Question Doubts storage DVD drives

[gamerfan]

what tips for long term storage my internal SATA DVD drives ASUS? i store many

 

[aigomorla]

Fireproof safe, inside a thermally protected Vest.
And a spare copy offsite incase your house burns down.

 

[gamerfan]

ironic answer

 

[aigomorla]

lost....

you asked for storage solutions...
Did you mean individually wrapped cases like old style DVD cases?

I thought you more meant bulletproof archive solutions.
I wasn't being ironic in my response, i was being serious.
Those are the only viable solutions to store media like that, including flash drives.

 

[gamerfan]

Do internal sata dvd drives need to be turned on from time to time for them to be good?

 

[aigomorla]

Do internal sata dvd drives need to be turned on from time to time for them to be good?

do you mean should you burn something from time to time?
Again im lost...

Internal SATA drives are always on when your PC is on.
There is no power switch.

And yes you should be burning stuff from time to time to keep the gears inside the unit greased up.
There are belts and gears inside the burner for the caddy tray.
There is motor oil inside the actual disk motor, that needs turning from time to time.
The laser inside the burner will toast any dust which gets on the lense, so you should do burns once in a while as well have some form of laser head cleaner.

https://www.amazon.com/Maxell-190059-Thunderon-Equipment-Enhancement/dp/B00000JPPI

Nothing is maintenance free, not even your body.

 

[gamerfan]

do you mean should you burn something from time to time?
Again im lost...

Internal SATA drives are always on when your PC is on.
There is no power switch.

And yes you should be burning stuff from time to time to keep the gears inside the unit greased up.
There are belts and gears inside the burner for the caddy tray.
There is motor oil inside the actual disk motor, that needs turning from time to time.
The laser inside the burner will toast any dust which gets on the lense, so you should do burns once in a while as well have some form of laser head cleaner.

https://www.amazon.com/Maxell-190059-Thunderon-Equipment-Enhancement/dp/B00000JPPI

Nothing is maintenance free, not even your body.

I have new unused Sata Asus DVD drives stored and what is the maximum frequency allowed I should power up the drive to keep oil, belts etc good? have to use every day? the drives are in the original asus bag

 

[mindless1]

The mechanism lube doesn't go bad faster from not being used, but will, after several years, harden anyway and need refreshed with a tiny bit of light oil, then power on the drive to work it around into the existing thickened oil and grease.

The motor bearings will also need relubed eventually, but possibly not ever in the context of using them so infrequently that they are packed away.

The belts will eventually get brittle too, but much slower if there is not a continual source of fresh oxygen.

Similarly all components will survive longer if you keep them in an air-tight bag, with dessicant in it if the air is not very dry when packed.

Keep it out of sunlight, though just in a cardboard box is enough.

Do you really need these DVD drives at all? I do keep a drive in one system (not counting laptops), and one packed away, but for the most part anything I have on DVD that I suspect I'd ever need again, was ripped to ISO and stored on redundant HDDs.

This also makes them much more convenient to access, just type the name in "everything" search app, right click the search hit to mount to daemon tools, and it shows as a DVD drive letter for access (or just click the ISO to open for direct file access).

Granted I don't have more than a hundred or two DVDs I cared to rip and save, but a single TB of HDD space will store over 200, 4.7GB DVDs.

 

[gamerfan]

The mechanism lube doesn't go bad faster from not being used, but will, after several years, harden anyway and need refreshed with a tiny bit of light oil, then power on the drive to work it around into the existing thickened oil and grease.

The motor bearings will also need relubed eventually, but possibly not ever in the context of using them so infrequently that they are packed away.

The belts will eventually get brittle too, but much slower if there is not a continual source of fresh oxygen.

Similarly all components will survive longer if you keep them in an air-tight bag, with dessicant in it if the air is not very dry when packed.

Keep it out of sunlight, though just in a cardboard box is enough.

Do you really need these DVD drives at all? I do keep a drive in one system (not counting laptops), and one packed away, but for the most part anything I have on DVD that I suspect I'd ever need again, was ripped to ISO and stored on redundant HDDs.

This also makes them much more convenient to access, just type the name in "everything" search app, right click the search hit to mount to daemon tools, and it shows as a DVD drive letter for access (or just click the ISO to open for direct file access).

Granted I don't have more than a few dozens ("maybe" 100+) of DVDs I cared to rip and save, but a single TB of HDD space will store over 200, 4.7GB DVDs.

do you recommend that i energize the asus sata dvd drive at what time interval (months, years) to keep in good condition conservation oil, grease and belt?

unfortunately i don't have anything airtight i put the drives inside the clothes closet but they are not inside cardboard boxes they are inside the original ASUS bag

this question is about electronics or just optical drives?

I wanted to conserve without needing to open the drive and put oil and grease

 

[mindless1]

do you recommend that i energize the asus sata dvd drive at what time interval (months, years) to keep in good condition conservation oil, grease and belt?

unfortunately i don't have anything airtight i put the drives inside the clothes closet but they are not inside cardboard boxes they are inside the original ASUS bag

this question is about electronics or just optical drives?

I wanted to conserve without needing to open the drive and put oil and grease

No, there is no need to "exercise" the drive unlike something that is a ferrous metal in an environment where it would rust. Powering them on when not needed would just add unnecessary wear, but it's not as though you would wear them out too quickly to power them on and use them once every year or two, if you just want to check to make sure they still work in case you might need one later.

Of course you have something air-tight, just tape shut the original bag it came in, or in a zip-lock baggie or trash bag tied off or whatever. It's only the drive itself that needs to be in the bag (evacuate all excess air out) unless you are trying to also preserve the cardboard box for historical reasons.

There is nothing you can do that will result in not needing fresh lube in the drive eventually, say 20 years from now, but sealing them away from air will help, as will storing them in a cool area.

How long do you realistically think you will need them to last? Oil (as a buyable product) will still be around decades from now but finding new belt(s) could be the trickier part.

 

[gamerfan]

I thought I'd use them at some time interval to move mechanics and electronics and electrolytic capacitors but I don't know the asus drive manufacturer email for these dvd drive sata conservation issues

lubricating after 20 years is easier but lubricating and opening the drive every month is tiring

 

[mindless1]

I thought I'd use them at some time interval to move mechanics and electronics and electrolytic capacitors ...

Can you restate that? I've no idea what you mean.

The electronic components in a DVD drive do not need exercise. The electrolytic capacitors will eventually dry out but odds are high that it will be the belt or other lubed components that cause a problem before then, if not dust accumulation because there was no mitigation from fresh air circulation to prevent dust buildup.

If they are brand new you are set to store them but if they have sat out and already built up dust, you should open them and blow the dust out with weak compressed air... or don't, it's up to you how much of a burden to make this.

As already stated, I'd just rip DVDs to ISO now and let tomorrow take care of itself as long as I have the redundant ISO backups.

 

[gamerfan]

Can you restate that? I've no idea what you mean.

The electronic components in a DVD drive do not need exercise. The electrolytic capacitors will eventually dry out but odds are high that it will be the belt or other lubed components that cause a problem before then, if not dust accumulation because there was no mitigation from fresh air circulation to prevent dust buildup.

If they are brand new you are set to store them but if they have sat out and already built up dust, you should open them and blow the dust out with weak compressed air... or don't, it's up to you how much of a burden to make this.

As already stated, I'd just rip DVDs to ISO now and let tomorrow take care of itself as long as I have the redundant ISO backups.

Asus sata dvd drive inside original asus bag is dust protected?

from your experience there is no need to power up the drive after a period of non-use

 

[mindless1]

I already stated this, see above.