Comments on: CDs Are Not Forever: The Truth About CD/DVD Longevity, “Mold” & “Rot”

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 05:17:25 +0000

320kbps MP3 is CD quality, idiot.

By: homa

homa — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 19:35:13 +0000

hi justin! Im master student in iran univercity for biotechnology. do you have any information about some molds that remove data from disketts and data storage device?
i would be lucky if you answer me.

By: Tina

Tina — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:27:27 +0000

Susan,

Are these discs still playing alright?

And what exactly do you mean with transparent appearance?

Ethanol alcohol should not have damaged the discs. Different types of alcohol, however, can potentially damaged the plastic, which may cause a milky appearance. But you said transparent, so I’m guessing that’s not it.

By: Susan Sinclair

Susan Sinclair — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 23:41:19 +0000

Hi,
Some of my blu-ray discs have a transparent appearance. Have you any idea why this is? Have they been damaged by the alcohol a colleague might have used to clean them?

By: Enn Ellandi

Enn Ellandi — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:14:01 +0000

Tanks Justin just checing out Backblaze

By: James Grimes Jr

James Grimes Jr — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 01:13:51 +0000

This is why I do not even use optical media anymore. I use flash drivers to install an OS, carry install files, or more data. However, for some of these tasks, using online storage seems to be a better option.

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 18:18:43 +0000

I said that, but I didn’t say that I believe the manufacturer’s estimation of 200 years. I don’t.

By: Brad S

Brad S — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:43:32 +0000

But 30-50 years is less than the CD-R’s 200 years. I thought you said professional cd’s would have a longer lifespan?

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:28:12 +0000

Brad, The numbers are from OSTA.org (source) and are based on estimations from manufacturers for CD-Rs. How exactly they ended up with this estimation I don't know. Generally, professionally pressed music CDs are predicted to have a longer lifespan than self-recorded CDs. That's because they do not rely on an extra layer necessary to write data to the CD. The life-limiting layer of pressed CDs is the reflective layer. Since that layer can oxidize and degrade, I would say expecting a lifespan of more then 30-50 years is being optimistic.

By: Brad S

Brad S — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:46:17 +0000

Great article. So the 200 year number you came up with for CD’s. where did you find this? Also is the the lifespan for recordable cd’s? What is the estimate for pressed music cd’s? Should I expect the same lifespan for a store bought Beatles cd for example?

By: Ann Fennell

Ann Fennell — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:32:43 +0000

I had the same experience. I bought a box of gold-layered CDs and found that the DVD/CD writer on my new computer would neither read nor write them. And that box, when I bought it was nearly $50.

By: Tina

Tina — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:32:08 +0000

Ann,

You make excellent points and I have addressed some of them in previous comments.

Each article has a time and a word limit and thus the amount of detail I could go into was limited. I decided to list the most important points regarding storage. I also decided not to go into verifying which brand is the most reliable, since this is easily found when searching Google: Taiyo Yuden aka JVC.

By: Tina

Tina — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:28:51 +0000

Beezy,

Backing up in as many places as possible and using different media is definitely the best you can do. Great advice from your instructors.

By: Ann Fennell

Ann Fennell — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:20:50 +0000

what brand was that?

By: Ann Fennell

Ann Fennell — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:18:48 +0000

If the disc is in a jewel case, it doesn’t matter if the jewel case is horizontal or vertical, since the only part of the disc that is touched is the edge of the center hole – the rest of the disc is suspended in air.