Thanks, John.

I have Winzip. Is that pretty much the same thing to use before archieving as RAR?

Also, which Nero product? Nero Digital?

TomG

I use the latest Nero v7 "Ultra Edition" which comes with Nero Digital. As an added benefit, it's currently the best way to make MP4 video files.

As far as WinZip is concerned, it doesn't have the ability to split archives. (Although, maybe the latest WinZip v10 does, I'm not sure.) I don't use the compression function in WinRAR for video files. I just tell WinRAR to NOT even attempt to compress .AVI or MPEG files, but compress everything else. I use WinRAR to place all the project files in one archive and split the archive into DVD-sized chunks then burn with Nero.

John

We just had a similar discussion a week ago:

hard drive backup tips wanted

Yes, I read that one John.

But not much info there about burning to DVD. I decided that I wanted to use that media but I really find it difficult to move files to a DVD. Only things I have tried to date was Windows Instatwrite and Roxio products. Just wanted some idea on what is the best software to use to get the files from a hard drive to a DVD-R. The other concern is what brand of DVD-R. That topic has been kicked around a lot also. There has been much discussion that even brands can have different qualities based on the ink (type & amount) applied and where it is manufactured.

All I want is a media that I can rely on to last for at least 5-7 years.

TomG

A program like Norton/Symantec Ghost is invaluable for backing up both a backup mirror image of the system configuration (Operating System, installed applications, etc). or selected files or directories. It compresses too. If your hard drive crashes, it can get you up and running in about twenty minutes. TrueImage also comes to mind, but I have never used it

But not much info there about burning to DVD.

Tom, I too was really hung up on this for a long time.

Then I suddenly realized that the problem was ME, not necessarily the software.

In my mind, I was fixated on having a backup solution that would backup directly to DVD. I thought, it will be just like the old days, where I would get a stack of floppy disks, and feed them into the computer one after the other whenever Fastback (remember Fastback?) would ask for another disk.

Problem is, very few backup vendors want to take on the additional task of supporting hundreds of different DVD drives (look at the problems Sony has had with DVDA, and its marginal support for various DVD players, including their own). Therefore most of them do not include this feature.

You could install packet writing software so you could write to the DVD like a disk drive, but you lose a LOT of space with this option, and the packet writing software is flaky, slow, often doesn't erase the disks properly, and you seldom can reliably read the disks in another computer, etc.

Two things finally happened to change my outlook. First, I realized how cheap external drives have become. I just purchased a 160GB IDE drive for $40 after rebates, and an el-cheapo USB 2.0 enclosure for $20. So for $60 (about the price of two Travan backup tapes), I have my backup.

So my first answer is to forget DVD, and backup to the disk drive.

However, like you, I still have that lingering desire to back up to DVD. It is wonderfully permanent, and likely to last a long time. The fact that it CAN'T be overwritten is actually a good thing for certain backups.

So, how to backup to DVD when most backup software can't, and those that purport to do so, do a really lousy job?

Simple, back up to the external drive, but limit the file sizes to ones that will fit on a DVD. This is what I now do with Trueimage (which now comes with both image backup AND file backup software). All I do is tell it to backup to the external hard drive, and limit the files to 1492GB. This is exactly the right size to fit three less than 2GB files onto one DVD. I then later burn these files onto DVDs using Nero.

Obviously this isn't perfect, but then again, since I'm using the external drive for backup, I don't need to backup to DVD except when I'm archiving. The backup to the hard drive is amazingly fast, both because of the hard drive speed and because Trueimage is the fastest backup program around. Actual elapsed time of the two-step approach is FAR faster than any direct to CD or direct to DVD program I've ever tried (because their DVD writing software is so poor, and because they usually write at a really slow speed so as to avoid risking falling behind if compression hits a snag, or if a file isn't ready to be copied).

I highly recommend this approach.

John Meyer's technique of using True Image to back-up and split the files is another way of doing what I suggested using the RAR archive program. Although, perhaps the advantage to using TrueImage is that you can also use it to regularly back up your system drive, which is always a good thing to do.

For "huge" projects, like John, I back it up to a hard drive as they are indeed cheap and you can instantly go back to the project in case you need to re-edit or repurpose it in some way. For those projects with which I am absolutely finished and that will fit on on 4 or 5 DVD's, I use the DVD backup method.

John

"All I want is a media that I can rely on to last for at least 5-7 years."

If you use good media and store it properly DVDs might just make it, we've had Princos fail within 12 months.

Bob.

Norton Ghost 10 was available for $0AR recently. After reading the reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, I wouldn't have installed it even if they had given me a crisp $100 bill in the box.

At the DV Expo, MAM-A showed Gold Archive CD-Rs rated at 300 years, and Gold DVD-Rs rated at 100 years.

Inkjet or thermal coating available.

Manufactured in Colorado Springs, CO with good ol' Yankee ingenuity!

Who's your mam-a?

:O)

I have had bad experiences with backup software; corruption on compression and that sort of thing. I find it safe and easy to just COPY the files to DVD. The InCD utility with Nero is good to do this
.

John,

I like your RAR (I still use ZIP) approach for certain kinds of backup. The one thing where this fails, of course, is if you want to do a backup of your C: drive with the purpose of complete recovery in case of disk crash, major operator error, virus, etc. For this, one must use an image program, and then you need the two-step approach.

I guess what this all says is that there is no "one-button" backup method, despite what Maxtor has tried to advertise for years.

Good to see these gold archive media making it to the USA.
The first container load of gold archive DVDs sold out down here in weeks, still waiting for the next shipment to get my hands on some.
Bob.

I am using Nero 7 Back It Up. You can turn off compression and the program will automatically span DVDs as necessary. The original files are untouched and un-compressed so in essence Back It Up intelligently orders the files so that each DVD will be filled to capacity and it asks for a new DVD when it needs it. It does create a back-up sequence file for restoration but you could just as easily copy the files/folders manually. This file is included on the last DVD of the set and can automate the restoration proceedure.

Duncan

Wow, thanks Bjorn.

I didn't know about the MAM-A DVDs. Still a bit pricy at $3 a pop, but if they do have that longevity, I think it's worth it. Wonder now if I should wait until the dual layer media is perfected and available..... (And of course there will be some new media, encoding method, devices, etc, etc, etc which we can all spend a lifetime waiting for).....

TomG