Do CD-ROMS's wear out over time?

[Rob P]

Found an old CDROM yesterday which contained about 5 long tracks on MP3. Its at least 3 years old since I copied the tracks. I know the dics was full with data.

Anyway, tried it in 3 different PC's and all I get is a music file called "track01" which shows up as being 405kb which when played is completely silent.

Do CDROMS have a finite life then? The disc itself is a branded CDR with no scratches..have I lost those files then?

[Podie]

Cds do degrade over time, but I'd expect them to last a bit longer than 3 years. It's not just scratches on the underside, but damage on the top side of the disc that can cause problems.

[Plotloss]

Crap CD-ROMS have a life thats bizzare, some last for ever some only a few weeks.

Good CD-ROMS guarantee data retention for over 100 years if they are not damaged.

[Rob P]

Podie said:

Cds do degrade over time, but I'd expect them to last a bit longer than 3 years. It's not just scratches on the underside, but damage on the top side of the disc that can cause problems.

Yeah, 3 years is a bit crap...disc really looks fine on both sides

[Piccy Mate]

CD life is improving and 3 years is not very good.
Life expectancy is reduced if the CD is left upside down and exposed to bright light or the sun for too long a period.
You could try using a CD cleaner or even washing the disc with some warm soapy water - wipe it from the centre outwards moving around the disc - don't use a circular motion to wipe it.
Alternatively use T-cut on a moist cloth to give the surface a sight polish - don't go overboard though!
Oh! and even if it is a branded disk it could still be damaged by the machine the disc was burned on in the first place.
Have you tried playing it on the original burner?
You might be interested in reading the report on this site:
www.melbpc.org.au/pcupdate/2106/2106article14.htm

David

[Rob P]

Yeah tried in on the original burner.

Its worked for at least 2 years...then it was sat in my desk for about a year so I dont think sunlight is to blame.

Will give it a clean and see what happens...

[RobDickinson]

We cant use CD-roms for long term storage, not reliable for over 10 years, we have to use magneto-optical instead.

Keep em cool and out of sunlight is best.

[andygo]

My son wore out the centre part of the cd (the bit that sits on the drive) on Colin Mcrea Rally.

Use these useful sites (www.cracks.am/main.html) or

www.gamecopyworld.com

to download handy patches to back up important copy protected cd's or enable progs. to run without any cd at all.