Is it okay to burn photos onto cds when you have a virus?

[stretchedout]

Norton seems to have taken care of it, but a pop up shows up ever couple of days saying there's a virus.  A scan gets rid of it.

  So under such circumstances is it okay to burn photos to cds?

[P.C.]

Stretch, I wouldn't burn photos onto a CD with or without a virus.  I learned my lesson the hard way.

  It seems to be a little known fact, that the shelf life of CD's is questionable.  I lost a heap of photos burnt onto CD's last year....around the same time I read an article in the paper, saying that CD's may last for as little as 6 months or up to 5 years.  I had to send them to a techie who managed to recover a mere pittance of what was on them.....and it was expensive.

  The article went on to say, that the most reliable way to preserve photos is the good old fashion way......on paper.

[stretchedout]

Thanks, but I think it depends on the brand:

  [A href="http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom/cd_quality.shtml"]http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom/cd_quality.shtml[/A]

  Go half way down the page to [A name="CD-R Quality Results"][FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=3][B KlzDk="1" rOrfs="0"]CD-R Quality Results[/A][/B][/FONT]

[P.C.]

Well, the only 3 brands I have ever had in this house are TDK, Sony and Kodak.....all three of which are on the 'Good' list.  I'm just not comfortable with the risk anymore.  I still wince over the stuff I lost, never to be retrieved again.  

  Funny thing is, some of the very first CD's I ever burned, are fine.  I don't know if you recall the 'CD Stomper'.  This was the little gadget that 'stomped' a gum-backed label on your CD's.  I also read an article, that stated that this was NOT good for the longevity of your CD's.  The strange thing about that is......the only CD's of the first ones I burned, that remained unscathed.....were the ones with the gummed labels.  [img style="CURSOR: pointer" onclick=url(this.src); src="http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/smilie/konfus/n020.gif[/img]    

[stretchedout]

CDs burn on the top, not the bottom, right, even though the reading is through the bottom.  So that might explain why affixing paper to the top protects, no?

[P.C.]

Well.....that was my logic as well.  Turns out there may be merit to it.

  Anyways....all I can say about it is, if I had even heard an insinuation, that there was even a remote possibility that the stuff I was entrusting to be saved, COULD BE lost, I would have never done it. (and I won't do it again)  

[stretchedout]

[A href="http://www.cdstomper.com/"]http://www.cdstomper.com/[/A]

[P.C.]

January 10, 2006 [A href="http://www.computerworld.com/" target=_blank](Computerworld)[/A] -- Although opinions vary on how to preserve data on digital storage media, such as optical CDs and DVDs, Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland GmbH, takes this view: If you want to avoid having to burn new CDs every few years, use magnetic tapes to store all your pictures, videos and songs for a lifetime.

"Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke said in an interview this week. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."

  [A href="http://www.computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/storage/story/0,10801,107607,00.html"]http://www.computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/storage/story/0,10801,107607,00.html[/A]

   [P class=ArticleBody page="1" _extended="true"]The problem is material degradation. Optical discs commonly used for burning, such as CD-R and CD-RW, have a recording surface consisting of a layer of dye that can be modified by heat to store data. The degradation process can result in the data "shifting" on the surface and thus becoming unreadable to the laser beam.

 [P class=ArticleBody page="1" _extended="true"]"Many of the cheap burnable CDs available at discount stores have a life span of around two years," Gerecke said. "Some of the better-quality discs offer a longer life span, of a [FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffbf"]maximum[/FONT] of five years."

 [P class=ArticleBody page="1" _extended="true"]Distinguishing high-quality burnable CDs from low-quality discs is difficult, he said, because few vendors use life span as a selling point.

 [P class=ArticleBody page="1" _extended="true"]

 [P class=ArticleBody page="1" _extended="true"]All I can say is, I hope you have better luck than I did.

[stretchedout]

I'm thinking of the millions of people who are going to be very disappointed in the years to come, when they suffer what you have.

[stretchedout]

Does it make a diff if one burns DVDs?  Anyone got some examples of the magnetic tape recording systems?  Is that what you use now PC?

[Michel]

   

[stretchedout]

Hard drives crash, if that's what you are asking.  It seems magnetic tape is the answer - just watch out for speakers!  

[P.C.]

If you're still ok with trusting your photos to CD, I'm wondering if it would be an idea to talk to a data recovery company, to hear the realities on this.  

  Here's an option that I'm doing with my photos now.  Picaboo and Booksmart are two great (free)programs for putting together beautiful hard bound books.  You make up the album (journal, cookbook, catalogue etc)....on-line, and hit the purchase book button....and voila....they send you a beautiful proffessional quality book.  (I'm waiting for one to arrive probably Wednesday or Thursday)

Worth every penny to know I'll have it forever.  (great gifts too)        

[stretchedout]

What's the cost and how many pics max per book?

[P.C.]

I think that article from IBM goes into that too Michel....saying they are not 100% trustworthy either.

  [A href="http://www.computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/storage/story/0,10801,107607,00.html"][FONT color=#565656]http://www.computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/storage/story/0,10801,107607,00.html[/FONT][/A]