File Back Up System for long term storage

1492 wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:


Burnable optical media tends to fail over time, I have had countless amount of burned CDs that were good when burned but in a few years of being stored out of light started to become unreadable.

That's why they make archive grade DVD-R/BDR which are commonly used by museums these days. Like any medium, they need to be stored properly following manufactures recommendations.

Anyone who leaves recordable optical discs out in direct sun light, present company excluded, deserves losing their content for not using some basic common sense? It is an optical format, sensitive to light and heat.

Umm, MY CDs WERE STORED OUT OF "SUNLIGHT" and actually ALL LIGHT.

Fully put into DARK containers which were stored in a DARK closet..

Some worked after 5 yrs and SOME DIDN'T..

The problem lies in the DYES, PRESSED optical media does not rely on DYES and therefore is much more "stable" than any BURNED optical media.

Optical media dyes can and will change/fade over time, the normal response when burnable media came out was 50yrs.. In reality, in 50yrs the dyes will most likely have broken down and no longer readable..

Optical burning drives also play a hand in the situation, a older worn out drive will result in a weaker laser burn, result is the same as leaving the disc out in light..

If you really ant your data to live on, you can have your data PRESSED if you are willing to pay the price for a "one off"..

Even "museums", Government/businesses KNOW better than to completely depend on optical media.. They ALSO use OTHER types of media, back a few years it was digital tape backups which were sent to UNDER GROUND STORAGE SITES.. Now days many have been shifting to HARD DRIVE BACKUP SYSTEMS which feature hot swap hard drives as a main backup system..

I HAPPEN to live near a HUGE underground storage site which was carved out of a old limestone mine.. Massive amounts of government AND business data stored in that big hole in the ground..