A musing:

There is a lack of standards  in the manufacture of digital storage 
media, and in my experience, the quality varies widely.  Hence the 
longevity of the media varies similarly, and lifespan prediction is 
speculative, at least in part.

However, in most cases, the viability of the media exceeds 1) the 
retention requirements for the data, and/or 2) the lifespan of the 
hardware that retrieves the data.  So unless media storage is in a 
brutal environment, the medium is not the limiting factor.  And for 
really longterm storage, there should be a plan for regular media 
migration to newer technologies.

This reminds me of when (circa 1990) Sony came out with a 12- or 14-inch 
optical disk that was "guaranteed for 99 years".  Hah!  Even then, we 
realized the absurdity of the claim!

Of course for really longterm storage (like data on nuclear waste with a 
10,000 year half-life) there is the pancake drive with titanium disks.  
The data is burned in with an ion beam that is just a couple of atoms 
thick.  The drive burns both digital and analog.  The idea is that in 
some unforeseeable future, someone without the proprietary drive will 
still be able to read the disk with an electron microscope.

So good luck.  Almost always, there is a reasonable answer to the problem!

Gordy Hoke
Gordon E.J. Hoke, CRM
http://gejhoke.googlepages.com
(T) 1.507.534.2293


Paige, James wrote:
> Does anyone know what the lifespan of electronic media e.g., DVDs, CDs
> and diskettes is when it's stored at a storage facility in a non-climate
> controlled environment with paper records?  I like to advise folks that
> if they store electronic media with paper records in a non-climate
> controlled environment that it might impact the integrity of the media.
>  
> Thank you.
>  
> J. Paige
>  
>  
> 	
>  
>
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