Some pro's and con's.
Only problem with only "BACKING UP" to portable hard drives is, that unless they use NTFS format they will only store about 4.5 GB ***PER BACK UP*** so your backup gets spilt and most people don't know how to recover split (multiple section) backups so they think they have lost everything.
Also, if you should have a virus on your source computer, when you do the backup, the virus could also get backed up onto the destination drive.
When you only copy and paste your folders, you CHOOSE individual folders and files so there is far less chance of copying a virus, unless you should be unfortunate enough to have one in an unopened zip file.
If you just BACK UP My Documents or "C" drive a virus could be hiding in your email storage folder, which is usually located in "My Documents", or it could be hidden in your system files.
It's sort of like going into a fruit shop to buy apples: you could buy a whole bag and risk there being rotten ones hidden on the inside, or you can buy individual loose apples and check each one before you put in in your bag.
USB sticks are great for temporary storage, but they can break, a wire inside can come loose or break, if you drop them you risk cracking the storage chip, and they can also simply fail.
I hope this helps someone. Hugs n roses, Meganne
Hugs n roses, Meganne
Just
Sorry I forgot to finish that sentence.
Just remember, if you do use DVD's to make COPIES of your design folders, ALWAYS double check that the 'paste' DID work. and always make several copies, keep them in different safe storage areas, an airtight tin under the bed, in your cool pantry, in your sewing/computer room. They're certainly cheap enough to buy as many as you want. Hugs, M
It all depends on whether the DVD's were RE-writeable and if your first formatted them AS "RE-writeable to store data"
I use NERO and the addon called INCD. Nero on it's own often does not have the feature to format re-writeable discs AS re-writeable discs. So you need to install INCD, Which is often INCLUDE with the Nero program but you have to install it afterwards.
I know this doesn't probably make a lot of sense, but I am talking from years of experience doing this and this is the best way I have found to get good copies of your data, be it designs or documents.
INCD, writes a little management section to your disc that allows other computers to open and read your disc even if they don't have NERO or INCD installed.
I DO hope this helps. I would love to live closer to everyone with problems so I could show them how to do things but alas I am too far away to help further.
hugs n roses, Meganne
Thanks Meganne! I wish you lived closer too! My DVD's are re writeable and were formatted as such. I'm thinking that some have become faulty over time..????
I do store extra copies but not always with the special designs picked out so guess I will have to re do some. Ah well there are worse things.
Hugs, Nadyne
Sorry, it seems full comments are not coming through.
To finish; I will have to re copy some info,but there are worse things..!!
Hugs, Nadyne
I have had this trouble also. Here's some help:
Put one design on the disc,but don't deleted the design. Erase the item on the disc. and re-send it to the disc again. Sort of "formats" the disc. Use
CD-RW doscs for thia. CD-R discs cannot be erased, but will over-ride anything on it.
Meganne was mentioning about keeping hers on DVD's. I marked it for later, but right now you can't get the marked posts. Maybe Meganne will see this and has an answer for you.
Thanks!I hope so but It is sure nice to have all the help and advice of everyone here!!
Hugs, Nadyne
I used cd's at first, then I had so many designs I used a usb stick. Was happy, outgrew the 8g and went to a 32g stick. Was lucky enough to have saved the 8g as backup but not everything. Then I bumped the 32g and broke the teeny tiny wire connections. It is toast! Who knew? So I spent hours online trying to find the last 3 months or so of designs I had purchased and d/l them again!! Lots of work, glad I had the 8g.....so I asked for a backup harddrive for my birthday, went out and bought it myself, and yesterday (my b/day) I got checks from kids for a new backup harddrive!!
I think we have to assume our stuff will fail. Get everything somewhere else at least twice...good luck. Linda
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!
Thanks for the info. My DH got us a back up hard drive several months ago and I'm sooooo thankful!
Hugs, Nadyne
Happy birthday and a flower for you. May you have a lot of happiness with your new harddrive.
Well.... this thread has scared me!
Did you use CD-R's or DVD+RW? The latter can be erased but not the CD-R's. I have all my designs on CD's.... Haven't had any problems, but have only been doing that for a year....I do not use CD's that can be erased. All mine are CD-R, NOT DVD+RW.
I can't afford an external hard drive right now! Which is better to store on .... A USB OR CD?
MJDG
If you are using them for back-up only you should be fine. If you are using them as your only storage and adding to them I would be very careful.
Great advice here, I have had similar troubles, before starting on embroidery I was a digi scrapbook freak I have several DVD's on digi scrapbook designs and one brand of disk I can't recall which one now all failed after a time, now I store everything on an external hard drive, there are great specials at Staples, and I still back up onto DVD's but make two copies.
It sounds like over kill, but I mainly do this with my digi family pics, I take many and keep them all, I may only print the best but theres always the time you need to go back and find a funny candid pic for family reunions and such.
I hope this helps.
Lucy
Thanks,I do have the external hard drive and I usually back up twice,one for all the files for the month and second for categories. Unfortunately the discs that failed were for specific categories so now I have to go back and re do everything. :-(...just more work and is time consuming.
Hugs, Nadyne
I save all my designs on a usb, but I had a bad experince with one of my usb, it was a 8G and I had been using it for a while with no problems and suddenly one day I sloted it into my computor and on my screen came up 'REFORMAT' I didn't know what happen and asked the advice of an expert in computor and they told me that I need to refomat the usb but I will loose all my information on it and I lost all my files with my designs, THANK GOD for hard drives, I had everything saved on it. So no matter what you use, sometime or the other it goes away but it is nice to save files on a hard drive, cds or dvd, if you loose one you have another it saved on another.
OUCH! That was a bad experience! Yes thank goodness for hard drives!
Hugs, Nadyne
If you are adding files to a DVD (and not burning it all at once for a backup) that is probably why they can't be read on another PC. The ability to add to a disc can be helpful but can also be problematic (like what you are seeing). I would suggest you sort your designs on your computer and use the DVD to back them up (burned all at once) and/or an external hard drive to back them up. I do both - very regulary on the external drive and occasionally for a DVD that I store away from my house for extra safekeeping (not just my embroidery designs, all of my files).
I don't usually sort on the computer but I do have several back ups. It is a time thing and also a learning thing! LOL!!
Guess I will have to satrt.Thanks
Hugs, Nadyne
Can I recommend that you invest in an external hard drive? They are getting much cheaper. So far superior to DVDs,and much safer in the long run. IF you can afford it, get a solid state drive. You will be glad you did when all is said and done!! Good luck!
I do have that, thanks.I just have to re sort again..it is such a pain! :-(
Hugs, Nadyne
Bonjour,
J'enregistre les modèles sur un disque dur externe ou sur une clé USB mais plus jamais sur un CD ou DVD.
Les fichiers étant tout petits mais nombreux, ils sont très mal reconnus par ce type de support. De plus, les CD/DVD ne sont pas du tout fiables dans le temps.
Hello,
I record the models on an external hard drive or a USB key, but never on a CD or DVD.
The files are very small but numerous, they are poorly recognized by this type of support. Also, CD / DVD are not reliable over time.
Friendships.
I hate CD's. I back up only on an external hard drive. Too much trouble in the past with CD's.
I try and do both,thank goodness... Computers are great but very annoying sometimes when you are not totally computer literate...always learning!:-)
Hugs, Nadyne
I have lost a lot of stuff on CDs. It's actually there...can hold it up to a strong lite & see where there's part of the disk used. BUT I can't get it to come up. A friend was able to recover part of the files. I now have my files on an external drive, backed up on a flash drive, and still have some on CDs but don't add to them anymore!! Hopefully the external & flash don't fail at the same time! Hope someone can recover the files for you. There is a program that can do that, but as I am soooo not a computer person, I can't even tell you what it is! Good luck!! Gerry B in Tennessee
Thanks Gerry, this sounds like the same thing.I thought that DVD's were supposed to hold sooo much ,but like you, I am afaraid to add to them anymore.I am also soo NOT a computer person!
Hugs, Nadyne
Nadyne, whenever I have made a DVD - I use my editing for that purpose - it allows me to drag and drop whatever I want into a folder - then it burns it on the DVD - it will allow me to view it on the DVD - so I usually do that - before I exit that area. Then for good measure I will take it out of the drive and put it back in - just as if I just got it - I love trying it out - to make sure I have my files as I want them - I don't understand - why one PC might read it and another will not - but it isn't the first time I have heard of that. Good luck dear - I know how frustrating that might be.
Actually Shirlene that is what I do too. I always recheck my discs after I burn them just to make sure that the information is there. I am so upset! I do still have everything in my files and on an external hard drive,so it is not like I have totally lost them,but now I have to go through A LOT of files to pick and burn special sets! Hours of time I'm thinking.... :-(
Hugs, Nadyne
them but now I will have to spend hours going through all my files to pick out certain designs and designers :-((
I STORE MINE ON USB STICKS AS THE REPAIR MAN TELLS ME CDS LOSE SOME OF THE DESIGN AFTER A FEW YEARS CAROLYN
I still have my files but not the special designs separated. This is how I would categorize my designs. I'm not a computer whiz, so this has always worked for me. I usually use my usb sticks just when I want to do certain designs, then I put them on the sticks and then in the machine. Thanks for the info on the CD's though.
Hugs, Nadyne
Oh my! It looks like I am being too verbose. My full comments are just not coming through!
To finish;I use the usb sticks in my machine with certain downloaded designs on them. PHEW!!
Hugs, Nadyne
Did you format your cd before putting on the designs?
I can't seem to get DVD's to work for me. I don't know what I'm doing wrong because I hear of people do it on them.