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My cd's start to disintegrate!


Nemesis

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I just wanted to share that some of my cd's which are about 20 years old start to disintegrate. Just to name a few affected ones:

-E.T. (the album with the concert versions)

-The Witches of Eastwick (original WB release)

-Hook

-Star Wars (Polydor release)

-Empire Strikes Back (Polydor release)

I detected it after I saw a documentary on TV about it. You can hold the cd against a lamp (light). If it has little dots where the light can shine through the cd is affected.

But at the end all cd's will be affected, later or sooner. I knew that cd's not will be forever, but I'm shocked that the life of a cd is that short.

Now I have to start to make backups of my cd's on the computer. And of some special cd's I will make also CD-R backups which have to be burned after 4-5 years again.

I posted this message also on the FSM board.

I just want to know what is the best thing to save the music for the next decades. I think about to buy an external hard drive.

How do you backup your cd's for the future?

Nemesis

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I haven't planned it, but just about all my CDs are on my PC. I'll need to get a new HD, and maybe every few months burn backups (once I get a DVD burner, that is).

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Hmmm I've got several CDs that are 20 years old and they are all just fine.

Yes, me too. But some minor of my cd's are affected. I still can play them but I'm sure it didn't take much time until they aren't playable anymore.

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I thought I read once that if you have your CD's in direct sunlight for a very long period of time it will effect them? Was I dreaming that? I could have sworn I read something like that...

By the way what is Empire Strickes Back? :huh:

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I thought I read once that if you have your CD's in direct sunlight for a very long period of time it will effect them? Was I dreaming that? I could have sworn I read something like that...

By the way what is Empire Strickes Back? :huh:

I'm not quite sure what you want to say. Do you think I hold the cd's into the sun light or what?! Just turn the lamp in your room on and hold the cd to the light.

If you don't have any cd's which are affected then congratulations. How old are you? 12? Then you have at least some years ;)

BTW, I would like to upload a picture of an affected cd which can't be played anymore, but don't know how...

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I thought I read once that if you have your CD's in direct sunlight for a very long period of time it will effect them? Was I dreaming that? I could have sworn I read something like that...

Pretty much all CD instructions advise against keeping the discs in direct sunlight, or in a hot, humid environment. You'll find it on any CD-R packaging and in most CD-player manuals.

I'm not quiet sure what you want to say. Do you think I hold the cd's into the sun light or what?!

I'm quite certain that wasn't what Vosk meant.

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Pretty much all CD instructions advise against keeping the discs in direct sunlight, or in a hot, humid environment. You'll find it on any CD-R packaging and in most CD-player manuals.

This is what I ment to say....

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Pretty much all CD instructions advise against keeping the discs in direct sunlight, or in a hot, humid environment. You'll find it on any CD-R packaging and in most CD-player manuals.

This is what I ment to say....

So what...?! my english isn't very good, so sorry for that! Just hold the cd against the light of a lamp NOT into the lamp itself. You can make this while you stay 10 meters away. :huh:

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I concur with king mark. I have two albums from the '80s, and I've played them recently without any trouble. But now that you've brought it up, I do notice the tiny holes in By Request... The Best of John Williams and the Boston Pops (1987), one of my very first CDs. The other is The Nutcracker (1986), and there is one miniscule hole on disc one. Something else to worry about besides the recorded SW videos...

fsb, who is going to be paranoid about all her albums messing up from now on.

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I detected it after I saw a documentary on TV about it. You can hold the cd against a lamp (light). If it has little dots where the light can shine through the cd is affected.

The surface of a cd is like everything else - it will eventually wear down after time (especially at the micro-layer, which is especially bad for cds since that is the layer at which they are read). And if anyone else was like me in their listening habits before the advent of digital storage, my cds went through a hellofalot of usage.

Have you heard any difference in the sound in addition to seeing these 'dots'?

I thought I read once that if you have your CD's in direct sunlight for a very long period of time it will effect them? Was I dreaming that? I could have sworn I read something like that...

I would think that prolonged and continuous exposure to sunlight would make quick work of cds, considering there's nothing like the radiation of the sun to gradually chip away at, well...everything.

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I've noticed that all my older pre 90's cd's have this, but they are still sounding fine at this point. My oldest are Tears to Fears, Star Wars, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

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Tears for Fears?

Jesus Christ Joe?????

It's okay. Just shout. Shout. Let it all out. Actually, it works with the thread...

You know, I just went and checked my Polydor Star Wars, and yep, there's pinholes. But interestingly, I pulled out a used "Dick Tracy" I picked up from a very dirty/drafty/harsh-element thrift store a few years ago, and man o man, it's riddled with holes. So, environment probably does have more of an impact than just the passing of time.

There's two things that are good about cds rotting away. First of all, I can now stop having nightmares about all of these millions of plastic cds piling higher and higher in landfills (since they DO disintegrate).

And the second thing is the strangest one of all. Thanks to the endless greed of record companies who feel the need to reissue "anniversary edition" cds every five years, it looks like we'll not be in a position to lose most of our most beloved music!

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All CDs have pinholes. This is nothing new. We knew about this in 1988. It's nothing new and one of the reasons we have error correction.

No need to worry. Your discs are not disintegrating.

Neil

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I heard these little dots come from using the wrong ink. Certain colours tend to become acidic over time and so they burn themselves slowly through the thin reflecting foil between the top with the ink and the botton that carries the data. Even large music collections in archives are affected by this. So far I haven't noticed any of these dots on my own CDs. The oldest CD I own is the alien OST and there is nothing on the disc and it still plays fine.

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Tears for Fears?

Jesus Christ Joe?????

Great cd Stefan, Shout, Everybody Want to Rule the World, it was my very first even before JW

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Tears for Fears?

Jesus Christ Joe?????

Great cd Stefan, Shout, Everybody Want to Rule the World, it was my very first even before JW

I have their greatest hits CD. I like it.

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This is exactally why I recently finished doubly backing up my entire soundtrack collection. One backup on an external 600G HD, and those then backed up to DVDs. I know both can also fail, but at least there are replacements for any other catastrophe. Like getting your JG@20th cd's stolen. Or like in the picture below......

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All CDs have pinholes. This is nothing new. We knew about this in 1988. It's nothing new and one of the reasons we have error correction.

No need to worry. Your discs are not disintegrating.

Neil

The carbon base unit is correct.

The only problem you have to worry about is CD bronzing on certain older CDs and that can be found over at FSM's message board.

This is exactally why I recently finished doubly backing up my entire soundtrack collection. One backup on an external 600G HD, and those then backed up to DVDs. I know both can also fail, but at least there are replacements for any other catastrophe. Like getting your JG@20th cd's stolen. Or like in the picture below......

Yes a tragic day in the history of JWFAN.COM.

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This is exactally why I recently finished doubly backing up my entire soundtrack collection. One backup on an external 600G HD, and those then backed up to DVDs. I know both can also fail, but at least there are replacements for any other catastrophe. Like getting your JG@20th cd's stolen. Or like in the picture below......

That picture definitely was a sad day....

I pray nothing like that happens to me or anyone else for that fact... I'm still amazed to this day that most of your CD's weren't hurt.

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The only problem you have to worry about is CD bronzing on certain older CDs and that can be found over at FSM's message board.

.

does bronzing occur in any JW specific c.d.'s?

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As far as the bronzing, some of the CDs to look for are Alien, Cassandra Crossing, Cocoon and some of the early Silva/Cloud Nine releases. IF you don't see PDO on the manufacturing info that is on the actual disc then you should be ok.

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This is exactally why I recently finished doubly backing up my entire soundtrack collection. One backup on an external 600G HD, and those then backed up to DVDs. I know both can also fail, but at least there are replacements for any other catastrophe. Like getting your JG@20th cd's stolen. Or like in the picture below......

Thats the way to do it. Also be sure to use a good ripping program to ensure your backups don't have errors from the reading of the cd. I use EAC to rip with 2 different drives to make sure that I get a good copy on my hard drive before burning to DVD. Then again I only have around 50 cds. This method is practically impossible/time consuming for those with much more...

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Yeah, I have at least one CD that has this problem and it creates a skip while playing: my original TOD CD is one of them. Sucketh. Well, I try to back-up most of my most treasured music in music CDR and mp3 CDs for car/travel purposes, and now it seems like third good reason... archiving. I do notice the pinholes, more in the older ones. I also notice them in older CDRs that I had in soft CD wallets too long. Now, like KM, I only use hard-case CD wallets.

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Out of boredom last night I went thru some of my older CDs; Cocoon, TOD, E.T., Witches Of Eastwick, Alien, By Request, Mysterious Island, Cassandra Crossing, 3 Worlds Of Gulliver to name a few. The last three are also subject to possible "bronzing".

They all look fine and still play fine.

I'm very cautious with my CDs, especially since most are limited.

I keep mine out of the sunlight, I don't leave mine in the car (unless I go somewhere but then I stick them under the seat and leave them in their Jewel case).

I know this may sound anal but I don't anyone other than me handle my CDs. I don't even let my wife touch them. When I first met her I was shocked at how she left her discs lying around the house and in her car without their jewel cases.

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I'm very cautious with my CDs, especially since most are limited.

I'm the same way now with my CD's since I'm having to rebuy most of the ones I had before I moved that didn't make it up with me. :P

I keep mine out of the sunlight, I don't leave mine in the car (unless I go somewhere but then I stick them under the seat and leave them in their Jewel case).

I too keep mine out of the sunline and I've actually got mine in a stack (until I can get a tower or something) on my computer desk.

I know this may sound anal but I don't anyone other than me handle my CDs. I don't even let my wife touch them. When I first met her I was shocked at how she left her discs lying around the house and in her car without their jewel cases.

Nah it doesn't sound anal. I don't like people not even my parents touching my CD's either unless they're CD-R versions which doesn't bother me then.

You know it's funny (not really but anyways) the main reason why a lot of my CD's before didn't make it up with me when I moved was because I treated my CD's the same way your wife does with hers (if she still does it) but now since I've learned my lesson once I'm one listening to a score or I get done ripping it, it goes right back in it's jeweled case and stays put.

I've got quite a few scores that are OOP and I'd hate to have to rebuy them again for the third time...

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I learned about the important of being careful with CDs when I was seven and damaged my first ever CD. My dad had bought it for me, and he made me pay for the replacement. That was enough, I'd learned my lesson.

There are advantages to being incredibly mean with your money. :P

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Yeah, I have at least one CD that has this problem and it creates a skip while playing: my original TOD CD is one of them. Sucketh. Well, I try to back-up most of my most treasured music in music CDR and mp3 CDs for car/travel purposes, and now it seems like third good reason... archiving. I do notice the pinholes, more in the older ones. I also notice them in older CDRs that I had in soft CD wallets too long. Now, like KM, I only use hard-case CD wallets.

It seems to me that the old Polydor cd's aren't in such good quality like, say, the old Varèse cd's. My TOD is also affected:(

I'm glad that at least some people understood what I meant...

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I understood you but my CDs do not exhibit any of the problems you described. I have the original Polydor TOD and Cocoon and they are just fine.

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