Conversely, warmer and damper conditions are a detriment. Wide fluctuations in these conditions are harmful. These conditions can occur when you leave discs in the back seat of your car in July while you are reading a cemetery or in the trunk in the middle of winter when you are in the library. So far, we have discussed several items that can affect the physical properties of a compact disc. There is another facet that must be considered data on the disc.
Preferred formats change over time.
Even though the disc may be in perfect condition, the data may be in a format that can no longer be read. An analogy is the collection of 78 RPM records that my husband inherited from his grandmother. A more recent example occurred in the 1970s and early 1980s with VCRs. Like 78s and Betamax tapes, computer formats change. Data have formats, written in a language that a computer can read.