CD-R discs were once a very popular way to make a safe copy of files. They’re cheap, they’re easy to label, and they’re easy to store – why not put all your old photos on a CD-R, tuck it away, and then look back on it in 20 years? It’s certainly a lot smaller than a photo album. Well, there’s a very good reason not to do that: CD-Rs (and, by association, all manner of recordable discs) are extremely vulnerable. Many, including our own art department here at Windows Help & Advice, have found that older discs can suffer what’s commonly referred to as ‘rot’. It’s not the same process as, say, rotting wood, but the term is apt.
On a CD-R, your files are stored on a very thin…