Storage forum: How many times can you rewrite a CD-RW?

thanks

by rnauth1418 - 1/4/10 10:39 AM

In Reply to: The real question is how many ERASE CYCLES. by R. Proffitt

Thanks. I definitely will not be using them for backup purposes, but I was planning on using it one as a bootable cd for linux. This way, once a new version comes out I can simply rewrite the disk and have an updated version.
I have never worked with rewritables before, so I do not even know if this is a solid idea... Thanks for your help.

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Why I stopped using RW media for boot disks.

by R. Proffitt - 1/4/10 11:16 AM

In Reply to: thanks by rnauth1418

As drive age they lose the ability to boot from RW media first, then R and in the final stages no media works. Since I use linux boot CDRs to diagnose or to recover files from problematic machines I need to get the best media I can for the task.

So I'll use CDR plus I'll record at 2X to give it the best chance of running on the most machines.
Bob

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makes sense, kind of

by rnauth1418 - 1/4/10 11:35 AM

In Reply to: Why I stopped using RW media for boot disks. by R. Proffitt

I understand why there would be a compatibility issue, but what I do not understand is the "selective" failure of the drive based on complexity of the media... Is there any technical reason this is the case, or is this just personal experience?

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Yes there is a technical reason.

by R. Proffitt - 1/4/10 5:45 PM

In Reply to: makes sense, kind of by rnauth1418

There are tomes written about how CD, CDR and CDRW media works and how it is read. And in that order it is easy to harder to read. EXAMPLE at http://www.cdrfaq.org/faq04.html#S4-23

Sorry but this area is full of information ready to be found but use what works for you. For me I need the what will most likely work in an old machine.
Bob

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I understand that

by rnauth1418 - 1/5/10 6:42 AM

In Reply to: Yes there is a technical reason. by R. Proffitt

I understand why one would do that and it completely makes sense for a backup purpose or if you were loading a paid for O.S. However, I am simply loading linux onto the computer so if I can get a years worth of reliability out of it I will be more than happy. Thanks for the info!

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To get years of reliability.

by R. Proffitt - 1/5/10 7:02 AM

In Reply to: I understand that by rnauth1418

We can't escape the need for a backup. Your post doesn't write but alludes to an idea that CDR media is expensive. Here it's dropped to a dime or less. While I have a few CDRW the lower speed and the fact it can fail to work on other machines has me spend the dime.

And if I figure I use that CD for about a year (I don't update my linux boot CD often) the amortized cost is under a penny a month.

Hope this answers all your questions.
Bob

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well

by rnauth1418 - 1/5/10 8:31 AM

In Reply to: To get years of reliability. by R. Proffitt

I was jsut wondering about the longevity of the disc as a piece of viable media. In no way do i think CD-R's are expensive. I just bought 100 for $10. ( $.10 per disc)

I dont see how I alluded to anything about pricing. I dont mind spending a few extra dollars for reliability. As such, I have a backup solution that includes imaged copies of all eight of my computers on at least 2 hardrives each and also CD/DVD backups of all my data.

And the reason I want to use a cd-rw for a linux boot is because it often takes several installs to get everything working properly. I like to test new hardware with linux and I often crash many systems. So its nice to be able to modify the install disc and reinstall. This way I'm not wasting media (helps the environment).

But yes I appreciate the info you posted, Thanks!

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PS. FAR MORE THAN 50 rewrites here.

by R. Proffitt - 1/5/10 10:35 AM

In Reply to: well by rnauth1418

I have some old CDRW media that is from before 2000. Maybe 1995. Still works after untold erasures.

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Cool!

by rnauth1418 - 1/5/10 10:50 AM

In Reply to: PS. FAR MORE THAN 50 rewrites here. by R. Proffitt

This is sounding more and more promising with each post. I appreciate the input!

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Here are my experience with them;

by ahtoi - 1/5/10 10:05 AM

In Reply to: How many times can you rewrite a CD-RW? by rnauth1418

I don't think you can put a number to them. I been using them for more then a year now (like vcr tapes). I don't keep track but I write about 3 discs a day. I just keep using them until it start to write with error or problem (for what reasons..I don't know). In all these time, I have maybe threw away about 10-15 discs. If I want to put a guess-timate number, on average, how about 50 rewrites.

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very interesting

by rnauth1418 - 1/5/10 10:31 AM

In Reply to: Here are my experience with them; by ahtoi

Its good to hear some real world experience with the rewrite limit. I was thinking that was the case. I can imagine under ideal conditions you may be able to get a couple hundred rewrites but I cant imagine much more. In any case, I am only looking to rewrite it about 10-20 times... nothing really more..

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never got that far

by porsche10x - 1/24/10 12:14 PM

In Reply to: How many times can you rewrite a CD-RW? by rnauth1418

I find that my media, both R's and RW's become unusable from physical damage long before they fail from end-of-life or re-write limits. Then again, I have kids.

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Rewritables for ephemera only

by Razzl - 2/9/10 7:13 AM

In Reply to: How many times can you rewrite a CD-RW? by rnauth1418

There was a lot of discussion when rewritable discs came out about the poor quality of some of the materials and the high likelihood of data loss from ink and glue decay. I'm sure newer rewritables are better, but since there's always that question hanging out there of whether the "softer" materials of the rewritables will lose data through natural degradation, it just seems like a bad idea to use them for anything critical or anything that needs to be archived--which makes me dubious about using them at all. Perhaps for stored movies or tv shows where you expect to do a lot of taping and erasing and the data loss is not critical...

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