Computers and Related Hardware/Software

From Popular Mechanics (04/2006)

DISC IS THE END

Bad news for anyone who backs up data to CD-Rs:
According to an expert at IBM Germany, burned discs have a life span of just two to five years. CD-R makers typically claim a shelf life of five to 10 years for unburned discs, but burning activates a heat-sensitive dye that quickly degrades.

Even originally pressed CDs can fall prey to "CD rot" (see photo above), corroding due to heat and humidity. Trusty, albeit geeky, magnetic tapes are the best digital storage option, lasting 30 to 100 years.

Crap. Come on blu-ray disc... :fingerscrossed:

First thing I'll do when I have one is to re-backup all my stuff on new media. I don't want to lose all my stuff. :puppydog:

krim wrote:Trusty, albeit geeky, magnetic tapes are the best digital storage option, lasting 30 to 100 years.

Until the tape stretches out and breaks. Or dries up and disintegrates. :hehe:

yeah no media is safe, but what IBM dude said about cd/dvdrs stay working for 2-5 years is quite alarming. I experienced this with some older cdrs, of good quality and kept in jewelcase - became unreadable within a year. I have no idea about my dvdrs though: no time to test them all :hehe:

Terryb wrote:that's why I've always said that I didn't trust those bigger HD: I'd rather buy 2x200gb instead of 1x400gb drive to minimize data loss for when it dies.

Heh, I am glad I am not the only who thinks that way. My friends think I am crazy. I store all my anime/mp3s/dvd-rips on 80GB hdds so I've quite a few hanging around at home. :hehe:

sorry for this random post

Hey I guess we are one of the few then. Especially when the next large sized drives come out it's rather risky. (it's same with dvd media, at first it's unreliable and expensive) Not that I don't own large drives at all, my biggest one is a 250gb drive. But you won't see me buying a 400-500gb any time soon.

You could always buy 2 hard drives and use raid #?. I forgot the number, but it duplicates the 2 drives, so if one dies, the other is ok. Just remove the damaged one with a new one and you're good to go. :)

I'm paranoid, so my important stuff is at 2 different locations. If one place burn down or get robbed, I'll still have a backup. :D

tabana wrote:You could always buy 2 hard drives and use raid #?. I forgot the number, but it duplicates the 2 drives, so if one dies, the other is ok. Just remove the damaged one with a new one and you're good to go. :)

The thing about that is you have the same amount of storage as a single drive, ne? From a data integrity standpoint that's great, but from a storage standpoint, you're paying double for the same amount of disc space.

I guess it comes down to what your priorities are. ;)

Yeah. Mostly used for servers. I woundn't buy a second hard drive just to have a copy of everything. :sweat:

tabana wrote:Yeah. Mostly used for servers. I woundn't buy a second hard drive just to have a copy of everything. :sweat:

But you did say you were paranoid. ;)

Terryb wrote:One of my HD's died today :shamefulcry: :shamefulcry: it was a Maxtor 120gb, when I turned my comp on I saw smoke coming out of my tower.

sadly I don't remember exactly what was on it, since it was an older drive (around 3 years old) it contained random anime/music/jdrama, personal stuff
and lots of install files. :banghead:

my deepest sympathies.
:pout:

tabana wrote:You could always buy 2 hard drives and use raid #?. I forgot the number, but it duplicates the 2 drives, so if one dies, the other is ok. Just remove the damaged one with a new one and you're good to go. :)

I'm paranoid, so my important stuff is at 2 different locations. If one place burn down or get robbed, I'll still have a backup. :D

i used to run a RAID5 w/ 4 9gb drives back in the day. :mrgreen:

krim wrote:i used to run a RAID5 w/ 4 9gb drives back in the day. :mrgreen:

9GB??

Ooooooooooooh.

bmwracer wrote:But you did say you were paranoid. ;)

Oops. :beaten: :ashamed:

Mostly for work related stuff, contacts, emails, music (I can't work without it )... I guess I should include dramas and idol's pictures, but I don't have enough space. :puppydog:

bmwracer wrote:
9GB??

Ooooooooooooh.

those SCSI-UW drives were ass expensive back in 94, i think i paid $240 for each one... and i didn't have a steady job. :beatyou:

:mrgreen:

krim wrote:those SCSI-UW drives were ass expensive back in 94, i think i paid $240 for each one... and i didn't have a steady job. :beatyou:

:mrgreen:

Heh, you must have a mallet dedicated to me considering how often you use it. :bonk: :bonk:

$240 for each one... :google:

You could have a terabyte or two today for the same price.

tabana wrote:$240 for each one... :google:

You could have a terabyte or two today for the same price.

300gb SCSIUltra320 Seagate Cheetah drives retail for $750 right now.

krim wrote:300gb SCSIUltra320 Seagate Cheetah drives retail for $750 right now.

That's outrageous.

that really is more for a server than a desktop PC... i dont use SCSI anymore, solely because i dont need that kind of speed anymore.