Name: Anonymous 2008-03-14 18:05
Hi /tech/
You know how old tapes used to become shitty after a certain amount of time? Well, maybe not since noone uses tapes anymore, but they do. I dunno how it works, the magnetic signal fades or whatever.
Anyway, my question is; does something similar happen to CDs and DVDs? And in particular the recordable/rewritable versions? If I store stuff on CD or DVD today, and I let it sit unused in a box somewhere in the attic (safe from moisture and dust, maybe not 100% safe from temperature but mostly anyway), will it remain 100% intact over the years, or will the things degrade over time?
If they do decay, how long does it take for the date stored on it to get corrupted? And what would be the safest way to store digital data for very long periods if CDs/DVDs aren't 100% safe?
Maybe it's a stupid question, but I really don't know anything about how these things work, and I really want to know.
You know how old tapes used to become shitty after a certain amount of time? Well, maybe not since noone uses tapes anymore, but they do. I dunno how it works, the magnetic signal fades or whatever.
Anyway, my question is; does something similar happen to CDs and DVDs? And in particular the recordable/rewritable versions? If I store stuff on CD or DVD today, and I let it sit unused in a box somewhere in the attic (safe from moisture and dust, maybe not 100% safe from temperature but mostly anyway), will it remain 100% intact over the years, or will the things degrade over time?
If they do decay, how long does it take for the date stored on it to get corrupted? And what would be the safest way to store digital data for very long periods if CDs/DVDs aren't 100% safe?
Maybe it's a stupid question, but I really don't know anything about how these things work, and I really want to know.