This CD-R will self-destruct in 15 years

Attachment	Size
Back of unreadable CD-R, 1	336.14 KB
Back of unreadable CD-R, 2	270.98 KB
Front of unreadable CD-R	393.86 KB
Type of still readable CD-R	40 KB

During the last few months I repeatedly came across CDs in my music collection that were no longer readable. Today I made an effort to go through and check the entire collection. The result: Between 20 and 30 CDs have deteriorated so much that they have become unusable. The CDs in question are all Sunstar CD-R media that I have burned 12-15 years ago. Click the "Read more" link to see some images...

The first two of the attached images illustrate how the back of two of the CD-Rs look like. The third image shows the front of one of the kaputt ones.

The interesting thing is that similarly old CD-Rs from the same Sunstar brand remain unaffected. The discs that are still OK slightly differ from the broken ones by type. Image 4 shows this difference. Of course, the big question now is: Can I trust the Sunstar media that are still in good order to remain so? And what about other CD-Rs from not-so-cheap brands like TDK, Verbatim or Sony?