SOHO Backups?

[Tom Buskey]

I've been archiving my photo collection on CD-R and have 25 CDs. About 22GB.
I've thought about DVDs, but I haven't seen much on DVD-R or DVD+R
longevity. Does anyone have any sources/experiences? I'd imagine it's
similar, but DVDs use different encoding, etc.

On 11/15/05, Jason Stephenson <jason at sigio.com> wrote:
>
> Jim Kuzdrall wrote:
> >>However, I hear CD-ROM is unreliable even over 12 months, so that's
> >>out.



Exposure to light and excessive heat can deteriorate the dye layer on
> CD-R and CD-RW media.
>
> I've been using CD-RW and CD-R media for backups of my data for the past
> five years and have had no real issues. I have had some cheap CD-R discs
> that either don't burn (cdrecord reports media errors) or that have had
> read errors after sitting about for 2 to 3 years.
>
> I have not had any problems with CD-RW media of any sort, but I also
> don't buy cheap CD-RWs. I've actually rewritten the same disc
> consistently for 4 years. This disc actually outlived my first burner!
>
> I find that there is a huge difference in longevity between different
> manufacturers and at different price points. The cheap stacks of no-name
> CD-Rs that you get for 10 cents a piece don't last nearly as long, nor
> are generally as reliable as the discs that cost close to $1.00 each. I
> also tend to only buy Fuji Film or Taiyo Yuden discs for my serious
> tasks. Though I have to admit I've had some pretty good luck with a
> cheap stack of Ritek-made discs with the AT&T brand on them.
>
> I have used these backups, so they have had real world testing. I've
> used them to copy my important data onto a new hard drive when I last
> upgraded my system, and when switching from GNU/Linux to FreeBSD.
>
> I generally backup everything overwriting what's on my disc each time. I
> often make two copies, just in case, though I keep them both generally
> near the computer, so if there's a fire, I've lost everything.--I mainly
> do them in the more likely event of hardware failure.
>
> If you're just backing up a few hundred megs of data then CD-RW/CD-R
> media is fine. A couple gigs and I'd look into backing up on DVD+-R/W.
>
>
>
--
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad
measures.
- Daniel Webster
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