Backing up to CD RW

[Island Boy]

Hi Folks, Would appreciate it if you can help me with the following.

I run Windows 98se. My computer is an Intel Celeron, 900MHZ, with Floppy Drive and CD Rom Drive.

I am trying to backup some of my files, mainly, Favorites and My Documents. Can this be done on a CD RW? When I place the CD into the drive, my browser (Internet Explorer) gets disrupted (the sys freezes and goes into a blue screen, etc). I usually have to do a Esc or reset to recover.

Once I clicked on the Backup icon and ticked MY Docs and Favorites and I received indication that the backup was successful, but I don't seem to know how to find it. This was done WITHOUT the CD RW disk in the drive.

In January I did a clean install and lost my Favorites. (I managed to save My Docs because I had them on floppies).

Please advise, could I do this backup to CD RW? Thank you in advance.

Island Boy

[gav]

Island Boy,

You have said you have a CD Rom drive, do you just have a standard CD Rom drive or a CD Recordable drive.

The CD drive needs to be capable of writing CD's

Then, there are two types of CD's....

CD-R's which can only be written to once and
CD-RW's which can be written to then erased and used again etc.

In answer to your question;
if you have the correct hardware (CD recordable Drive) then YES you can back up files to CD.
I assume you have software to write these files also. I use a package called Nero which handles the burning process.

Here is a link to a search I did on Google that you may find useful;

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techenthusiast/features/cdr.asp


Regards

Gav

[Island Boy]

Thanks Gav for your quick reply. Will check the site.

I guess my drive is not a recordable drive. Is there a way to to tell for sure? Would it make a difference if I use a cd r instead of a cd rw disc? Can a recordable drive be easily installed, and can it be used to install other programs?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Rgds,

Island boy

[gav]

Island Boy,

If you only have a standard CD Drive then you will not be able to burn any type of CD from it.

I think on a standard CD drive you will be able to read CD-R's but not CD-RW's

I am not sure how dextrous you are, but fitting a CD drive is quite straight forward (I would say that......as I am an engineer!!).

A recordable drive acts exactly like a standard drive with the added extras of being able to make custom CD's for yourself or copy (backup) CD's you already have.

If you buy a CD Recordable Drive they usually come with instructions, my brother managed it and he is a builder!! (nothing against builders)

Failing that the guys on this site offer great advice. You might want to consider looking into the "Storage" section of this Forum for further advice, might help you make a decision about the best type of CD device for your PC.

I am not knowledgeable enough to give any deeper advice but maybe one of the professionals on this site could offer more info regarding a good make and the pitfalls to look out for.

Try this thread for a start, and look through the others for extra info, you'll soon be an expert!!

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29296

Regards

Gav

[Paul Komski]

The CD tray will almost certainly have Compact Disk embossed on the front of it. If it is a CD-burner then the Word ReWritable should also be embossed in small letters on the front of the tray.

Without a CD or DVD burner you cannot write to any disks. If you have a burner then you must also have the appropriate software to do the burning - WinXP was the first MS OS to have a native burning program as part of the OS. With Win98 you would need Nero, Easy CD Creator, Stomp, etc to be installed in order to do any burning.

Most CD-burners come bundled with the minimum software to burn in a straightforward fashion. They are really not that expensive and are are easy to install.

I like and have had no problems with LiteOn burners (which support MountRainier Packet Writing) - others will have their own favorites no doubt.

[Island Boy]

Gav and Paul, thanks for this useful info. Will look into it and see what I can do. Most likely I will let the vendor install a recordable drive.

My present drive has the following written on the front: 52 X Max [at left]. Compact Disc is imbossed [at right]. The word Compact is so small a magnifying glass is needed to make it out.

One thing for sure, if or when I buy a new PC, will make sure it has a recordable drive. Didn't know about this, thought all had the "proper" drive!

Rgds, Island Boy

[Sylvander]

As a general rule, a drive is capable of working at its own level and also anything below its level.

HENCE:
CD-RW = CD-Re-Writer
It can write & re-write to any one disk at least 1,000 times, probably many more times.
This Writes to CD-rewritable disks and also CD-recordable disks, and also reads CD-RW, CD-R, & CD-ROM.
Is capable of the functionality of this [CD-RW] and lesser devices.
If you have "Packet Writing Software" running on the PC when you insert the CD-RW, it can be treated like a giant floppy or small HDD [but slower]. You can delete files/folders and re-write them etc.
Make certain you get a CD-REWRITER, not a CD-Recorder.

[b]CD-R = CD-Recorder
This records to CD-R disks only. It can write only once and can be read many times [WORM = Write Once, Read Many]
Is capable of the functionality of this [CD-R] and lesser devices.
i.e Recording CD-R's & reading CD-R's & CD-ROM's.

CD-ROM = CD-Reader
[only reads disks] To use this as the reader for copying a CD it must be capable of DIGITAL AUDIO EXTRACTION.
It can read CD's made on a PC and also commercial CD's.

Ordinary home CD-ROM drives can read commercial CD's and PC produced CD-R disks, but not CD-RW's.