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Tips for recording CDs as data backups.

It's easy for the recording process to go bad. When it does, you end up with a worthless coaster and wasted time. These tips will help make the recording process a little more reliable.

  1. Make sure that your machine is in good overall condition
    1. It should be virus free
    2. Run scandisk and defrag on a regular basis
    3. Empty the C:\windows\temp directory
  2. Before burning CDs on older, slower, less stable machines, reboot your machine. Rebooting will clear out the memory of your machine.
  3. Take a good look at the settings. You want to make sure that you are creating CDs that can be read in other machines. Usually this means selecting 'track at once' and 'close CD' or something similar.  When you choose the proper settings, the CD is 'closed' and you cannot write any additional data to it. On the other hand, it should be usable in other machines.
  4. If you are experiencing errors, consider choosing a slower speed for burning.
  5. Copying across a network can cause problems when burning CDs. In most CD software, there is an option for 'copy files first'. That option should cause the software to copy the data to the machine with the writer, then burn the CD.
  6. Do not use any other applications while you are burning CDs.
  7. When you have a finished CD, try it in other machines. If they can't read it, then it is of questionable value as a backup.
  8. When you are dragging files to the CD, try not to put too many files in the root directory. You can usually create a folder on the CD and put the files in that folder instead of the root.
  9. Backups should be stored offsite.

Some tips for the Roxio Software:

  1. I usually wait for the 'optimizing' message in the lower right corner of the screen to go away before starting a burn
  2. If you drag too much to the CD and exceed it's capacity, it seems better to hit 'new' and start over

 

NOTE  - We found that some of our data DVDs had files with a zero length. This was due to the limitations of the CD DVD file structure. We found that if we chose the Joliet format under project preferences and unchecked the validation box that the files would be correctly recorded. Make sure that you are verifying that your data is being correctly written to the CD or DVD.

The same basic process applies to burning audio CDs as well.

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Miscellaneous Tips:

Basic Forensics Burning CDs The Event Viewer FrontpageTips Road warrior tips Outlook PST Recovery Vaio Hard drive System Purchasing Nic Surge Suppression Od Machine Disposal

 

 


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Last modified:  11/10/06