[accesscomp] Re: using CD's for data storage

  • From: "Gene" <gsasner@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:58:10 -0600

There are different kinds of formats used when burning cds. Audio cds, a different format, will play in any cd player. Data cds will play in some, perhaps most newer models. The audio format is the one used when manufactured cds containing music are created. it's the format of a typical cd album you purchase. Literally any file on your computer can be burned to a data cd. You can burn documents, text files, mp3 files, image files, etc. 


Gene
----- Original Message ----- From: "arlene" <nedster6@xxxxxxxxx> 
To: <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 12:45 PM
Subject: [accesscomp] Re: using CD's for data storage



does  this  also  apply  to  music if you  want to  put  music  on  cd?
----- Original Message ----- From: "Gene" <gsasner@xxxxxxxxx> 
To: <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 10:50 PM
Subject: [accesscomp] Re: using CD's for data storage




Here are instructions I wrote for someone awhile ago.  I couldn't find my
copy and she sent me hers.  I've made slight modifications to make the
instructions general and not specific to her machine configuration.  They
now apply to all computers running Windows XP.

Gene

First, place the cd in the drive and close it. After closing it, hold the
left shift key down for about twenty seconds to keep a dialog from
appearing asking what you want to do.
Then, select the file or files you want to burn to cd. Now copy them to
the clipboard.
then backspace until you are at the place in My Computer where you select
the drive you want to work with. Once there, down arrow to the cd drive.
Press enter to open the drive.
Paste the files to the drive. they now appear on the drive. Nothing has
been copied to the cd yet. the files are in a temporary folder and the
contents of that folder appears on the drive.
Now, backspace once. You are again in the part of My Computer where you
select the drive.
Down arrow to the cd drive. Don't open the drive.Press the context menu key and when the menu opens, type the letter t.that's the shortcut for transfer. 
A dialog opens for naming the file if
you wish. If you don't want to do this tab to the next button and press
the space bar.
a new dialog may appear asking what kind of cd you want to make. There
are two radio buttons in this part of the dialog. down arrow to data cd.
Once you hear that this option is checked, tab to the next button and
press the space bar. Files will then start to be copied after a pause.
If you don't get the dialog asking what kind of cd you want to make, files 
will be copied after a pause. In other words, after the dialog asking you
if you want to name the cd, pressing the next button will either cause the 
files to start to be copied or bring up the dialog asking what kind of cd
you want to make.
After the files have finished copying, the cd drive door will open
automatically. Also, a dialog will appear asking if you want to copy the
files to another cd. If you don't want to, just tab to the finish button
and press the space bar. this closes the transfer wizard.
the files have been copied, the cd door is opened and the cd wizard is now 
closed.
I should add that when you are pasting the files into the cd drive, if you 
get a dialog telling you that some content can't be transfered or will be
lost, answer yes to this dialog which is asking if you want to copy the
files anyway.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Marcus Williams" <marcus72@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
To: <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:56 AM
Subject: [accesscomp] Re: using CD's for data storage
I'll start by agreeing that an external drive is a better method for extra 
storage.

But since I don't own an external drive, and I have a half-dozen blank
discs, I decided to get some use out of them.

I don't need to store files on them indefinitely; they need only be used
for a few months.

I can't think of anything else to add.
Marcus
----- Original Message ----- From: "Gene" <gsasner@xxxxxxxxx> 
To: <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:52 AM
Subject: [accesscomp] Re: using CD's for data storage



First, how long do you intend to keep what you store and how much
material do you have which you intend to store?  If it's more than a
small or rather small amount, cds are not a good way to store it.  The
following does not apply to commercially produced cds such as albums you buy in stores. Those cds use a completely different process for encoding data and will last much longer. CDs you burn at home are expected to be 
reliable for five years after purchase.  Beyond that time, you need to
reburn everything to new cds. However, cds fail far too often even before five years. Some people make two separate copies of everything they back 
up on cd on two separate cds. That's so that if one cd fails, the other
may well still be good.  In short, if you have enough material to fill
ten or fifteen cds, you will actually be using twenty or thirty cds if
you want to be reasonably confident your material is safe and then in
five years, you'll need to burn all the material again.  Using an
external hard drive for storage is a much more reliable and efficient
choice.  Or, you may want to use a service like Carbonite.com for
storage. Your material may not be important enough or critical enough so 
you consider off site storage to be justified but it is an option you
should at least be aware of.  It protects you against loss due to fire,
flood, robbery, etc. You may want to learn how to burn a data cd and use 
them, taking the precautions I discussed above.  If you do, if you are
using Windows XP, it has a burning utility built into the operating
system.  Vista does as well but I haven't worked with Vista and can't
discuss the Vista version of the utility.  I'll wait to see if others
provide instructions before proceeding.  I may have saved messages I
wrote in the past explaining how to burn data cds. I'll look for them if 
others don't furnish a description.

Gene
----- Original Message ----- From: "Marcus Williams" <marcus72@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
To: <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:16 AM
Subject: [accesscomp] Re: using CD's for data storage



I haven't installed any CD burning software.
----- Original Message ----- From: <jewelsong21@xxxxxxx> 
To: <marcus72@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <the-blind-geek-squad@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:21 AM
Subject: [accesscomp] Re: using CD's for data storage


Marcus,
What kind of CD burning software do you have?  That will dictate wat
steps you take to put the books on CD. D

-----Original Message-----
From: Marcus Williams <marcus72@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 6:28 AM
To: the-blind-geek-squad@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: accesscomp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [accesscomp] using CD's for data storage

Hi all,

I have some blank compact discs, but no music to put on them.

So, I thought I could use them to store part of my ebook collection.

Since I've never tried this, any helpful hints would be nice.

Thanks,
Marcus












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