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Is storing CDs in those spindles (say 50 piece) safe? Wont the pressure do something bad to them? Yes I know, thats how they are sold, but then again, they prolly dont sit there for few years that way, do they?

Coz I have many cds without boxes, and thats a good thing, coz I wouldnt have space otherwise, but I'm having problems of how could I store them..

Thanks for any info

Unless the discs are physically deformed by heat and/or pressure, stacking them on spindles shouldn't have any adverse effects. Stacking 50 discs is no big deal.

The data is stored inside the disc, and if care is taken not to scratch the outer layers (particularly the top surface) this method of storage can be used. This may be OK for a short term solution, but over the long run you are better off to use a method that allows individual access of discs without handling others. The downside in accessing discs on a spindle is that many other discs may have to be moved and handled which increases the possibility of wear or damage.

Unused retail packages of CD-R's can sit for years on a spindle without any concerns. They do have a shelf life and will eventually degrade, but this is due to the physical characteristics of the dye and not the spindle packaging.

I see I see. Well I'm only storing this way cds I know I wont need in any near future.

Talking of which, how long is the life of todays cds? After how much time should I make copies of them, just to be sure?

Look closely at the discs, you will see a flange near the center. This supports the disc in a stack so the surfaces do not touch.

QQ wrote:Talking of which, how long is the life of todays cds? After how much time should I make copies of them, just to be sure?

I wouldn't make routine copies. If you're worried about the quality, test them with KProbe occasionaly and copy them if the C1's start climbing.

You could also use paper sleeves to store CD's- you aren't handling a whole stack just to get at one then.

G

Well, I'm asking because I had this Princo CD burned few years ago, and it hasn't been touched for few years, and when I put it in, all I got was crc errors It weren't working anymore..

I don't want that happening to some of more important discs..

In that case, only make second copies of your most important discs. You could make duplicates of every disc, but that's a little excessive. I think that's what MediumRare was getting at.

Well I still would like to know the lifetime of average cd-r

There is no easy answer to that, which is why this thread keeps going. If there was a simple answer then this thread would have ended a while back.

I can tell you what the average lifetime isn't.....the advertised 100+ years!

lol, I'll have to live with that then

I store my CD-R's on the spindle as well. It's the most efficent storage in terms of space. I hate opening and closing hundreds of CD cases, as well as the extra space it takes up.

I think the average lifetime for me is about 2-3 years, as my first Fuji CD-R's are starting to show a few errors.

I just have to go thru them and do a "scandisk" on them to test them. I've already made back ups of my very first CD-R's... But even with errors, most CD-Rom's should still be able to read them okay for a while...