[Leica] Re: CD and DVD preservation

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Dec 17, 2008, at 11:24 AM, lug-request@leica-users.org wrote:

> From: "Jayanand Govindaraj" <jayanand@gmail.com>
> Subject: [Leica] OT - CD/DVD Storage
> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org>
> Message-ID:
>       <3cad89990812170145yff1a654ke9f0774a31f2c378@mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> For those who are interested in archival storage of CD/DVDs:
>
> http://www.itl.nist.gov/iad/894.05/docs/ 
> CDandDVDCareandHandlingGuide.pdf
>
>
> Cheers
> Jayanand


Thanks Jayanard. I read through the entire 50 pages of the .pdf file  
and it contains just about everything you want to know about saving  
and storing those precious files. Distilled into five sentences, the  
report recommends:

1. Buy quality CD and DVD discs as you need them instead of buying  
large quantities in advance.
2. Handle the discs carefully keeping those sweaty fingers off of the  
recording surface.
3. Write only on the back of the disc with a soft tipped marker.
4. Don't bend the discs, use them as coasters, or play Frisbee with  
them.
5. Store them in individual containers in a dry, cool, dark, place.

If treated nicely, the disc files will last for many years. At least  
until the software and computers necessary to read the disc becomes  
obsolete. According to the report, the approximate half life of a  
computer file storage technology is between 8 and 10o years. The  
ultimate storage strategy is, of course, to burn the data to the  
replacement storage technology toward the end of the previous storage  
technology life span.

Larry Z