Hardware Your OLDEST READABLE burned CD/DVD

[Alexander1970]

Hello.

"Someone" got me on the idea to search for the "oldest" burned CD/DVD and whether they are still lreadable.

CD - Tevion from Hofer/Aldi/2001:

DVD - EMTEC from Media Markt/2003:

 

[reddragon105]

The first CD I ever burned (which was also early 2001!) still works - I burned a few random MP3s I had on my hard drive as an audio CD, just to test my brand new CD writer. It's a really eclectic collection and some of the choices on there are really embarrassing to me now, but I always held onto it for posterity, just because it was the first CD I ever burned.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

Burning optical media… I was pretty late with that. Must have been about 2003 when I got the first writer. One of the first discs I made (can’t find it in my mess at the moment) was a backup of the Windows 3.1/3.11 and MS-DOS 6.22 floppies (copying those floppies was painfully boring). Last successful test of this Windows backup was last year for answering a question here in the forum.
I had to use the CD last year because – for whatever reason – it was not on my main storage media. Yes, I am ashamed!

Some newer CDs/DVDs already failed (one had visible holes in the data layer) but the most are still intact.

Spoiler: this goes somewhat off-topic but is still related

More than aging recorded CDs/DVDs alone, I see a big problem in disappearing optical drives. There are already often sniffy comments like: “Who still needs CD/DVD/BD? This is so old and sucks.” and (with proud): “I have disposed of all my DVDs to free some room!” or “I don’t have a DVD drive in any computer since 2010.”

This general problem can be found on Wikipedia under the title Digital obsolescence. The solution of switching to an alternative, more modern, medium is problematic in the case of CD/DVD/BD. There is simply no replacement for the end user (or at least I don’t know about one) which offers a limitation, that can be an advantage: Read-only medium.

• It is not possible to accidentally delete an important file from a DVD-R.
  
• Ransomware? Nice try.

At the moment getting a brand new DVD drive is easy and costs only about 15€ but this can – and probably will – change. BD drives never got to the point of being dirt cheap.

Optical media will stay a part of my backup/preservation strategy for quite some time.

 

[leon315]

MY MODDED psx, still works with pirated FF7! but can't take pic atm, cauz i replaced it with ps3.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I "inherited" a couple CD cases filled with burned CDs from like the early 90s from my dad, nearly all of them work just fine. Probably a good 100-200 CDs of just various software, lot of old productivity stuff but there are a few games and such as well.

What's more impressive is that I have a few floppies from like the late 80s that are still readable, though technically they're not "burned", mostly "official software", but still quite impressive.

 

[Deleted_413010]

I have a gold alloy Microsoft Confidential disc from the 90s that's still readable. Research shows gold alloy discs last up to 100 years.

What's more impressive is that I have a few floppies from like the late 80s that are still readable

Do you have an external floppy drive or what? You would have to put it into a floppy drive to check it

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Do you have an external floppy drive or what? You would have to put it into a floppy drive to check it

I have a 386 PC from 1991 with a working 3.5" drive, as well as a laptop from ~1999 that also has a working 3.5" drive. Both have been extensively used to read flopppies the last year and half-ish when I went on a DOS gaming PC binge.

I used to have a USB floppy drive as well, but it was cheapo trash and kept killing disks.

 

[Deleted_413010]

I have a 386 PC from 1991 with a working 3.5" drive, as well as a laptop from ~1999 that also has a working 3.5" drive. Both have been extensively used to read flopppies the last year and half-ish when I went on a DOS gaming PC binge.

I used to have a USB floppy drive as well, but it was cheapo trash and kept killing disks.

If I may ask do you have any OEM recovery media? Preferably XP or older. I mean from your description it really seems possible.

 

[Deleted User]

Hello.

"Someone" got me on the idea to search for the "oldest" burned CD/DVD and whether they are still lreadable.

CD - Tevion from Hofer/Aldi/2001:

View attachment 166393

View attachment 166394

DVD - EMTEC from Media Markt/2003:

View attachment 166395

View attachment 166396

crash bandicoot cd

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

If I may ask do you have any OEM recovery media? Preferably XP or older. I mean from your description it really seems possible.

Nothing legit, no. Most of the recovery stuff I have is burned from ISOs around the internet, no legit disks or anything that'd be of use. I have a couple old Dell XP recovery disks, but they're for useless Dell shovelware and that's kind of it.

 

[linuxares]

I would like someone that have a no-name cd try and read it. Those bastards died so fast it was silly. That is just a more or less silver disc with no press on the top of it.

 

[Deleted_413010]

I would like someone that have a no-name cd try and read it. Those bastards died so fast it was silly. That is just a more or less silver disc with no press on the top of it.

Huh? Can you explain your question a bit more?

 

[Alexander1970]

If I may ask do you have any OEM recovery media? Preferably XP or older. I mean from your description it really seems possible.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I would like someone that have a no-name cd try and read it. Those bastards died so fast it was silly. That is just a more or less silver disc with no press on the top of it.

Sorry,all "gone" to the bin.

- BEST MEDIA
- PLATINUM
- MEDIA RANGE

 

[Deleted_413010]

View attachment 166490

Could you consider dumping that then sending it to me?

 

[Alexander1970]

Could you consider dumping that then sending it to me?

They are geman language only.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

If I may ask do you have any OEM recovery media? Preferably XP or older. I mean from your description it really seems possible.

Why are people so into OEM recovery discs?

 

[linuxares]

Why are people so into OEM recovery discs?

A lot of them include drivers for the specific computer models that company sold at the time.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

A lot of them include drivers for the specific computer models that company sold at the time.

Yeah but people collect these things.

 

[Alexander1970]

Then maybe these are "precious":

 

[linuxares]

Yeah but people collect these things.

Meh people collect bottlecaps as well. It's fun for some I guess x3