Article on data rot on CD's

From: Doc Shipley <doc_at_mdrconsult.com>
Date: Wed Jul 28 15:14:05 2004

Paul Koning wrote:

>>>>>>"Doc" == Doc Shipley <doc_at_mdrconsult.com> writes:
>
>
> Doc> Umm, no matter whether those CDs in my garage are still good, I
> Doc> vote for magtape or acid-free paper for any long-term archival.
> Doc> There's no comparison and no debate in our company. We use CDR
> Doc> for easy retrieval in the short term, and tape for the real
> Doc> backups.
>
> Unless you're *very* careful, magtapes aren't much good beyond a
> decade or so.

   Yep. I worked for a research lab at University of Texas for a couple
of years. All "relevant data" on state-funded projects must be archived
for 40 years. At the time, the Library of Congress was the accredited
authority on proper media and storage. (I expect that it still is.)

   My department had always followed those guidelines faithfully.
Still, soon after I took over the subnet, the very first time they were
asked by the state to provide archived files we were unable to produce.
  All the *tapes* had been stored properly, but all the machines with
compatible *drives* had been surplussed long since, and the backup
software junked. It was my first experience in data recovery and
migration, and one that I've since learned is very common. Perversely,
I seem to have developed a taste for it. :)


        Doc
Received on Wed Jul 28 2004 - 15:14:05 BST