How Long Can A Self-recorded Md Can Last?

[Guest tony wong]

many MD I have kept for over 6 years

do I have to make new copies for these?

and, what would be the result if I still play these MD on my MD player?

would it dirt my MD player read lens?

[SlowMo]

many MD I have kept for over 6 years

do I have to make new copies for these?

i think, md is pretty durable, i´m using the format since ´96, and yet i´ve never "lost" a disk. i even had some of them mashine washed in my clothes together with some flyers in my clothes (i don´t recommend that as a cleaning method, though ) and they still run today perfectly.

and, what would be the result if I still play these MD on my MD player?

would it dirt my MD player read lens?

←

well, think about it yourself...

...how have you kept them ? are they dirty ?(outsides) -well, then clean them.

dust covering the laser´s lens is most probably from dirty outsides, or from letting the unit opened long times.

if an md is not playable, and you´re bothered about dust having gotten "inside" the md, you can slide open the safety sleeve, and take a look inside. if there really is dust, (and only then, don´t fix anything that doesn´t need to be fixed) you can remove it using a q-tip and 98% alcohol (don´t ever use acetone containing solvents or alikes, they will shurely damage the disk).

yet, there really shouldn´t be dust insides anyways, if it´s still properly reading, there will most probably be none.

and i´m not making any guarantees on the above method, anything you do is on your own risk.

[Guest tony wong]

but, why I will experience problem on some old discs?

most likely is the sony Prime 74, it's 5-6 years old already

and.....someone say MD is also magnetic, is it true?

[SlowMo]

if your disc is skipping, or unreadable, you could consider the above cleaning method. as an alternative, if that disc is very crucial to you, or you fear damaging it, somewhere in this forum (i forgot where, do a search) , i read about a backup service, where you can send your disc to, and they do a backup for you. probably quite pricey compared to the diy method, but it´s worth it, imho.

minidisc is magneto-optical media. check http://www.minidisc.org if you want to find out more.

note: this is somehow the wrong forum for this topic, Hi-MD, NetMD + MDLP, Pre-NetMD/MDLP, (don´t know what unit you´ve got) or even software support/faq would be more appropriate, since "this is not a technical support forum" (from the forum description).

if an admin could be so kind, and move it ?

[Christopher]

This seems to be a general technical topic, as we're discussing the life-span of optical media.

[ROMBUSTERS]

your discs should last a vey long time without noticeable degration unless:

-your discs temp goes up to its curie point and you loose all your magnetised data

-you place a strong magnet near it