Even so CD and DVD manufacturers claim that CDs and DVDs last for 100 years, but who has the ideal temperature of 74°F/25° C and 50% humidity in their office at all times. A more realistic number is probably 5 to 10 years, especially if the CD is being labeled or written on. The reflective surface of the disc is deteriorating and cannot be read by the laser in the drive.

What other options are there?

Hard drives are lasting longer now than they did 10 or 20 years ago. But after 5 years there is no guarantee that the data can still be retrieved. For short term data storage hard drives offer a fast and simple solution.

USB Memory Sticks, some of them come with 30 year warranty, provide long term data stability and ease-of-use. They have to protected against power surges (lightning).

Memory cards, as used in digital cameras, use the same technology to store data as the USB sticks. Make sure to use the ones labeled “SLC” (Single-Level-Cell) as opposed to “MLC” (Multi-Level-Cell). The SLC cards can handle up to 100,000 re-write cycles.

The good old tape is usually good for about 30 years. If you have a lot of data you want to preserve for a long time, home or office. Tape is still a good choice.

Paper and micro-film are made for real long term solutions, however doesn’t store movies and pictures. As long as the paper is free of wood and non-acidic, it can last for centuries.

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