Backing up to CD-R

[Anonymous]

With the large file sizes I am using a CD to do a daily back-up of the changed files. I have one CD per client.

What CD read and write methods are you using?

I have used DirectCD on "old" computer with my MATSHITA CD recorder. My new 4780 with the Samsung Drive does not seem to support DirectCD.

Adaptec DirectCD is a program that allows you to write files directly to a CD-Recordable (CD-R) or CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) disc in much the same way that you copy files to a floppy diskette or removable drive.

DirectCD provides a file system based on UDF v1.5 and writes data to the CD-R or CD-RW disc using packet writing technology. This file system gives you drive letter access to your CD-R or CD-RW drive.

I don't know if packet writing technology has gone by the waste-side.

[MMontgomery]

I'm using the CD-recording capability built in to Windows XP. I haven't experienced any trouble reading the CDRs in other drives (yet). It looks like it's a proprietary system that Microsoft uses for it's built-in recording software - 'Windows XP Publisher' is the name assigned in the driver details.

[Anonymous]

MM,
Thanks for the reply. Is the Built-in CD writing like the "Drag & Drop" done with Zip disks or Floppy?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

The Adaptec company is now Roxio, and DirectCD 3.0 is no longer supported. The new product is "Drag-to-Disk" which comes contained in Easy Media Creator 7. My new computer came with Nero any opinions?

[MMontgomery]

Yes it's drag and drop as if you were placing files into a new folder. In WinXP, when you place a blank CDR into the recorder, it asks what you would like to do and I have mine default to simply open a blank folder representing the contents of the blank CDR.

After dragging all the files and folders you need burned, you just click the 'Write these files to Disk' command and it creates the CD.

It's nice and easy.

I've also got NERO on my computer, but haven't seen the need for it with XPs CDR creation capability

[Stephen Dolbee]

Jay,

We use DirectCD with CD-RW's. I like the fact that it is just as easy as writing to floppy disk. Drag and drop does it.

Steve

[Anonymous]

I use Nero 5.5.9.9 on Win2K.
It's very ease and nice to use.

What I usually do is moving everything I want into the CD
to a 700MB partitions. Organize it (drawing, diferent files, folders...)
and then burn the CD.

MMontgomery does this XP tool save multisection disks?



"MMontgomery" whote...

> After dragging all the files and folders you need burned, you just
> click the 'Write these files to Disk' command and it creates the CD.

[henrypootel]

If your drive supports it,Mt Rainier is the way to go now. it uses a modified version of the UDF system and is a lot faster, easier to use and reliable. A good program is Write-CD-RW Pro from SAI.
http://www.softarch.com/us/products/wcdrwWinfeature.html

[stefan]

IIRC, the Windows XP built-in system is made by Roxio. But I could be wrong.

I usually use Easy-CD-Creator (my version still supports directCD, but that system is not that good for taking files elsewhere, since it requires UDF-software to be installed with the other party and that's not always feasable).

Make the distinction between your internal needs and with files going to other people. With the price of a CD-R it's just writing CD-R's for me. About the same "hassle" as writing to a floppy, but everyone can read them.

I'm still not sure if I will be able to read all of this in a few years, though. I have gotten rid of my old floppies and some of my old CD-R's are not readable anymore, so I'm not to keen to wipe the data of my Harddisk as well.

P.S. - I just started with digital video and that eats Gigabytes... Comparing that with my music-efforts, this is huge. And I thought audio files were large. I have an edit of the video for my kid, from about 30minutes and it takes 8 GB of capture files and about 7 GB as the edited file. I'm putting it back to DV-tape, to free up the hard disk again.

[Anonymous]

I have used Direct-CD and Easy CD Creator with good results (I still do occasionally, but it is much easier on the Mac and that is also the machine I use most these days).

I do not recommend CD-RW disks (or writing multi-session CD-Rs). They are slower to write/rewrite, are more expensive, and I have heard (from local experts) that they are unreliable. CD-R disks are so inexpensive (25¢ to 50¢ around here depending on quantity and brand - a little more if you buy them in the supermarket ) that I see no point in the reusable ones. I usually copy a project to CD at significant points such as completion of SD, or DD phase or issuance of drawing sets (i.e. Permit Set, Bid Set, CDs etc.).

CDs are good for archiving but for regular daily backup I recommend two external hard drives with one rotated off-site every week. USB 2.0 is acceptable if you already have it (USB 1.1 is too painfully slow for backing up large amounts of data); Firewire (aka. iLink or IEEE1394) is best if you've got it or want to make the investment in a card. The big advantage of the hard drive backup is that you can restore or replace a crashed drive in very little time restoring from CDs is an onerous chore.