Question I need to store 60G safely.

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I have a folder of music that is just under 60Gb. It's taken a buttload of work and I don't want to lose it. Right now, it's on an SSD in daily use that I play the music from. I keep weekly Acronis backups on a second drive so at least i have that. Those backups are full disk though. I'd like another direct copy of just the folder itself, so I don't need Acronis to read it.

I see USB thumb drives larger than that available, but I've read some things about them not being stable. Or at least some of them.

I can't upload anywhere since I havve a slow-ish DSL connection and upload is only a couple of Mb which means it would take forever.

Suggestions?

 

[sdifox]

For things that don't change just burn some BluRay

 

[mindless1]

^ They used to say that CDRs lasted decades too. I found out different when mine shelf rotted. No sun exposure, climate controlled storage area, didn't matter.

 

[igor_kavinski]

^ They used to say that CDRs lasted decades too. I found out different when mine shelf rotted. No sun exposure, climate controlled storage area, didn't matter.

They fixed that with more durable materials in DVDs and Blurays. Though haven't checked mine yet.

 

[sdifox]

^ They used to say that CDRs lasted decades too. I found out different when mine shelf rotted. No sun exposure, climate controlled storage area, didn't matter.

BluRay is a lot better than CDR.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Not keen on discs that have to be written and read in that manner (optical, head, etc.) But another element came into play in this discussion ... write speed to any destination. Have to consider that or make multiple smaller transfers.

Thinking spare SSD may be the way to go.

But how .... USB is not lickety split on this old notebook. And it doesn't have any of the other higher speed ports.

I have a slimline HP desktop with spare SATA ports I think.

Weekly Acronis backups take close to an hour for this drive. Restore to a spare SSD?

 

[sdifox]

Not keen on discs that have to be written and read in that manner (optical, head, etc.) But another element came into play in this discussion ... write speed to any destination. Have to consider that or make multiple smaller transfers.

Thinking spare SSD may be the way to go.

But how .... USB is not lickety split on this old notebook. And it doesn't have any of the other higher speed ports.

I have a slimline HP desktop with spare SATA ports I think.

Weekly Acronis backups take close to an hour for this drive. Restore to a spare SSD?

Op's talking about music files, third layer backup at that.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

^ They used to say that CDRs lasted decades too. I found out different when mine shelf rotted. No sun exposure, climate controlled storage area, didn't matter.

CD-R(W) and DVD(+/-)R(W)s use an organic recording layer, so there is a finite shelf-life. Storage conditions only slow down decay, they don't stop it. CD-ROM and DVD-ROM don't have that problem as they're pressed, not recorded.

DVD-RAM (no, not a typo) and Bluray* are phase change media, so will last a good while (50+ years).

*Avoid the LTH variety.

 

[mindless1]

^ Still seems a bit much to bother with, considering I walk around every day with redundant redundancy of over 60GB of space on a phone mSD card and also a keychain USB flash drive. If I wanted even more redudancy, I could make another copy on an FM transmitter-audio-player mSD in one vehicle, or USB port in another, or USB or mSD on my tool kit radio, or in a "music speakers" generic module in my bookshelf stereo, or my other stereo.... there's just no shortage of ways I can avoid bothering with storing an optical drive for decades, and yet I've done exactly that with some still NIB, free after rebate CDRW drives. Heh, I think they might be IDE!

 

[bononos]

CD-R(W) and DVD(+/-)R(W)s use an organic recording layer, so there is a finite shelf-life. Storage conditions only slow down decay, they don't stop it. CD-ROM and DVD-ROM don't have that problem as they're pressed, not recorded.

DVD-RAM (no, not a typo) and Bluray* are phase change media, so will last a good while (50+ years).
*Avoid the LTH variety.

Some of the pressed movie sets I bought became unreadable because they deteriorated, the film media had flaked off like tiny bits of sand. I thought they would last a lifetime stored away safely and it still irritates me which is why I didn't go the BDR route, my burnt DVD+ disks which are about the same age however still seem fine which is odd.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Some of the pressed movie sets I bought became unreadable because they deteriorated, the film media had flaked off like tiny bits of sand. I thought they would last a lifetime stored away safely and it still irritates me which is why I didn't go the BDR route, my burnt DVD+ disks which are about the same age however still seem fine which is odd.

Was it the reflective layer along with the label that came off? Have seen that happen with older discs. Not much one can do about that. I think it must be a manufacturing defect, that just takes a long time to manifest itself.

On the other side I have both CD-Rs from the early nineties and what must be first-gen DVDs from the late nineties that are still perfectly readable. My DVD-RAMs from the same period are still perfect.

This stuff of course resides on (both) my NAS too, but I see no reason to chuck the discs, and have even made a few bluray backups of that data too.

 

[bononos]

Was it the reflective layer along with the label that came off? Have seen that happen with older discs. Not much one can do about that. I think it must be a manufacturing defect, that just takes a long time to manifest itself.

On the other side I have both CD-Rs from the early nineties and what must be first-gen DVDs from the late nineties that are still perfectly readable. My DVD-RAMs from the same period are still perfect.
............

I can't be sure because I think I threw them away already. But I think the labels were fine. And I thought the DVD+R recording layer was inside the polycarbonate disks which gives it a good measure of physical protection unlike CDRs?

8.1.4 Recordable CD and DVD Description | International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives

www.iasa-web.org

And I found more bad pressed DVDs. The bad disk on the bottom has edges which look eroded.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I can't be sure because I think I threw them away already. But I think the labels were fine. And I thought the DVD+R recording layer was inside the polycarbonate disks which gives it a good measure of physical protection unlike CDRs?

DVD+/-R are certainly better protected then CD-Rs, but again since the recording layer is organic, it will break down eventually. Disc quality plays a role, as does recording speed and technique. I've seen fast burned (16x) DVD+R become unreadable in 6 months time, under normal storage conditions. On the other hand I have slow burned quality (Kodak Gold) CD-R from the late 90's which are still perfect.

For best results, you'll want to write using CAV at 4x max. 2x can work, but newer media might not like it that slow. For media Taiyo-Yuden (JVC) are unsurpassed, but you can't get those anymore. Unless you can find some leftover stock.

And I found more bad pressed DVDs. The bad disk on the bottom has edges which look eroded.

Bad polycarbonate? They do look a bit eroded.

 

[bononos]

DVD+/-R are certainly better protected then CD-Rs, but again since the recording layer is organic, it will break down eventually. Disc quality plays a role, as does recording speed and technique. I've seen fast burned (16x) DVD+R become unreadable in 6 months time, under normal storage conditions. On the other hand I have slow burned quality (Kodak Gold) CD-R from the late 90's which are still perfect.

I was responding to what you said about label flaking off with the recording layer - that cannot happen with DVD+Rs only with CDRs. With CDRs the recording layer is right on top of the plastic whereas with DVD+Rs, its sandwiched between 2 layers of plastic.

Bad polycarbonate? They do look a bit eroded.

The polycarbonate looks perfectly fine but the recording layer seems to have disappeared at the edges. I think that there is a manufacturing defect which caused gaps between plastic layers.