(Brad) wrote:

Hi,

From time to time, I come across an article about CD roms, etc.
What I have learned so far, CD-R (I use) is better than CD-RW for long
term storage of important data. Also, how they are stored can have
a bearing on their "life".

I keep CD roms in a dark cool location. To test the integrity of my
"burned" CD roms, I use "Finder" (search engine) I downloaded from
www.simtel.net. I "search" for a non-existant text pattern such as "i don't
exist" in order to get "Finder" to read through every file on the CD rom as a
way to check for corrupt data. Note: "Finder" has reported read errors on
some of my floppy disks. So far, no read errors were reported. However, I
started burning CD roms about 4 years ago.

Is the integrity of commercial CD roms better than those I "burn" at home?
How long can we expect to keep our CD roms, assuming they are stored in a good
environment, before we begin to encounter corrupt data?

Thanks in advance, Brad


A Google web search for CDR Longevity turned up a number of
interesting hits. This one is a bit dated but the source is quite
reputable:

http://www.informationweek.com/story...cleID=15800263

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."