Question about pics/vids on CDs

[Swede20]

Ever since I started to visit, and then became a member of DS, my collection of porn is atleast 10 times bigger than it was before, mostly cause of the fact that most things that are being posted here is so damn good! Anyway, almost all of the pics & vids you people have shared, I've put on CDs - in case my computer broke down seriously, again... Question is, how long are these CDs going to last? I mean, will they work forever, or do I have to copy everyone of them once every 10 year or so? I bet my grandchildren would like my collection as a gift, when they are about my age LOL

I don't how much of an dumb question this is :?

[Montolio]

The problem is that they don't know exactly because there aren't lots of experiences.
But I heard CD's you made on your own can be used probably 20-30 years, CD's you buy 50 years and DVD's probably 100 years. And it depends how carefully you handle and maintain them.

[Blackhawk_996]

Initial estimates put the life expectancy of an optical disk at 50 to 100 years. Recent speculation has reduced this to from 3 to 5 years. Many users worry about losing valuable data after paying high costs over a short period of time.

The National Science Academy has found a solution to this problem. Acccording to one of their recent studies, they have determined that the deterioration and oxidation process can be delayed, therefore, prolonging the life of a CD-ROM. They recommend that when the discs are not in use, they be stored in the freezer at 17 degrees Fahrenheit. This action should prolong the life expectancy of CD ROM by 75 years or more. They suggest using zip lock bags to seal in the freshness of the data and to prevent freezer burn.

In addition, they recommend using Arm and Hammer or another brand of bicarbonate of soda to absorb harmful gases and reduce oxidation. This process resembles freeze drying which keeps the disc dry, kills bacteria, and preserves the medium. The bicarbonate of soda removes harmful odors and other bacteria from the air which could accelerate the oxidation and deterioration of the disc.

When preparing the disc for use, they recommend allowing it to warm to room temperature prior to inserting it in the CD ROM drive. While one could use the microwave to do this, they do not recommend it, except on July 4th. One could also use a toaster set to the light cycle to warm the disc and remove any condensation. A one quart sauce pan or a small frying pan would achieve the same results. The sauce pan has an advantage in that it's just about the right size to hold a CD-ROM; and it heats the entire side evenly.

To avoid having the discs stick to the pan, however, the National Science Academy's report recommends using a little margarine or vegetable oil to coat the pan bottom. They suggest using safflower or a low-cholestorol oil. An even coating will also facilitate even heating. Oil residue on the discs provides a protective coating during use that blocks the air from attacking the disc, thereby preventing oxidation. It also lubricates the disc surface, permitting it to spin faster. As the disc moves faster, more data pass under the optical pick-up unit, thus speeding up information retrieval.

In using this approach, however, one should not insert more than one disc at a time because the second and subsequent discs will not heat uniformly. Even heating is important to avoid read-back distortion caused by excentricity resulting from heat expansion. Users should beware using too much oil (lubricant), however, as this may cause the data to "slide" to the outer edge during the spin cycle, thus causing them to become unreadable. In addition, the coagulation of too much data on the outer edge ("data bunching") could produce unbalancing of the disc that could impair operation -- just as an uneven load of laundry in the washing machine produces noise during the spin cycle. This phenomenon also provides an argument against using vertically-mounted drives. Overly-lubricated data could slide off the disc and fall to the bottom of the drive unit, resulting in substantial data loss and a messy clean-up job.
If this latter problem occurs with any degree of frequency, drive manufacturers will probably respond by installing a self-cleaning mechanism in the next generation of drives. This mechanism could work in a manner similar to self-cleaning ovens, or it may involve coating the inside of the drive chassis with teflon or a similar non-stick surface to make cleaning easier. Many existing drive models have a multiple-door mechanism to seal the optical unit from the rest of the chassis to prevent dust and foreign matter from entering the drive. However with contamination coming from internal operation, a self cleaning mechanism would be most appropriate.

The National Science Academy has determined that following these procedures could eliminate the problems of oxidation and deterioration, thereby prolonging the life expectancy of a CD-ROM almost indefinitely.