Average lifetime of hard disks, DVDs, CDs, & Co.

Everyone should know about the average life of storage media – because data archives on tape, CD, DVD, Blu-ray or about a hard disk do not last forever. Probably the oldest “storage method”, the archiving of information via hammer and chisel in stone, practiced thousands of years ago, is also the most efficient. The oldest well-known stone-engraved cuneiform is still visible today.


Audio and video on tape


It is true that air pollution and weathering can also be a source of the most durable granite, but the life of these documents, which have literally become stone, is impressive. Modern storage media are far away. With the modern letterpress printing, based on Gutenberg's invention of mobile types, replacing wood-panel printing in Europe in the middle of the 15th century and entering the mass market, the printed book became a standard storage medium

First digital media


The paper used at that time consisted of linen rags and therefore had a particularly long shelf life. Modern, wood-containing paper, on the other hand, has a much shorter service life. Light, warmth or moisture add to it and accelerate decay. Many a book survives only a few decades and turns into dust. In the case of newspapers, this is much faster than in books because of the lower quality paper.


Optical storage media


Perhaps you used to shoot photos and print the pictures in albums or as a slide collection. If you look at the old photos today, you will notice that the colors fade slowly but surely - no matter how carefully and light-protected you have kept your pictures.


Advantages and disadvantages of optical media


The same applies to Super 8 films, although the material used there has an almost legendary durability. Again, the color fades in the course of time and goes completely lost. By the way: If you want to keep unlit, analogous films for later use, do the best in the freezer in the freezer. Thus, films can be used for years beyond their shelf-life.


Sound recordings are also affected by decay. Audio cassettes are often no longer readable after only a few years. In the warm car stored, a fast end is almost pre-programmed. The good, old shellac plate is somewhat more durable, but it is similar to the stone plate not a really modern storage medium. It requires a relatively large amount of space, and the sound quality is now only loved by lovers. VHS cassettes are similar to their audiophilic relatives, even when stored well, not very long.


With the PC, digital storage media came into our households. The floppy disk, introduced in 1969, was the first widely used, portable, digital data carrier with a generous storage space between 80 KB and 3.4 MB. Unlike the CD, the floppy disk is not an optical, but a magnetic data carrier.


Theoretically, the life span of these colloquial "floppy" storage media should be between five and 30 years. In practice, however, this was usually quite different. Not infrequently, diskettes with higher capacity were no longer readable after a much shorter period of time and the data was lost.


One reason for the fast wear is the read / write head, which does not float just above the surface of the magnetic disk, for example in the case of hard disks, but directly touches the same as the disk cover itself. Magnetic fields, such as speakers or monitors, can also destroy data stored on a floppy disk.


Modern, contemporary storage media such as CDs, DVDs or Blu-rays are usually much more reliable - should you at least mean. These media are likely to be the most widely used storage media for digital data in private households. No wonder, they are very cheap, supposedly almost indestructible, compact and very easy to handle. The manufacturer's promised lifespan between 80 and 100 years is enough for a human life.


But can one really rely on this information? First, one must take into account that these naturally always optimal storage conditions presuppose. This means for optical media such as CD, DVD and Blu-ray in the clear text: optimal temperatures, no light, no scratches, no stickers, no fingerprints. Anyone who now thinks a described, scratch-free and sticker-free CD holds an eternity in a cardboard box in the bedroom cabinet, but is still wrong.


Although the disc is safely protected from light and scratches, it is difficult at the right temperature. The range required for permanent storage is between -5 ° to + 30 ° C, but the optimum service life is reached only at exactly 25 ° C. Temperature fluctuations should also be avoided. The optimal humidity for storage is between 40 and 60 percent.


If the moisture is too high, it can penetrate into the storage layer and corrode. Too dry air is also harmful and shortens the service life. Scratches are another mortal enemy of the silver. Even a small scratch can be enough to permanently destroy the reflection layer. The Silberling is no longer readable, the data is lost. Labels with chemical solvents in the adhesive layer can damage the surface as much as a content label with a pin that is too hard.


Here, one uses better CD markers with soft tip and harmless ink specially designed for the labeling of optical data carriers. In addition, the silver without stickers usually runs "rounder". The bottom line is therefore not surprising that a large percentage of optical media can not be read out after only a few years and data recovery is impossible, even though many disks are perfectly correct on the outside.


Pressed CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays have up to 100 years a supposedly longer life expectancy than their burned relatives, but there are no long-term experiences. In the case of pressed Blu-rays, a special lacquer layer also prevents the penetration of moisture and increases the scratch resistance. Nevertheless, these storage tips apply here as well.