DVD Storage !
Mar 14, 2021 12:57:36 #
As a loyal member here, and one who has benefited from advice from fellot members here, it's my turn to offer great news about storage of image files. I'm remembering the articles here that using DVD or CD was dangerous because they "fail over time". Here's my update to that.
I've purchased two digital picture frames, and I'm selecting image to upload to them. Where from? I have six boxes of CDs and DVDs I've used to store my RAW files, from my camera's image cards. Those boxes go back to 2002, when we first began cruising. As I'm working my way through all those CDs and DVDs, I'm finding absolutely no failure. These discs have worked perfectly for the storage and retrieval of my image.
Will they still be safely there in 2035? We'll have to wait to see. But for 19 years, they all work perfectly. I thought you should know and here the good news.
I've purchased two digital picture frames, and I'm selecting image to upload to them. Where from? I have six boxes of CDs and DVDs I've used to store my RAW files, from my camera's image cards. Those boxes go back to 2002, when we first began cruising. As I'm working my way through all those CDs and DVDs, I'm finding absolutely no failure. These discs have worked perfectly for the storage and retrieval of my image.
Will they still be safely there in 2035? We'll have to wait to see. But for 19 years, they all work perfectly. I thought you should know and here the good news.
Mar 14, 2021 13:00:06 #
Much depends on the conditions under which they were stored. Generally the lack of archival properties was overhyped.
Mar 14, 2021 13:02:21 #
Luck and hope are not how you plan and prepare for future events. What actual plans do you have for long-term storage and access to these images? Or, when the forecasted and expected failure does occur, are you just planning to have lost these images to c'est la vie?
Mar 14, 2021 13:10:28 #
With much discussion here about the failure rate of HD storage, do you, my Chicago friend, have a method you feel is guaranteed long term?
Mar 14, 2021 13:23:20 #
elliott937 wrote:
With much discussion here about the failure rate of HD storage, do you, my Chicago friend, have a method you feel is guaranteed long term?
First, I'd consider the messenger(s) of HD failure. You said your CDs / DVDs go back to 2002. That's the age of my various HDs, particularly the smaller sizes that no long have an active / ongoing purpose. Never ever had a problem with any of these, always Western Digital (WD).
What has changed in the nearly 20 intervening years are (a) the way of the CD / DVD drive is going away. Laptops, for the most part, don't have drives anymore. I'd expect the same to occur in desktops. The (b) option of online (cloud) storage is now a consumer-grade option for many, not something of even 10 years ago.
At the minimum, if these image files have value, they should be on redundant storage, including at least one copy on a USB-connected device. What's important is a back-up media that is actively used and regularly confirmed, not in boxes and confirmed every other decade.
Mar 14, 2021 13:32:29 #
I suspect that like most fellows I have a collection of old software and general data CD's and DVD's. Unlike magnetic data stored on a hard drive or solid state drive, the burning process of a CD is nothing but creating a pattern of pits and lands over the polycarbonate layer.
As far as aging goes, it is very durable and in and of itself there is nothing electronic or mechanical about it. Frailty is that they can be broken or scuffed which will skew the reading of the pits and lands of the coded data on it. Taking care by keeping them in their jewel case will help keep them free of scuffs and scratches.
Sometimes 'old school' isn't so bad today after all.
As far as aging goes, it is very durable and in and of itself there is nothing electronic or mechanical about it. Frailty is that they can be broken or scuffed which will skew the reading of the pits and lands of the coded data on it. Taking care by keeping them in their jewel case will help keep them free of scuffs and scratches.
Sometimes 'old school' isn't so bad today after all.
Mar 14, 2021 13:33:02 #
rwww80a
Loc: Hampton, NH
How long will aluminum metal imbedded in plastic last? Forever? That's the question!
CDs and DVDs lifespan: till they are broken or scratched and can't be read.
CDs and DVDs lifespan: till they are broken or scratched and can't be read.
Mar 14, 2021 13:35:39 #
sippyjug104 wrote:
I suspect that like most fellows I have a collecti... (show quote)
Commercial grade music / movies are a different class than make-it-yourself consumer grade disks. Failure to recognize the difference could lead to a catastrophic failure in your achieve approach.
Mar 14, 2021 13:58:52 #
Interesting.
I'd like to see the results of any accelerated life tests that were performed on the CDs/DVDs.
It would be interesting to see the conditions and the resultant data.
(I've done accelerated life testing on ICs and semiconductors.)
BTW - I just had a wireless thermometer/hygrometer fail after about 25 years of constant use. It reports 12% humidity when it's 30%. Temperature is still correct though.
My AM radio from 1965 is still working.
Ya never know how long things will actually last. They vary. An estimate can only be projected.
I'd like to see the results of any accelerated life tests that were performed on the CDs/DVDs.
It would be interesting to see the conditions and the resultant data.
(I've done accelerated life testing on ICs and semiconductors.)
BTW - I just had a wireless thermometer/hygrometer fail after about 25 years of constant use. It reports 12% humidity when it's 30%. Temperature is still correct though.
My AM radio from 1965 is still working.
Ya never know how long things will actually last. They vary. An estimate can only be projected.
Mar 14, 2021 14:03:44 #
With this being the change over weekend for time, one is suppose to replace your smoke and CO2 batteries and the actual detectors every 5 ish years. It really sucks to find out too late they've failed ...
Mar 14, 2021 14:38:40 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
With this being the change over weekend for time, one is suppose to replace your smoke and CO2 batteries and the actual detectors every 5 ish years. It really sucks to find out too late they've failed ...
I've always replaced batteries every six months, low or not. If the batteries are still "good", i use them in something of lesser importance, like a clock radio backup battery.
I have six ionization detectors that "came due" for replacement... replaced them all last Fall with units purporting a 10-year battery.
Mar 14, 2021 14:48:09 #
The world is full of DVD stories that lasted forever. The longevity of a CD/DVD depends on the manufacturer, storage conditions, whether it was manufactured or burned at home, and the phase of the moon. I have multiple 200 disk DVD/CD changers, and periodically I find a (manufactured) disk with failures even though they are kept in pristine controlled conditions and never scratched. If you’re tempted to use them for archiving important data, maybe ask yourself why zero professional grade IT organizations use them for archive/backup? The answers are they are not uniformly reliable, access/transfer time is dismal and they’re too small. If you want to use optical media as an archive or backup, spend the $50 and get a Blu-ray/MDisk drive with a SATA interface (internal for a desktop, external for laptops) and use MDisks. They’ve been extensively tested by the DOD and will outlive you, and they’re available in 100 GB size.
Mar 14, 2021 14:51:29 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
First, I'd consider the messenger(s) of HD failure... (show quote)
That will be the issue, in 10+ years who will have a functioning BluRay or DVD drive?
Mar 14, 2021 15:00:55 #
rgrenaderphoto wrote:
That will be the issue, in 10+ years who will have a functioning BluRay or DVD drive?
Yep, you need to transfer your data to the latest media every decade or two.
Mar 14, 2021 15:01:32 #
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.