I have cd's older then 8 years, still working with good speed. I test the finished cd after the burn process for speed and quality, and if it's bad I burn it again. Better to waste a cd, then a full load of programs on a cd. Just don't buy the cheapest ones. I know, that my cd can burn at 32x but I never go above 24x, sometimes in this way it gives a better quality. I cross my fingers; in these years no cd faild me from hundreds. And same experience with dvd-r's.