Are M-disks truly more reliable than other forms of storage?

I came across M-disks boasting a lifespan of 1000 years and resistance to harsh environmental conditions. Is this based on some new technology or is it just the same as the other disks with approximately 5 year life span for data protection?

There is a 100 GB version of this on Amazon.

Solution 1:

A theoretical lifespan of 1000 years is actually not that big. Factory-produced CD-ROMs which were replicated from a master-disk are expected to last for 100 years or more, but of course you cannot put your data on these. Next come gold-plated CD-R and DVD-R disks which are claimed to last for about 100-200 years by the manufacturer. Those claims are based on accelerated ageing tests, just like with M-Disks, so for me they sound just as valid. I still have my CD-Rs I have recorded 20 years ago, so the lifespan of regular CD-R disks is not 5 years like you said, unless perhaps you go for the cheapest ones. But if you really have found that disks which should last 100 years only last 5 in your environment, I would reasonably expect that a 1000-year lifespan disk should last about 50.

The real problem your descendants will likely to encounter in 100 years (let alone 1000 years) is to find the equipment to read the old disks you have left them. Typical CD and DVD drives are designed to last for 5 to 10 years of normal usage, and have perhaps 15 to 30 years of shelf life. It's hard to predict for how many more years CDs and DVDs will remain in use, but they will disappear eventually, and then your kinds will have a hard time reading those disks no matter how much you have paid for them.

Personally, I keep my data on a couple of hard drives, and copy it over to newer ones every 10 years or so. Sure, I'll need 200 HDDs over a thousand years, but I won't ever encounter troubles reading my backups on modern computers, and the capacity will keep growing over time, accommodating new data. If I decided to use M-disks instead, I'd have to buy new disks for new data ($30 for 50 GB on amazon) every year, so it would be more expensive, and my old M-disks would still age.

Solution 2:

Yes, as they are advertising it, the M-Disc contains a data layer which is made out of stone-like metals and metalloids. As you know that the home-made optical discs have a soft data layer and the layer is not resistant to heat, humidity, light, etc. but the M-Disc is very much different than the home-made discs.

You also know the US DoD test and how the M-Discs survives the extreme humidity and light for 24 hours.

M-Discs also use the coating of polycarbonate. If that's true then you can be sure of one thing that it can hold up to extreme temperature and light. Experts are saying that the polycarbonate coating in M-Discs is good for 1000 years.

So the bottom line is the facts are the facts, but sometimes you have got to believe in the statistics. So for me, it couldn't be very bad.