in my truck for years, hot & humid during the day, and cold at night. Every one of them still plays fine to this day.

No they may not last 100 years, but they will last until the next technology comes along to replace them. I used to back things up to CD, but now I've got a DVD burner and have burned everything to DVDs now. I still have some of my old backup CD's that I burned 5 or more years ago on my first CD burner that still read fine today. I found a very old CD burned by a friend on one of the first ever CD burners. Out of curiosity, I ran the nero tools on it, and it's perfect.