Abstract: The invention is directed toward techniques for shielding a reflector of a data storage medium from ultra-violet (UV) and solar radiation. Reflectors comprise materials, such as silver, that may degrade and lose their reflective properties when exposed to UV light. In some cases, exposing the reflector to UV light may degrade a recording layer positioned adjacent the reflector in a recordable data storage medium. Degradation of the reflector and/or the recording layer can lead to significant data losses in the data storage medium. The techniques described herein position a blocking material adjacent the reflector in order to protect the reflector and data stored on the data storage medium from exposure to UV light. The blocking material may comprise UV absorbing properties in order to substantially eliminate transmission of UV light through the backside of a data storage medium.

Abstract: The invention is directed to verify software to determine the quality and accuracy of data recorded on an optical data storage disk by an optical disk drive. A verify software module receives error information from the optical disk drive indicative of errors associated with the recovered data. The verify software module then generates an indication of data integrity based on the error information and presents the indication to a user of the optical disk drive via an output device. The data integrity indication identifies whether or not the data was recorded correctly and predicts how long the data will last. The indication is especially useful for data storage applications where reliable data archive is vital. The verify software may be distributed as a CD-ROM included with a multi-disk package of optical disks. The verify software CD-ROM may include a tutorial to be presented to the user via the output device.