Backing up CD / DVD Media

Sat Sep 11 15:35:29 UTC 2010

The whole issue came to me when my 4 years old son broke one of his favorite
DVDs to pieces...

I was lucky to think ahead and I actually made an ISO copy of it before I
put it in the DVD Player for the first time - so I was able to burn a copy
and use it. Hence the scenario I have described.

I was only wondering if I was using the right tool (dd) or is there a better
app (GUI, maybe)?

Ironically, 2GB  and 4GB SD cards are more expensive than 8GB or 16 GB.

Long term reliability is crucial - that's the whole point. Any of you could
recommend a brand or even a specific model that might be suitable for the
job?

Thanks again!

.:====================================================:.

Amichai Rotman

Registered Linux User#: 201192 [http://counter.li.org/]
Registered Ubuntu User #12851 [http://ubuntucounter.geekosophical.net]

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.:====================================================:.

On Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 17:46, Basil Chupin <blchupin at iinet.net.au> wrote:

> On 11/09/2010 22:38, Amichai Rotman wrote:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > I have a bunch of DVDs and CDs I'd like to back up in case the media
> > is damaged (scratches and such).
>
> First question: are these originals or already copied, burnt, copies
> onto CDs/DVDs?
>
> Original CDs/DVDs are pressed onto the medium and not burnt to a
> chemical layer(s).
>
> If they are originals then unless you go scratching them and otherwise
> abusing them then they should be OK for quite some years.
>
> On the other hand if they are already copied/burnt onto CDs/DVDs then
> why not simply copy them again (using K3 for example) to other, good
> quality, CDs/DVDs?
>
> Simply copy them without any ISO-ing stuff involved: KD3 - Copy Medium.
>
> On the other hand, if you are working with DVDs then using K9Copy would
> be the way to go. More on this if you want more info....
>
> The cost of CDs is now next to nothing for each disc. DVDs almost the
> same but it depends on whether you are using DVD5 or DVD9 (dual layer).
>
> For CDs, TDK are very good. For DVDs, Verbatim (they are one of the two
> manufacturers who have developed a special process for their DVDs - see
> info in DVD related URLs).
>
> While these manufacturers claim that their discs will last something
> like 75 years as a minimum, I would re-copy the discs in about 5 years.
> And by which time the technology would have changed so that you will
> need to do this anyway because the CD/DVD player would be a dinosaur and
> the copies would have to be made onto some other, probably some
> biological, medium.
>
> Already now you have the memristor in the works which is due to be
> around 2013 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11165087.
>
> RE using an HD, the way that they are now constructed with massive
> compression of data into an ever decreasing platter space for what
> 'they' are trying to cram into that space, even with using vertical
> writes instead of the "old" horizontal writes, as a long term storage
> medium I am not sure that an HD is the way to go. For example, I bought
> 2 HDs at the end of last September. One of them simply stopped working
> without any indication of any problems - S.M.A.R.T and all! - a couple
> of weeks ago and I cannot have it replaced under the 3-year warranty
> because it contains sensitive information.
>
> You could use USB flash discs but you would need to look VERY carefully
> at them to choose a brand which is not only fast on both read/write but
> MAINLY on how long they are warranted for. Something like a Corsair is
> warranted for 10 years but something like a Kingston is for only 3 years
> (and it is slow); other brands are not only slower but also are
> warranted for 2 years. And if you want something like a Corsair, they
> are not cheap - keeping in mind that we once had the USB v2.0 protocol
> but now are starting to have the v3.0 which, as usual, increases the
> cost of v3.0 flash discs while the manufacturers recoup their
> manufacturing setup costs....
>
> Of course, there is also the tape backup option.
>
> The bottom line is: consider how important your CDs/DVDs are, how much
> do you want to spend in preserving the info over the years, and how much
> time you are prepared to do all this.
>
> Just as an example, in support of my argument to use CDs/DVDs, I
> recorded my 1970's vinyls (Herbie Mann, War, Billie Swan, Pink Floyd,
> etc :-) ) to CDs many years ago. They play without a glitch even though
> they have been burnt onto a chemical based CD.
>
> Oh, one other comment: do you want to compress your CDs into, say, mp3
> format or keep them at their original sound quality? This will influence
> on what you would use to store your precious CDs (DVDs - well, you
> wouldn't want to chop them down from the original quality, would you?)
>
> BC
>
>
> >
> > I was thinking of using the dd command to create ISO images and keep
> > those ISOs on an external HD I can tuck away someplace safe.
> >
> > So, I'd pop the disc in the drive and after it mounts I go to the
> > terminal and enter something like:
> >
> > dd if=/dev/sr0 of=/whatever.iso
> >
> > I wanted to make sure I am on the right path and maybe there is a
> > better way to do this. I's love your input on this.
> >
> > The idea is to have the ISO somewhere safe, in case the CD / DVD
> > becomes unusable, I just pop a blank media to the writer and burn the
> > ISO to it...
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > .:====================================================:.
> >
> > Amichai Rotman
> >
> > Registered Linux User#: 201192 [http://counter.li.org/]
> > Registered Ubuntu User #12851 [http://ubuntucounter.geekosophical.net]
> >
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > .:====================================================:.
> >
>
>
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