On 18 Set, 09:48, Peter J Seymour wrote:
> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
> Peter

It depends on many factors.

I've still got two old Kodak Gold CD-R, lasted 10 years and more,
still useful with no data loss (apparently). In the meantime, some
other CD didn't get over two years. This is harmfully bad - I lost an
entire recording of one of my best concerts.

Mentore

Peter J Seymour wrote:
> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
> Peter

It is my understanding that it is rewritable CD's that go bad over time.
It has something to do with the blue dye that is used in their
manufacture. I haven't heard that "burn once" CD's have a limited lifespan.

-Philip Wright

Sir:

Philip Wright wrote:
> Peter J Seymour wrote:
>> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
>> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
>> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has
>> anyone got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume
>> they are 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how
>> long they will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one
>> day I come to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
>> Peter
>
> It is my understanding that it is rewritable CD's that go bad over time.
> It has something to do with the blue dye that is used in their
> manufacture. I haven't heard that "burn once" CD's have a limited lifespan.
>
> -Philip Wright
Oh, yah. They do have a limited life. The poly-plastic coating can
come off if exposed to water, light, or heat and time. I personally
make CD-R copies and periodically redo them and check that they work.

BTW, a friendly reminder, it is time to clean out the dust bunnies from
the insides of your computers, folks!
--
Bill
Thanks a Million!

In article
pvwspam@bellsouth.net "Philip Wright" writes:

> It is my understanding that it is rewritable CD's that go bad over time.
> It has something to do with the blue dye that is used in their
> manufacture. I haven't heard that "burn once" CD's have a limited lifespan.

I have never had even one rewritable CD that took so much as the
first recording properly. Could be me but it put me "write" off
them, for life.
--
Andrew Stephenson

Peter J Seymour wrote:
> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.

The IBM CDs that OS/2 shipped on were "pressed" CDs that should have a
fairly long lifespan, at least 10 years, maybe 100 if they are stored
carefully. The enemies of CDs are moisture and light so store them in a
dry, dark environment for best results. With that said, though, I
really don't think the lack of an install CD will be the trigger that
will end use of OS/2. More likely, it will be lack of hardware that it
will run on or lack of critical software, such as a browser, or lack of
interest in using it.

--
Posted with OS/2 Warp 4.52
and Sea Monkey 1.5a

In <13f0jah92eju876@corp.supernews.com>, on 09/18/2007
at 03:05 PM, "David T. Johnson" said:



>Peter J Seymour wrote:
>> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
>> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
>> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
>> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
>> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
>> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
>> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.

>The IBM CDs that OS/2 shipped on were "pressed" CDs that should have a
>fairly long lifespan, at least 10 years, maybe 100 if they are stored
>carefully. The enemies of CDs are moisture and light so store them in a
>dry, dark environment for best results. With that said, though, I
>really don't think the lack of an install CD will be the trigger that
>will end use of OS/2. More likely, it will be lack of hardware that it
>will run on or lack of critical software, such as a browser, or lack of
>interest in using it.


Are you still running the T40 something Thinkpad, or have your tried a
newer Thinkpad?

Peter J Seymour wrote:
> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
> Peter

Stepping on them kills them immediately. (g)

Not that I've done that, of course. (g)

Cover them up. Store them properly.

"Peter J Seymour" wrote in message
news:fcnvm6$qjd$1$8302bc10@news.demon.co.uk...
> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
> Peter


Although a CD should last for a very long time...
I've had a few just die for no known reason.

For the price of the media...
why not just make copies?

As to floppies...you can make image files and also burn those to a CD.
In general, a CD should last a lot longer than a floppy...

but there's no way to predict...

I've still got floppies that are good after 20 years...
and I've had some new ones die in two weeks.

In article
philo@privacy.net "philo" writes:

> I've still got floppies that are good after 20 years...
> and I've had some new ones die in two weeks.

I have several I still use for daily short term backups (to fill
in between weekly XCOPYs of the (non-OS) main HDD to a USB HDD).
Every 4-5 years, I either replace them with fresh (from a rather
large stock I somehow came by when floppies were obviously going
to be in use for a long time ) or I copy everything to the HDD
then reformat the floppy and copy everything back again. (On the
label I then note the reformat date.) One needs to remember that
the track formatting info is also liable to deteriorate. ;-)
--
Andrew Stephenson

philo wrote:
....
> I've still got floppies that are good after 20 years...
> and I've had some new ones die in two weeks.
>
Seems like the quality of new floppies has dropped a lot.
Dave

xydzbcae@nospam.net wrote:
> In <13f0jah92eju876@corp.supernews.com>, on 09/18/2007
> at 03:05 PM, "David T. Johnson" said:
>
>
>
>> Peter J Seymour wrote:
>>> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
>>> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
>>> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
>>> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
>>> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
>>> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
>>> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
>
>> The IBM CDs that OS/2 shipped on were "pressed" CDs that should have a
>> fairly long lifespan, at least 10 years, maybe 100 if they are stored
>> carefully. The enemies of CDs are moisture and light so store them in a
>> dry, dark environment for best results. With that said, though, I
>> really don't think the lack of an install CD will be the trigger that
>> will end use of OS/2. More likely, it will be lack of hardware that it
>> will run on or lack of critical software, such as a browser, or lack of
>> interest in using it.
>
>
> Are you still running the T40 something Thinkpad, or have your tried a
> newer Thinkpad?
>
>
>
Still running the T40. I think that OS/2 will run on the T4x thinkpads,
for sure. Don't know about the newer T6x series but I wouldn't expect a
lot.

--
Posted with OS/2 Warp 4.52
and Sea Monkey 1.5a

In <13f53jbk5lhqn39@corp.supernews.com>, on 09/20/2007
at 08:07 AM, "David T. Johnson" said:



>xydzbcae@nospam.net wrote:
>> In <13f0jah92eju876@corp.supernews.com>, on 09/18/2007
>> at 03:05 PM, "David T. Johnson" said:
>>
>>
>>
>>> Peter J Seymour wrote:
>>>> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
>>>> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
>>>> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
>>>> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
>>>> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
>>>> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
>>>> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
>>
>>> The IBM CDs that OS/2 shipped on were "pressed" CDs that should have a
>>> fairly long lifespan, at least 10 years, maybe 100 if they are stored
>>> carefully. The enemies of CDs are moisture and light so store them in a
>>> dry, dark environment for best results. With that said, though, I
>>> really don't think the lack of an install CD will be the trigger that
>>> will end use of OS/2. More likely, it will be lack of hardware that it
>>> will run on or lack of critical software, such as a browser, or lack of
>>> interest in using it.
>>
>>
>> Are you still running the T40 something Thinkpad, or have your tried a
>> newer Thinkpad?
>>
>>
>>
>Still running the T40. I think that OS/2 will run on the T4x thinkpads,
>for sure. Don't know about the newer T6x series but I wouldn't expect a
>lot.

Yes, I've seen drivers from IBM for the T43p and the earlier ones, so it
does run on the T4x series. Which does not help when you can't buy them
now. I've seen claims from ecs-types that it runs on a T61, but others
say it wouldn't even install. I figures your comments can be trusted, so
I asked.

Thanks.

eaxyzdbc@nospam.net wrote:

....

>>Still running the T40. I think that OS/2 will run on the T4x thinkpads,
>>for sure. Don't know about the newer T6x series but I wouldn't expect a
>>lot.
>
>
> Yes, I've seen drivers from IBM for the T43p and the earlier ones, so it
> does run on the T4x series. Which does not help when you can't buy them
> now.

....
T4x's are still available as refurbished machines. Good as new provided
that you put in a new hard disk to be on the safe side. Also quite cheap.

Peter

"Dave Yeo" wrote in message
news:U1kIi.73249$bO6.33487@edtnps89...
> philo wrote:
> ...
> > I've still got floppies that are good after 20 years...
> > and I've had some new ones die in two weeks.
> >
> Seems like the quality of new floppies has dropped a lot.
> Dave


Yep
I can definately say: Don't buy from Radio Shack...
those were the ones that lasted two weeks.

OTOH: I have some NEC DOS 3.3 install floppies that are still good.
Also my o/s 2.1 floppies are still good!

On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:48:37 +0100, Peter J Seymour
wrote:

> I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
> install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
> sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
> got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
> 'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
> will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
> to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.

So extract the .ISO image and keep it on a hard disk somewhere. Then you can
burn a new CD should you feel the need.

In , on 09/20/2007
at 06:08 PM, Peter J Seymour said:



>eaxyzdbc@nospam.net wrote:

>....

>>>Still running the T40. I think that OS/2 will run on the T4x thinkpads,
>>>for sure. Don't know about the newer T6x series but I wouldn't expect a
>>>lot.
>>
>>
>> Yes, I've seen drivers from IBM for the T43p and the earlier ones, so it
>> does run on the T4x series. Which does not help when you can't buy them
>> now.

>....
>T4x's are still available as refurbished machines. Good as new provided
>that you put in a new hard disk to be on the safe side. Also quite cheap.

That's a fair point. I would consider a T43p from IBM, but not from other
suppliers. I haven't seen any from IBM is sometime. Which is why I
walloking at the T61.




>Peter

Paul Ratcliffe wrote:
> On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:48:37 +0100, Peter J Seymour
> wrote:
>
>
>>I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
>>install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
>>sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
>>got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
>>'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
>>will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
>>to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
>
>
> So extract the .ISO image and keep it on a hard disk somewhere. Then you can
> burn a new CD should you feel the need.
Seems a straightforward idea. I'll have to look into it.
Thanks
Peter

>> So extract the .ISO image and keep it on a hard disk somewhere. Then
>> you can burn a new CD should you feel the need.

> Seems a straightforward idea. I'll have to look into it.

That's what I do, actually. I keep a copy of eCS hidden on a server
somewhere online that only I know about in case I hose my CDs somehow.
That's an excellent idea and a good way to go about covering your butt.

I do, though, keep an image of my eCS install on tape with the needed
installation software in a firesafe also...just in case something happens.

--Sean

--
Sean Dennis * sean@outpostbbs.net * http://outpostbbs.net
Author of Cheepware BBS doors and sysop utilities
SysOp of Outpost BBS running Telegard/2 under eComStation 1.2

in 228383 20070921 091205 Peter J Seymour wrote:
>Paul Ratcliffe wrote:
>> On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:48:37 +0100, Peter J Seymour
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I'm just doing a bit of thinking ahead. I have various OS/2 and ECS
>>>install sets of CDs (and even floppies). Regarding the CDs, one
>>>sometimes hears about CDs degrading and becoming unreadable. Has anyone
>>>got a view on the likely lifespan of the install CDs? I presume they are
>>>'good quality' whatever that may be, but I've no idea on how long they
>>>will continue to be useable. The danger scenario is that one day I come
>>>to do a re-install and find I can't because of bad disks.
>>
>>
>> So extract the .ISO image and keep it on a hard disk somewhere. Then you can
>> burn a new CD should you feel the need.
>Seems a straightforward idea. I'll have to look into it.
>Thanks
>Peter

So we use the hard disk to backup our backups of the hard disk? ;-)