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Simple Windows Backup to CD/DVD?

Posted by Cliff on from the replacing-tapes dept.

Meri051846 asks: "I am looking for a simple backup for my own use. Ideally, this backup would be able to span from one CD to the next for 'overflow'. Right now I am just using 'Easy CD Creator' and choosing what I want backed up and saving it so that I can backup most every day or so. One problem I am having is that my backup material is growing and won't fit on one CD. Also, when I add new items to 'My Documents', for example, I have to go into my program and make sure that new document will be included in the backup. (Even when I ask 'Easy CD Creator' to update the backup, the new items are not included. It just updates the old ones.) It usually isn't, so I have to manually add it to my 'backup program'. I hope I am making myself clear. Is there any backup program that will fullfil my wishes or am I dreaming of 'things to come'?"

4 of 123 comments (clear)

  1. Linux bootable CD by i_am_nitrogen · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'm surprised, seeing as how this is Slashdot, that nobody's mentioned a Linux solution...

    It's possible to boot from a Linux CD and back up that way. You can make a disk image of your partition and back it up to multiple CD's. I think that it can even be done direct-to-CD. Mkcdrec might help you out, though I think it's targeted at Linux installations with additional partitions from other OSes, and might need a Linux distribution installed on the hard drive. Do a Google or Linux.org search for a data rescue distribution. I'm pretty sure I've heard of one or more distributions designed for affordable and easy backups of any OS.

    --
    A solution to the problem with music today
  2. Freeware solution... by Bonewalker · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Mike Lin at http://www.mlin.net/ has created a product called RapidBackup. I have used it for the past 2 years, and it has never failed me.

    It does all you require...writes from network drives, writes to cd's via Roxio's DirectCD, and the price is right. :)

    But, investing in a DVD-RW is the way to go when your cd's get full. http://www.mlin.net/RapidBackup.shtml

  3. The KISS principle for backup security. by Myself · · Score: 2, Interesting

    While I support encryption in a lot of applications, this is not one of them. When you need your data back, the last thing you need to worry about is where you wrote down the password. Because of course, the drive that contained that batch file that was doing the encryption is now destroyed.

    Go to the bike store and get a big lock. Make sure the spindle hole of a CD will fit over the locking bar. Then simply impale your backup set on the lock. Physically securing a key is something we're all trained at doing.

    Of course, you could just write your encryption key down in a safe place and secure that physically, but sometimes a big hunk of metal is easier.

  4. Just use XCOPY not WinZip by gmiller123456 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I use XCOPY to backup my favorite folders every couple of hours. I put one backup on each of the three drives in the system, and I keep reminding myself to also make copies to a remote drive. There's an option to only copy files with the archive bit, so the copy goes very very fast, and you can schedule it to run every hour or so as you'll receive no perceptable performance impact. Then I ZIP up a snapshot of the backup directory once a month.

    Zipping up the entire directory every day (or every couple of hours) just wastes disk space (do you really need a snapshot of every day?). Winzip also has the option to only add newer files to the zip, but it won't be as quick as an XCOPY, so you can't run it while you're using your computer without taking a performance hit.

    Don't forget to backup your EMAIL!