PeterLI wrote:

The good news is that those are relatively cheap

Not if you're selling them, they're not. 🤣

No mention of hard drives yet? Along with floppy disks, old small-capacity spindle drives are a weak link in my experience - not theoretically but now. Is there a way to repair an HD after it succumbs to the "click of death"?

The shelf-life of digital media, optical and magnetic, is also of concern. Though we may still have a few more decades to go I've read that data will disappear/corrupt rather predictably and we can expect data conservancy issues in the near term.

tincup wrote:

No mention of hard drives yet? Along with floppy disks, old small-capacity spindle drives are a weak link in my experience - not theoretically but now. Is there a way to repair an HD after it succumbs to the "click of death"?

The shelf-life of digital media, optical and magnetic, is also of concern. Though we may still have a few more decades to go I've read that data will disappear/corrupt rather predictably and we can expect data conservancy issues in the near term.

What is the life span of digital media now that you mention it? cd games in particular... I know floppies have a short life because the data isn't readable... and even then for long periods floppies need to be kept in cool dry environment.

I can't remember off the top of my head but it's measured in decades not centuries IIR.

Probably less of a concern for us who have retro rigs/OS to actually read and run obsolete data and apps, but in the near future backwards compatibility with data storage and media format is another issue.

nforce4max wrote:

the thickness of the oxide gates (transistors) before they breakdown
keep everything with in a safe range when it comes to the temps.

Yes, because of this, old 500nm CPUs will operate far longer than newer 22nm ones--I'm not making this up. Though newer CPUs have many more thermal safety and power-save features and will shutdown parts not in use. They don't run full max all the time and you're less likely to cook it.

sliderider wrote:

circuit pathways oxidize and metallic whiskers start to grow on them until they form a short

Non-lead solder (mostly tin-based) will do that, but that's not what happens inside the silicon ICs.

From what I've heard in general capacitors have a longer life span when using the items once in a while as opposed to letting them sit unused for years. Also moving parts like optical drives can stick when not being used for a long time.

It's also probably not a good idea to hot swap anything on old devices, if it's not something like USB. I'm not entirely sure if this would include even something like RCA and phone jacks, but most plugs certainly weren't designed to be hot-swapped.

The biggest points of failure on any computer will be moving parts first.
Fans, Disk Drives, Floppy, and Optical.

Fan failure can increase the stress from heat on a CPU or PSU, so make sure you replace it every few years if you want your system to last a long time.
Hard drives will fail, and there's no real way to fix them. Use an SSD like a Disk on Module or something. Those are more durable for read-only applications.

Next point of failure are chemical components:
Batteries
Capacitors

Batteries get old, and may bulge or leak. They're usually filled with an acid, so this can do serious damage to surrounding components. Replace your barrels with new ones every 8 years or so. You can de-solder the old battery and replace it with a set of conductive clamps so that removal is a simpler procedure.
CR2032s are less prone to leakage, but you should still replace them every 5 years.

Capacitors should be replaced if the board is more than 15 years old. You can do this at a minimum of cost, and it will prevent the old ones from having a chance to leak and cause damage to the motherboard.

The only other enemy your computer will have at this point is corrosion and rust on exposed metal.
This can be prevented for a long time by storing your electronics in a cool, dry place, with a package of desiccant in the case to capture ambient moisture.

Pressed media, like CDs and DVDs will outlast you, usually. As long as they don't get scratched or cracked, they'll be of use for a century or more.
Burned media can vary, depending on storage. Keeping it in a dark, cool place for storage will make it last at least 15 years. Plan on re-burning your burned media every 10 years if you want to keep it.

Magnetic storage is kind of a toss up.
Older floppies were made to a higher standard, and may work for 20 years or more. Newer floppies might get about 1 or 2 years of irregular service before becoming unreadable.
Back up any floppy data to a modern flash drive as a floppy image.

^ Great post DNSdies .

Yes! Hit it all!