[abnjim6]

I just purchased a new laptop that came installed with a Hitachi drive D:. Can someone direct me to the proper discs that this player uses? I read DVD RW and DVD /CD-R. Which discs do I need to purchase? I need to back up this beast.

And by the way, is it wise to use disks for back up? External drive? Should ALL files (os?)

[Flashorn]

abnjim6, on 09 October 2009 - 08:36 PM, said:

I just purchased a new laptop that came installed with a Hitachi drive D:. Can someone direct me to the proper discs that this player uses? I read DVD RW and DVD /CD-R. Which discs do I need to purchase? I need to back up this beast.

And by the way, is it wise to use disks for back up? External drive? Should ALL files (os?)

Hey abnjim6 !!

Well, if this is a new notebook and you have a "Recovery Partition" (drive D:// or E://) then, you should have already burned that partition onto DVD.
This should be the OS' backup or Recovery DVD from the builder of the notebook , unless they (builders) have provided you with the "Recovery" DVD .

Is this a "Dual Layer" DVD reader/burner ?? If so, then I would take advantage of this option and use the "Double Layer" DVDs. This would enable you to burn
twice the amount of data (music / video / data) on one single DVD. The ones I prefer for burning are the "Memorex Double Sided DVD-R discs" available from
http://www.memorex.c...ID=237&PID=1242 .

I would also recommend using the (-)R as opposed to the (+)R DVD. There are instances where the (+) will give you a hard time or will just not be recognized
by the burner. You should use the lower speed to record your data as the slower speed is more accurate than the speedier ones. Always use the closest
speed as recommended the burner manufacturer.

Now , to answer your question , it would be wise to back-up your OS / data on a "External HDD". It would make the process of backing up easier and you
could also implement scheduled back-ups of this data. meaning that every time you add data to certain folders , the back-up program could be scheduled
to add this new data to the existing folder on a External HDD. This would eliminate the need for mutiple CDs / DVDs and the burning time to back-up.

You can view some of these software here :

http://www.acronis.c...uting/download/ . Disk imaging software (clones your OS) Paid software.

Gizmo's imaging recommendation's :

http://www.techsuppo...ing-program.htm

http://www.gfi.com/backup-hm . (Backs-up your files ) Free software.


Also , take a look at Gizmo's recommendations and evaluations of other back-up software.

http://www.techsuppo...kup-program#GFI .


You have a bit of reading to do. If you don't understand some of this documentation, post back and ask.


FLASHORN.

[JimH443]

Flashorn, on 10 October 2009 - 03:20 AM, said:

Is this a "Dual Layer" DVD reader/burner ?? If so, then I would take advantage of this option and use the "Double Layer" DVDs. This would enable you to burn
twice the amount of data (music / video / data) on one single DVD. The ones I prefer for burning are the "Memorex Double Sided DVD-R discs" available from
http://www.memorex.c...ID=237&PID=1242 .

I avoid the dual layer disks mainly because they cost much more than twice as much as single layer disks. I buy 100 blank single layer DVD's for $30 - that's 30 cents each.

http://www.amazon.co...d=11OXRO1DFEQK5

Blank dual layer cost $1 or more each.

Flashorn, on 10 October 2009 - 03:20 AM, said:

I would also recommend using the (-)R as opposed to the (+)R DVD. There are instances where the (+) will give you a hard time or will just not be recognized
by the burner.

I've used +R for many years without a problem... with one caveat, which might apply to -R as well:

If I burn a disk but don't "finalize" it, it can be read by other burners but devices that only play DVD's will throw a fit.

This post has been edited by JimH443: 10 October 2009 - 05:09 AM

[coastie65]

For editing purposes, the -R DVD is the best bet, in fact, I'd say that -R is probably the best option. Now if the Drive has Lightscribe capabilties, then you would want to use those disks, so you could label them. Lot of choices. I used -R w/ lightscribe to make the Back up & Recovery discs for the laptop I got several months ago.

[JimH443]

coastie65, on 10 October 2009 - 06:31 AM, said:

For editing purposes, the -R DVD is the best bet, in fact, I'd say that -R is probably the best option.

What makes -R better than +R?

[coastie65]

Hey Jim, Because I have a Samsung? Actually the + & - Formats were for different reason. + R DVD was supported by Philips, Sony, H.P., Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha, & a few others. -R DVD was supported by Panasonic, Toshiba, Apple, Hitachi, NEC, Pioneer, Samsung, & Sharp. Like you, I haven't faired well with + R DVD either. I was trying to record to + R DVD and I would set up the timer and put in the blank disc. It would say "Formatting Disc". All was good. I would get up the next morning and turn evey thing on. The first thing I would see is "Formatting Disc" followed by " This disc can neither be played or recorded". I wasted a whole box plus of those things before giving up. It would record fine if the TV was on ( Toshiba HDTV, Samsung upconvert Player /Recorder hooked up by way of HDMI ). Actually, I think you may have the same editing options with either format.

[JimH443]

You may have explained why I haven't had any (well, hardly any) problems with +R.

Both my standalone DVD burner and my VHS/DVD combo are Philips. I bought the combo first because I needed both, and the Philips was the lowest price at the time. I bought the Philips burner because I was pleased with the player I bought. I did no research what their "native" format was. I also bought an HP DVD burner for my computer... so as it turned out all my equipment apparently favors this format.

The only time I ever had any trouble at all was when I put a disk that hadn't been finalized into the player. When it objected, I put it in the standalone burner and it accepted it just fine. It was only when I went to find out why there had been a problem that I discovered it hadn't been finalized. Once I did that, both the burner and the player handled it just fine. I was curious if this behavior was repeatable, so I tried it again. Unfinalized, the player barfs. Finalize that same disk, player loves it.

Edit:I forgot to mention that it was the computer that created the DVD from blank - not the standalone.

This post has been edited by JimH443: 10 October 2009 - 08:36 AM

[coastie65]

I have a Lite-on in the computer that takes every disk under the sun as well as has Lightscribe. Haven't done any Video DVD's, but have burned a lot of Music CDs and they play in everything I have tried to play them on.

[JimH443]

coastie65, on 10 October 2009 - 10:11 AM, said:

I have a Lite-on in the computer that takes every disk under the sun as well as has Lightscribe. Haven't done any Video DVD's, but have burned a lot of Music CDs and they play in everything I have tried to play them on.

I haven't messed with Lightscribe. My felt tip pen works just fine, and adds only a penny or so per 100 disks to the cost.

[coastie65]

JimH443, on 10 October 2009 - 10:18 AM, said:

coastie65, on 10 October 2009 - 10:11 AM, said:

I have a Lite-on in the computer that takes every disk under the sun as well as has Lightscribe. Haven't done any Video DVD's, but have burned a lot of Music CDs and they play in everything I have tried to play them on.

I haven't messed with Lightscribe. My felt tip pen works just fine, and adds only a penny or so per 100 disks to the cost.

Yep. The disc's aren't much more and certainly much cheaper than the Dual Layer discs. Seeing as how I write like a crippled chicken, the Lightscribe is much neater.

[abnjim6]

Thanks all for the helpful and generous advice. Am grateful.

But I remain confused about how to back up this new laptop. Simply said, my desire is to back up this system so it can be successfully restored it back to its otherwise healthy condition. (unbootable recovery?)

I just want to throw a few disks (which disks?) into the DVD CD ROM, burn the copies, and be done with it. Also, I have a small external HD (100GB WD) that contains music files, but the new PC has a 320GB HHD. I have been using the wretched retrospect back up s/w. WTD? Which is the best (and simplest) way to back up this PC? A one clicker would be fine

Furthermore, this machine came installed with Vista. But Win7 is on its way. Should I wait until Win7 arrives?

The bottom line is backing up this new system in safe no hassle manner. I have had allot of trouble with acquiring a good reliable back up set in the past. And I know nothing about HD partitions. Please explain?

~James

[Flashorn]

abnjim6, on 10 October 2009 - 05:02 PM, said:

Thanks all for the helpful and generous advice. Am grateful.

But I remain confused about how to back up this new laptop. Simply said, my desire is to back up this system so it can be successfully restored it back to its otherwise healthy condition. (unbootable recovery?)

I just want to throw a few disks (which disks?) into the DVD CD ROM, burn the copies, and be done with it. Also, I have a small external HD (100GB WD) that contains music files, but the new PC has a 320GB HHD. I have been using the wretched retrospect back up s/w. WTD? Which is the best (and simplest) way to back up this PC? A one clicker would be fine

Furthermore, this machine came installed with Vista. But Win7 is on its way. Should I wait until Win7 arrives?

The bottom line is backing up this new system in safe no hassle manner. I have had allot of trouble with acquiring a good reliable back up set in the past. And I know nothing about HD partitions. Please explain?

~James

Hey James !!

Please read my post carefully and answer my questions . Then , we can go from there with the rest of your questions.

FLASHORN.

[smax013]

abnjim6, on 09 October 2009 - 08:36 PM, said:

I just purchased a new laptop that came installed with a Hitachi drive D:. Can someone direct me to the proper discs that this player uses? I read DVD RW and DVD /CD-R. Which discs do I need to purchase? I need to back up this beast.

And by the way, is it wise to use disks for back up? External drive? Should ALL files (os?)

As your first "layer" of backup, your computer should come with some method of restoring it to "factory condition" (i.e. just like it was when you first took it out of the box). In this day and age, this typically means a restore/recovery partition on the hard drive. Some will also provide a set of CD/DVD disks to do it as well or actually "install" disks (I believe Dell still does this)...or give you the ability to create a set of DVD/CD recovery disks. If your computer has the ability to create a set of such disk, then I strongly encourage you to do that. If you are not sure if you can do that, then post the brand and model of the computer and we might be able to figure it out.

Beyond this, if you do nothing else, then you should make sure that you backup your personal data files. These would be any data files that you cannot replace by other means (i.e. anything other than OS install and program installations). If you do not have a lot of data, then burning to an optical disk (i.e. DVD) could be the way to go, but many people prefer to use external hard drives for this purpose. So, generally, you would want to backup these files to an external drive.

Many people find it easier to do a full backup of the hard drive using some sort of backup software rather than just trying to find and backup their personal files. This is kind of a "to be on the safe side" option. If so, then you will likely want to use a hard drive rather than DVD disks. Considering a single layer DVD disk only holds 4.7 GB, even 50 GB of data/OS/programs will result in a crap load of disks...and you having to sit there feeding those disks to the computer as the backup runs. Thus, most people find it WAY easier to use an external hard drive for their primary backup (you might still want to do a backup to DVD disk a couple times a year as a third layer of backup). There are a number of programs that can do this.

If you want your fastest way to get your complete system backup and running, configured as you like it, then you best option is to clone your boot drive that has your OS and programs at a minimum (due to how most people use their computer, this would also have their files at the time of the backup). The advantage of this method is that you could "pop" the clone drive into the computer and be backup and running in only the time it takes you to swap the drives (literally minutes depending on how you set things up and whether it is a laptop or desktop). Generally, most people using cloning to preserve their basic system setup (OS and programs), but not their files (they will use other methods to maintain a daily or weekly backup of the files).