> --- In Dan Dugan <> wrote:
>> Seems to me a properly-stored CD-R might be accessible longer than a
>> hard drive. The hard drive interface is likely to be obsolete sooner,
>> and the unused mechanism likely to get sticky.
> Hard Drives are pretty durable as long as you don't store them in a
> super humid environment. Inside and air-conditioned environment,
> they should last a very long time. The interface, IDE or SATA of
> various speeds, will be around for a long time and like all archival
> media, you may need to migrate data along with progress.
>
>> Can you point me to a source for that information?
>
> It started here:
>
> http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Media/Longevity.html
>
> A much more exhaustive analysis here:
>
> http://www.audioholics.com/education/audio-formats-technology/cd-and-dvd-longevity-how-long-will-they-last
>
>
>> What's the failure mode?
>
> Dye layer failure I would suspect.
If you're going to make this argument in public, I'm going to ask you
for better back-up than suspicion.
> As for me, I use them, but I only trust them so far and have had
> them fail with 5-6 year old data.
The first article is from 1998 and has no technical information. The
second, from 2004, makes the point that media quality and storage make
a difference. That doesn't change my opinion that a CD-R made on good
stock with a good level of contrast and stored properly will have a
very long life. Sure, cheap stock and leaving them in the sun will
produce early failure.
I've just re-checked my oldest CDR, from 1995. It's fine.
-Dan Dugan
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