Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Oh, I agree. Cheap CD-Rs will certainly degrade. But for backup purpose I always buy good quality ones, and haven't yet had any problems. I always store them in the dark - as you say, UV light is a significant source of degradation in the dye that stores the data.
I must correct something I said earlier. It's CDs - not CD-Rs - which should be good for 100+ years lifetime. CDs store the data in the form of physical "pits", which should last virtually indefinitely.
|
I think the question is "what are 'good' CD-R's?".
Paying more for a CD-R, does not necessarily make it better, and so does buying one from a top brand, not make it top reliable.
I've had several CD-R cases, sometimes I'd buy the cheapest 100 pack available, only to find that they got destroyed in 2 years time (mostly due to scratches, or pits in the writable layer; only from being stacked).
Still, in my experience, until today, nothing compares to putting everything on a flash USB stick!
They're expensive, but last a long time, and yet have to get the first one go bad (not from physical abuse like putting it in the microwave, or driving over it with a car).
Though one thing I am noticing, is that even on flash drives, the companies are trying to get smaller dies (put more transistors per square in or mm2). This leads in smaller storage spaces for the electrons, leading to quicker degradation.
I believe the current estimate to retain data of a 2008-2009 flash drive should be between 100 and 140 years. 2012 drives easily could cut that in half, or even by 4x less!
Some companies claimed flash memory to only hold for a good 22 years. I don't really know what to think of it; perhaps that's why we haven't heard much of advances in flash memory as much as in the past; that and the fact that they're working in such small territory, it becomes increasingly difficult to go smaller.