Camp Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 I'm starting to back-up my collection of music stored on my PC (17268 songs taking up 279 GB across three hard drives). I've decided the most economical method is to back-up to DVD+R. I'm curious if anyone has any experience with the various back-up helper applications on the market. I'd like something to maximize the space on each DVD, create log files indicating which data is on which DVD, and ensure I get everything backed-up. I have zero experience with back-up applications so I have no idea what's out there. It would be great if there's an app specifically tailored to backing up music but I expect the market is more generalized than that. Any thoughts/tips would be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foogledricks Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 I use Norton Ghost to image my drives, and tell it to split each image so that it can fit on a DVD (spanning). This sort of wholesale imaging is not as granular as you seem to need ... being that you want to know which files are on which DVD. It also compresses the data, obviously non-lossy... I'm not sure how much compression it can actually accomplish on music which is already compressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted April 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 I'll certainly look into Ghost. I guess I need more of a cataloging/database function than compression and back-up tools. As you mention, something that says "Disc # 12 has the following files on it" would be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlayerLuv Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 Hey Camp dowload Nero Eval copy(ahead software makes it) and use the data/directory/drive backup feature it is easy to use and it spans discs. All you need to do is feed it the DVD+rs and it will do the rest. Oh and did I mention it is free to download/use for 31 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted April 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 I own Nero -I didn't know it had a back-up utility. Damn...off to investigate that right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 For Cataloging my discs I use a program called Here It Is, which will do exactly what you want. Will list all your discs, show whats on them, allow you to search, etc. http://www.storm-software.co.yu/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Monkey Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 I'd also like to back up to DVD, but I'm a little concerned about some of the stuff I heard about CD-R's (basically, they might not stay fresh). Are you aware of these concerns, or do they not apply to burned DVD's? And is there such a thing as archival grade DVD or CD-R, like in the world of paper? -j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camp Posted April 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 Are you aware of these concerns, or do they not apply to burned DVD's? And is there such a thing as archival grade DVD or CD-R, like in the world of paper? It's my understanding that the average DVD+R has a considerably longer shelf life than your average CD-R. I just purchased a 100 pack of Ridata brand DVD+R's which have received very good reviews across the board for their durability and accuracy. Still, I don't expect DVD to be a long term storage solution. I'm expecting to perform a complete DVD back-up twice per year until I can afford massive redundant hard drive storage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Monkey Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 It's my understanding that the average DVD+R has a considerably longer shelf life than your average CD-R. That's good to know; it means that I can back up some of this less critical stuff I have to DVD. -j Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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