Durability of CD-Rs?

I just had read errors when trying to read a two year old CD-R (brand
MMORE) in my CD drive. However, I could read it with my CD burner. To
be safe, I copied its contents to my hard drive, and then made a new
copy of the CD-R. So far, things look fine.

It made me wonder. How long can I expect a CD-R to last before I should
make a new copy? Does the speed it was recorded with make a difference?
I *think* that when I originally made that CD-R, I burned it at a slow
speed (either 1x or 4x) thinking that this increased the quality of the
burn, but I can't say that I'm sure. Is there a big difference between
brands? I might go for a more expensive brand if it really gives you
good value for the money, but obviously there's little point in paying
four times as much for a CD that lasts twice as long (exaggerating just
to make the point).

Yngvar Følling

In article <MPG.19853868d643e63b98980a.RemoveThis@news1.c2i.net>,
yngvar.folling.RemoveThis@c2i.net says...
 > I just had read errors when trying to read a two year old CD-R (brand
 > MMORE) in my CD drive. However, I could read it with my CD burner. To
 > be safe, I copied its contents to my hard drive, and then made a new
 > copy of the CD-R. So far, things look fine.
 >
 > It made me wonder. How long can I expect a CD-R to last before I should
 > make a new copy? Does the speed it was recorded with make a difference?
 > I *think* that when I originally made that CD-R, I burned it at a slow
 > speed (either 1x or 4x) thinking that this increased the quality of the
 > burn, but I can't say that I'm sure. Is there a big difference between
 > brands? I might go for a more expensive brand if it really gives you
 > good value for the money, but obviously there's little point in paying
 > four times as much for a CD that lasts twice as long (exaggerating just
 > to make the point).

Reputable brands quote 75 - 100 years.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->