On 12 Sep 2003 at 11:31, Luuk Paulussen wrote:
> It is really just a short summary to get you to buy the magazine
This is the summary, fairly loosely translated:
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Article CD-R Rot (September Issue)
Tuesday 19 August, 2003
CD-R' s illegible within two year
Random sample gives alarming results
Jeroen Horlings
Vital data on a cd-r may not always last for long periods of time. From our hands-on test,
published in the September issue of PC-Active, it is clear that data on a cd-r can become
illegible within two years. The chance that important personal information may be lost, id big
when using particular brands of cd-r’s.
As you as reader of PC-Active probably knows already, in 2001 we performed and published a
large cd-r-test. From this it was already apparent that not all new cd-r’s satisfied the required
quality requirement. We have stored the thirty different brands cd-r’s in their original packing
in a closed cupboard for two years. For the article ‘CD-R Rot’, we tested these disks again,
using a professional cd-analyser that examined the cd-r’s down to bit-level.
<image>
<image caption> On this image, you see precisely the same cd-r. The image on the left was
the result of the 2001 test. On the right is the result of the same cd-r, but in 2003. The colours
indicate level of failure in order from white (legible), green, yellow and red (illegible). </image
caption>
From the test is apparent that a number cd-r’s become completely, whereas others became
partly illegible. Data, placed on the cd-r twenty months ago, became illegible. This has
happened to well known brands as well as less well known brands.
We usually accept that data on cd-r' s will last at least ten years. Some manufacturers
even
claim a century. From our random sample, it appears that there is lots of junk on the market.
We found cd-r’s that should never have been allowed on the market. It goes around near it
possible dismissed parties. It is unacceptable that within in scarcely two years, cd-r' s became
absolutely useless.
In the September Issue of PC-Active, available on 22 August in the store, are the shocking
results, described in detail. In addition to the possible causes of the data, we also give a
number of useful tips how to prolong the life of data on cd-r’s. On the free cd-rom included,
there is also a program that can determine the state of data on a cd-r.
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