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

[Joseph Hansen]

May 10, 2007

Carl, the reason I posted this information is that, if ond could use  
a CD that offers very long life and resistance to heat and light,  
that might avoid the even greater expense of a safe deposit box.

Joe


On May 10, 2007, at 8:12 PM, Carl Gehr wrote:

> 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
>
>
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Joseph J Hansen
Lexington Strategic Associates
221 Follen Road, Lexington, MA 02421-5802

tel (781) 863-5003
jhansen at LexSA.com,  www.LexSA.com