Survival rates in computers with the eye on archiving.

[N Cook]

Hi!


Fragile? Easily?

With all due respect, have you tried this?

I got a bunch of America Online CDs a long time ago. It's a long story, but
it involved a display being taken down. Despite the fact that the software
was unchanged (same version), the CDs were "useless" and would be thrown out
with the rest of the display. I asked the woman tearing down the stand if I
could have them...as I was thinking thoughts of "what wastefulness", "maybe
I could do something with these" or "anything would be better than throwing
most of them away".

Once I ran out of ideas (hanging them in trees to annoy birds, using them to
reinstall AOL software on AOL-users computers after they'd messed something
up--why they make it so hard to download a simple one-shot installer is
beyond me, using them in art projects, etc)...there was really only one
thing left to do, and that was to find out what kind of abusive handling it
would take to break them--both in and out of their paper sleeves.

I used a few implements of destruction--an office chair, a table, a PS/2
model 85 (!!!), one file cabinet drawer and a vehicle. Of all of these
things, only the file cabinet drawer could break a disc into pieces on the
first try, and that was only by "cheating" and holding the disc in the path
of the moving drawer. One *slam* and it was all over for that disc. It
didn't matter if the disc was in its sleeve or not. I could run over the
disc almost to my heart's content with the chair, slap it against the PS/2's
heavy steel case as hard as I could manage to do so or run it over
repeatedly with the vehicle. If the disc was in its sleeve...it would
survive. If the disc was out...it got scratched but was at least partially
readable.

William

A neighbour of mine uses them as bird scarers in his front garden.
Been doing it for perhaps 4 years. The ones closest to the road, at least,
show obvious damage from oxidation of the metalisation, grey not silver and
large patches where the metal has disappeared leaving just a dust or
discoloured plastic, not seen close up as nearest is 4 foot from the road,
so can't be sure on that point.

Which would suggest storing in a desicated or evacuated container for
archiving of CDs

 

[bz]

Hi!


Fragile? Easily?

With all due respect, have you tried this?
.....
sleeve...it would survive. If the disc was out...it got scratched but
was at least partially readable.

William

Have you tried 'nuking' one in a microwave oven?

Avoid breathing the fumes produced.

Makes some interesting patterns. Makes data recovery 'difficult'.


I saw a picture on line somewhere. Someone had made lawn ornaments by
threading thousands of CDs onto bent rods.
Made interesting thick shapes of semi-transparent plastic.

Of course, the plastic IS recyclable and should be recycled.




--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

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