[Discussion] Gold CDs [was: Disk Backup to CD

[Carl Gehr]

But, Joe, if I am storing the CDs in a bank's safe deposit box, there
will be no excessive heat, no UV, in fact, no light at all, so what
would this expensive media do for me?

Carl

BTW, I did not start this thread.  I simply responded to the original
post.  Therefore, I removed my name from the Subject as it was
inappropriate.



On Thu, 10 May 2007 19:39:13 -0400, Joseph Hansen wrote:

>May 10, 2007
>
>I think I posted this information here about a year ago.
>
>Inkjet Art sells gold-plated mitsui CDs that are claimed to be highly  
>resistant to deterioration from heat and UV radiation, with a  
>projected lifetime of 200 years.  They're expensive: about $1.50 each  
>in small quantities.
>
>For more information, see: http://www.inkjetart.com/mitsui/index.html
>
>I do not have personal experience with these CDs, but would like to  
>hear from anyone who has.
>
>Joe
>
>
>On May 10, 2007, at 5:48 PM, Carl Gehr wrote:
>
>> Specifically regarding STORING of whatever media you use:
>> 	I have a Safe Deposit Box at a nearby bank!
>> The fireproof safe/box that I keep in house is only temporary
>> before the media is moved to the bank.
>>
>> Carl
>>
>> On Thu, 10 May 2007 13:00:12 -0700, Bill Nicholls wrote:
>>
>>> Keep in mind that CDs are *not* a robust mechanism for storage. Both
>>> heat and light will accelerate the aging of the CD.
>>>
>>> As my friend Van found out, never leave you CD on a windowsill. He
>>> picked it up after the afternoon sun had hit it for about two  
>>> hours and
>>> it was totally erased.
>>>
>>> Unless you have a fireproof safe that limits the inside temp to  
>>> boiling
>>> water, the heat from a fire will also destroy non-stamped CDs. All in
>>> all, they really are only a temporary storage medium.
>>>
>>> Alternatives:
>>> 1. DVDs - these are harder to erase, but not proof against a lot of
>>> light or heat.
>>> 2. Tape - the traditional backup still has a lot of value. Van  
>>> tells me
>>> that good tape drives, often with useable tapes, are available on  
>>> ebay
>>> for 5% of original cost, sometimes less. A good tape in a (non-cheap
>>> 2000 degree F, 2 hours)) fireproof safe will survive even a very  
>>> hot fire.
>>> 3. Raid Drives - This is my current mecanism for backup, though I  
>>> am in
>>> the process of setting up a cheap DDS4 tape backup system, using  
>>> Bacula
>>> (recommended open source). A pair of RAID1 200GB drives is about  
>>> $125,
>>> and even a fire is unlikely to destroy the data unless the drives get
>>> hot enough to warp.
>>>
>>> Recommendation:
>>> This is what I am doing. I already have multiple RAID1 drives in
>>> different systems. I backup core files to two sets of raid drives if
>>> they are important. For my video files I have a 1T RAID5 that can be
>>> expanded to 2.5T with three more 500GB drives. I can recommend  
>>> Hitachi
>>> for this, though Segate's best are also fine, about the same price.
>>> Currently high quality 500GB drives go for about $130-140.
>>>
>>> In the next month I will be setting up the tapes and buying a $3-400
>>> fireproof safe.
>>>
>>> I know it's not cheap, but have you considered how much it costs to
>>> recover data from one drive? $300 down, no upper limit and no  
>>> guarantee.
>>> Ouch!  Remember, digital photos and other personal stuff cannot be
>>> replaced and insurance is not much compensation.
>>>
>>> BillN