<div dir="ltr">The whole issue came to me when my 4 years old son broke one of his favorite DVDs to pieces...<div><br></div><div>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.</div> <div><br></div><div>I was only wondering if I was using the right tool (dd) or is there a better app (GUI, maybe)?</div><div><br></div><div>Ironically, 2GB and 4GB SD cards are more expensive than 8GB or 16 GB.</div><div> <br></div><div>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?</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks again! </div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div> <br>.:====================================================:.<br><br>Amichai Rotman<br><br>Registered Linux User#: 201192 [<a href="http://counter.li.org/">http://counter.li.org/</a>]<br>Registered Ubuntu User #12851 [<a href="http://ubuntucounter.geekosophical.net">http://ubuntucounter.geekosophical.net</a>]<br> <br>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>.:====================================================:.<br> <br><br><div id="WISESTAMP_SIG_4310"></div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 17:46, Basil Chupin <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:blchupin@iinet.net.au">blchupin@iinet.net.au</a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div class="im">On 11/09/2010 22:38, Amichai Rotman wrote:<br> > Hi All,<br> ><br> > I have a bunch of DVDs and CDs I'd like to back up in case the media<br> > is damaged (scratches and such).<br> <br> </div>First question: are these originals or already copied, burnt, copies<br> onto CDs/DVDs?<br> <br> Original CDs/DVDs are pressed onto the medium and not burnt to a<br> chemical layer(s).<br> <br> If they are originals then unless you go scratching them and otherwise<br> abusing them then they should be OK for quite some years.<br> <br> On the other hand if they are already copied/burnt onto CDs/DVDs then<br> why not simply copy them again (using K3 for example) to other, good<br> quality, CDs/DVDs?<br> <br> Simply copy them without any ISO-ing stuff involved: KD3 - Copy Medium.<br> <br> On the other hand, if you are working with DVDs then using K9Copy would<br> be the way to go. More on this if you want more info....<br> <br> The cost of CDs is now next to nothing for each disc. DVDs almost the<br> same but it depends on whether you are using DVD5 or DVD9 (dual layer).<br> <br> For CDs, TDK are very good. For DVDs, Verbatim (they are one of the two<br> manufacturers who have developed a special process for their DVDs - see<br> info in DVD related URLs).<br> <br> While these manufacturers claim that their discs will last something<br> like 75 years as a minimum, I would re-copy the discs in about 5 years.<br> And by which time the technology would have changed so that you will<br> need to do this anyway because the CD/DVD player would be a dinosaur and<br> the copies would have to be made onto some other, probably some<br> biological, medium.<br> <br> Already now you have the memristor in the works which is due to be<br> around 2013 - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11165087" target="_blank">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11165087</a>.<br> <br> RE using an HD, the way that they are now constructed with massive<br> compression of data into an ever decreasing platter space for what<br> 'they' are trying to cram into that space, even with using vertical<br> writes instead of the "old" horizontal writes, as a long term storage<br> medium I am not sure that an HD is the way to go. For example, I bought<br> 2 HDs at the end of last September. One of them simply stopped working<br> without any indication of any problems - S.M.A.R.T and all! - a couple<br> of weeks ago and I cannot have it replaced under the 3-year warranty<br> because it contains sensitive information.<br> <br> You could use USB flash discs but you would need to look VERY carefully<br> at them to choose a brand which is not only fast on both read/write but<br> MAINLY on how long they are warranted for. Something like a Corsair is<br> warranted for 10 years but something like a Kingston is for only 3 years<br> (and it is slow); other brands are not only slower but also are<br> warranted for 2 years. And if you want something like a Corsair, they<br> are not cheap - keeping in mind that we once had the USB v2.0 protocol<br> but now are starting to have the v3.0 which, as usual, increases the<br> cost of v3.0 flash discs while the manufacturers recoup their<br> manufacturing setup costs....<br> <br> Of course, there is also the tape backup option.<br> <br> The bottom line is: consider how important your CDs/DVDs are, how much<br> do you want to spend in preserving the info over the years, and how much<br> time you are prepared to do all this.<br> <br> Just as an example, in support of my argument to use CDs/DVDs, I<br> recorded my 1970's vinyls (Herbie Mann, War, Billie Swan, Pink Floyd,<br> etc :-) ) to CDs many years ago. They play without a glitch even though<br> they have been burnt onto a chemical based CD.<br> <br> Oh, one other comment: do you want to compress your CDs into, say, mp3<br> format or keep them at their original sound quality? This will influence<br> on what you would use to store your precious CDs (DVDs - well, you<br> wouldn't want to chop them down from the original quality, would you?)<br> <br> BC<br> <div class="im"><br> <br> ><br> > I was thinking of using the dd command to create ISO images and keep<br> > those ISOs on an external HD I can tuck away someplace safe.<br> ><br> > So, I'd pop the disc in the drive and after it mounts I go to the<br> > terminal and enter something like:<br> ><br> > dd if=/dev/sr0 of=/whatever.iso<br> ><br> > I wanted to make sure I am on the right path and maybe there is a<br> > better way to do this. I's love your input on this.<br> ><br> > The idea is to have the ISO somewhere safe, in case the CD / DVD<br> > becomes unusable, I just pop a blank media to the writer and burn the<br> > ISO to it...<br> ><br> > Thanks!<br> ><br> > .:====================================================:.<br> ><br> > Amichai Rotman<br> ><br> > Registered Linux User#: 201192 [<a href="http://counter.li.org/" target="_blank">http://counter.li.org/</a>]<br> > Registered Ubuntu User #12851 [<a href="http://ubuntucounter.geekosophical.net" target="_blank">http://ubuntucounter.geekosophical.net</a>]<br> ><br> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br> > .:====================================================:.<br> ><br> <br> <br> </div>--<br> Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it.<br> <font color="#888888"><br> <br> --<br> ubuntu-users mailing list<br> <a href="mailto:ubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com">ubuntu-users@lists.ubuntu.com</a><br> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users" target="_blank">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-users</a><br> </font></blockquote></div><br></div></div>