How long do CD-Rs and CD-RWs last?

(2005/04/14) CD-RWs are expected to last about 25 years under ideal conditions (i.e. You write it once and then leave it alone). Repeated rewrites will accelerate this.

In general, CD-RW media isn't recommended for long-term backups or archives of valuable data. The rest of this section applies to CD-R. The manufacturers claim 75 years (cyanine dye, used in "green" discs), 100 years (phthalocyanine dye, used in "gold" discs), or even 200 years ("advanced" phthalocyanine dye, used in "platinum" discs) once the disc has been written.

The shelf life of an unrecorded disc has been estimated at between 5 and 10 years. There is no standard agreed-upon way to test discs for lifetime viability. Accelerated aging tests have been done, but they may not provide a meaningful analogue to real-world aging.

Exposing the disc to excessive heat, humidity, or to direct sunlight will greatly reduce the lifetime. In general, CD-Rs are far less tolerant of environmental conditions than pressed CDs, and ... more.

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