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

[Don Burch]

I do recall in the past someone (not on this list), somewhere had 
commented that nature has an abundance of little critters (molds, fungus 
and the like) that are quite capable of penetrating the layers of the 
media from the edge. If true, you need to invest in very high quality 
media or store them in a clean room.
I believe the same article recommended transferring critical data onto 
fresh media every 5 years. This is a good idea as would help one to 
remember what was on the disk, and where it was kept :-)

Don Burch

Carl Gehr wrote:
> Joe,
> I was just asking an honest question:  Aside from the heat/light, would
> the Gold CDs be worth the cost?
> 
> As for the expense of the bank safe deposit box, the annual cost is
> typically less than $40-50 per year.  And, I have that expense anyhow
> for other important documents, items that I would not trust even to a
> fire proof safe at home.  There is a clear benefit just to having the
> storage totally off-site.  It is also more economical than an on-line
> backup service.
> 
> Carl
> 
> On Thu, 10 May 2007 20:29:42 -0400, Joseph Hansen wrote:
> 
>> 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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