Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/01/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 07:52:16 -0800 (PST), V.Roger <vroger@yahoo.com> wrote: > Hi all: > Since my reading time is limited and I am unable to > review, in depth, all the digests that I receive, this > question may have been asked and answered. Kindly > indulge me. At this stage I have several years of CDs > containing my images. What is the shelf life?My son > indicates that 3-4 years is about all, after which he > suggests copying the disks, perhaps to new archival > disks. Any views? Many thanks- VRR (P.S. my negatives > from 30 years ago are still pristine). > _______________________________________________ There are lots of informative sites with data from a variety of tests. Archivists worry about this a lot apparently. Your results are going to vary from any published test results or manufacturer specs and will depend on a large number of factors including quality of the media you use, whether you use CDR or CDRW, and how carefully you store the recorded discs. I think 3-4 years is really being way too conservative. Don't forget to keep your eye on changes in the industry. There will be a day when your new computer doesn't come with a removable storage device compatible with today's media. Hopefully you'll still have your old system around (if the new system doesn't work with any sort of CD reader) and can read all your discs so you can transfer them to your new system and whatever sort of removable storage they sell then. Glenn