Christine,
Pretty much any DVD burner will work for your needs. I would stay away
from dual layer drives simply because the disks are too expensive when you
figure in the added possibility of a burn failure. Use online review sites
(Google the unit's model number along with the word 'review') to see if
there are any problems with any drive you decide to check out.
If your machine equipped with USB 2.0, I've heard nothing but good
things about the Maxtor OneTouch family. I wouldn't try running an external
on an older USB 1.0 or 1.1 system, though.
I'll also advise you against using Ghost unless you have someone with
experience right there to walk you through it. I tried it once and it hosed
my system. I was able to get it back eventually, but it scared the heck out
of me for about half a week. There are plenty of other options available
that are made to be much simpler to set up and use. If anyone wishes to
chime in with their experience (good or bad) with image programs, please do.
Hopefully, we'll narrow down the choices and make the decision easy for ya.
As you've pointed out, it's best to image a clean system. Still, having
an image of a working install can still be a lifesaver if the OS ever goes
south. Personally, I prefer to start fresh, image the fully patched OS
(drivers, firewall, AV, Windows Update, etc.) and then install all of my
apps. If all goes well, I make an image of that, too. Only then will I
start actually using the PC for everyday tasks. I'll be discussing more on
the list about setting up a fresh install as time permits, so stay tuned.
:O)
Peace,
GMan
"The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked!"
----- Original Message -----
From: "cristy" <poppy0206@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2006 7:29 AM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: Back ups - They're not just for breakfast
anymore.
> Hi Guitar man,
>
> I think, like you I like the option of putting the files on CD-RW/dvds,
> but
> still need to buy a dvd burner yet, any suggestions on a burner? I think
> also I would like an external hard drive as well. My brother suggested a
> program like Ghost to make an image of everything but am not sure I want
> all
> my system files and any bugs from over the years copied as I want to clean
> the hard drive out of all buggies and problems and start squeaky clean.
>
> Christine
--
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