Backing up files to a cd

[georgep63]

Hi,

I'm a newbe here & not sure if I will explain my question right. But will try to.

I would like to back up my files & folders to blank cd's. I tryed to do it, but it tells me there isn't enough space on the cd. Is there a way that I can split the back up in half & put it onto two cd's?

Thank you,
George

[geno888]

Welcome to the forum

Some more details are needed

What kind of files are these exactly? What software? On a CD you can store only 700MB of data. What about using a DVD instead?

[georgep63]

They are My Doc’s, Fav’s, Program Files, Start Menu & My Pic’s. The total is approx a little more than 1GB. My cd’s hold 700MB. I only have blank cd’s. I don’t have a car today to go buy dvd’s.

[QUOTE=geno888;2160073]Welcome to the forum

Some more details are needed

What kind of files are these exactly? What software? On a CD you can store only 700MB of data. What about using a DVD instead? :)[/QUOTE]

[geno888]

ok, you can do a simple little trick

Do you have WinRAR installed in your computer?

Select the folder you want to store on CD and right click on it; then select “Add to archive…”. Then set options as shown in pictures

You should have some 700MB chunks that you can burn on CDs

[CDuncle]

If you use Backup software, it should be able to backup all files to a multiple CDs.
But than to retrieve those you better stick with the same software which backed them up.
If you do just data copy, than you can insert folders until disc if full and burn, than insert new disc and burn rest.
This way you can retrieve those files with any computer you put disc in.

[Whappo]

Or you could use a service like Mozy to backup your files online. I think you get a 2GB limit free with Mozy, other online backup sites may give you more.

[georgep63]

I’m not sure if I know what WinRAR is. How do I see if I have it? If I don’t where can i find it?

[QUOTE=geno888;2160081]ok, you can do a simple little trick

Do you have WinRAR installed in your computer?

Select the folder you want to store on CD and right click on it; then select “Add to archive…”. Then set options as shown in pictures

You should have some 700MB chunks that you can burn on CDs[/QUOTE]

[geno888]

WinRAR is a software to create compressed archives. You can find it here. Too bad is not free, but it is an excellent software

Alternatively you can do the same thing with 7-zip, a freeware software

[georgep63]

I downloaded Mozy & backing up right now. Ill let you know how it turns out. Thank you for helping me.

[QUOTE=geno888;2160100] WinRAR is a software to create compressed archives. You can find it here. Too bad is not free, but it is an excellent software

Alternatively you can do the same thing with 7-zip, a freeware software[/QUOTE]

[geno888]

You’re welcome

What I really like in WinRAR is the ability to put recovery data on the archive, so if the file is damaged it can still be recovered in some way

[georgep63]

I think I will also get WinRAR as you said.

[QUOTE=geno888;2160126]You’re welcome

What I really like in WinRAR is the ability to put recovery data on the archive, so if the file is damaged it can still be recovered in some way :)[/QUOTE]

[DrageMester]

Slightly off-topic:

What I really like about WinRAR is the ability to skip some files (by default) when making the archive, e.g. Thumbs.db and ~* files, and also the ability to simply store some files instead of (re-)compressing them, e.g. *.zip files.

I have setup WinRAR to skip these files by default:
Th?mbs.db ~* \Recycler \System?Volume?Information

and to store instead of compress these files:
*.zip *.rar *.7z *.cab *.jpg *.gif *.mp3 *.wma *.ape *.rm *.mpg *.mp4 *.mov *.vob *.wmv

[georgep63]

My back up seems like it’s taking for ever to complete. It is only up to 47% complete. It says the back up is 412.9MB. When I tried backing up earkier today it said it was about 1GB. Am I doing something wrong?

[QUOTE=geno888;2160126]You’re welcome

What I really like in WinRAR is the ability to put recovery data on the archive, so if the file is damaged it can still be recovered in some way :)[/QUOTE]

[geno888]

Probably is related to the amount of compression you selected. Selecting the maximum compression possible, it will require much more time to create the archive. Using the no compression wil create the archive very quickly, but the file size will be larger.

[georgep63]

That’s what it was, the compression was set to maximum. It turned out great.

Now I’m having trouble splitting the whole file in half. I think I must be doing something wrong.

[QUOTE=geno888;2160540]Probably is related to the amount of compression you selected. Selecting the maximum compression possible, it will require much more time to create the archive. Using the no compression wil create the archive very quickly, but the file size will be larger.[/QUOTE]

[geno888]

To make WinRAR to split automatically archives in chunks you must set the file dimension in the field (see the picture)

[georgep63]

I’m using the other one you gave me, the 7 Zip File Manager.

[QUOTE=geno888;2160593]To make WinRAR to split automatically archives in chunks you must set the file dimension in the field (see the picture) :)[/QUOTE]

[DrageMester]

[quote=georgep63;2160645]I’m using the other one you gave me, the 7 Zip File Manager.[/quote] Select the relevant option in the “Split to volumes, bytes:” menu, e.g. “700M - CD” or type your own preferred split size.

[georgep63]

I tried doing as you said. I got to the window where you do the split, but I can’t seem to figure out how to copy it to a cd.

[QUOTE=DrageMester;2160653]Select the relevant option in the “Split to volumes, bytes:” menu, e.g. “700M - CD” or type your own preferred split size.[/QUOTE]

[DrageMester]

7-Zip doesn’t burn the CD for you, it just compresses your files into an archive and optionally splits it into chunks of e.g. 700 MB.

You will need to burn the split archive onto CD-R media using a CD burning program or the builtin CD recording function in Windows XP/Vista, burning one of the split archive files on each CD.