4 ms·

It's a well known problem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot

• TacticalCoder 5y ago
  Yup it's a well-known problem, but several of us still have CDs decades old that still do read totally fine. That doesn't mean we rely on them as backups: mine have long since been copied to DVDs, then more recent DVDs but also backup'ed on harddrive / servers etc.
  • rbanffy 5y ago
    CDs and DVDs are pressed. Recordable media is not and, with the wrong conditions, will rot. DVD-RWs will get corrupted if you look funny at them.
  • mixmastamyk 5y ago
    I still have music CDs from 1985 and CD-R from 1995 in perfect condition. None of them have gone bad.
• throwaway946513 5y ago
  The linked article also explains: > DVDs are more resistant to rot > DVDs and CDs use aluminum layers for the reflective 'data encoded' layer > Discs using a gold layer are extremely resistant to corrosion and thus disc rot > Blu-ray discs use a silver-alloy for their reflective layer. Though not linked, or stated, it is quite likely that the BR discs are significantly less likely to be damaged due to disc rot for similar reasons as gold-layered discs are, though not necessarily as resistant as gold. Disc rot though appears to stem due to the damage of the lacquer or plastic layer on discs, which if the disc then remains undamaged, it should not be as susceptible to rot.