[Wiltshire] Comments wanted on Backup DVD-r disks...

[David Fletcher]

On Tuesday 24 March 2009 00:27:38 Simon Iremonger wrote:
> I was just wondering everybody's comments ;-)...
>
> W.r.t. optical recordables (dvd and cd).
>
> I understood that 'archival grade' media is worth using
>    for long-lasting recordings, e.g. archival type backups,
>    as well as being careful about the storage conditions!
It's probably impossible to produce "ideal" storage conditions at home. Maybe 
the best that can be done would be to obtain an as airtight as possible 
container, place your media in there along with a large bag of freshly purged 
silica gel, and keep it wherever in your home you think there is the least 
temperature variation. The cupboard under the stairs perhaps?

>
>
> I was wondering in others' experience out there...
>
> (a) Have others out there found they often have CD-R's
>      degrade to unreadable -- is this a 'common problem'?
>      I've definely found some hardly-used disks that just
>      don't work well any more!
No, I can't say that I've had problems with this, but then I don't really 
trust them.

Anything I don't want to loose, I make three copies. I keep two copies at home 
and take the third to the office and keep it there.

I think the general common sense things to do are,
1) Don't buy cheap and nasty 25 packs of media from the 99p shop and expect it 
to last 25 years. Buy a well known reputable make - TDK, Memorex, Verbatim 
etc. If you're really paranoid, burn each of the three copies from a 
different batch/manufacturer.

2) Don't burn at the maximum speed of the media. Slow it down and give the 
burner more time to do a really good job. This was always the advice offered 
when burning the ISO files for Linux installs.

Maybe after 10 years, or perhaps less, depending on how long it takes for the 
next generation of storage media to become affordable, gather together your 
archive CDs, for example, read them and re-burn the data onto DVDs, for 
example. This way, you keep your storage media current, refresh your archive 
periodically, and keep the storage space requirements down. I find that this 
is easier with digital photos which tend to be taken, processed, and stored 
in chronological order. What I'm having trouble with organising is a load of 
images scanned from transparency film which sometimes get added to by scans 
of slides picked out from various years in the past.

>
> (b) Where is a good place to get archival disks anyway?
>      Is there anywhere good locally or just get online
>      somewhere?
Google reveals:-
http://www.aprmedia.co.uk/search.php?searchtype=blankdvd&searchstring=gold+archive&r=googlead&kw=gold%20dvds&fl=196101&ci=951650425&network=s&gclid=CMDSmL6cu5kCFQ6vQwod_2zv4w

>
>
> p.s. Expecting to be along to next meeting!
>
> Thanks,
>
> --Simon
>
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