CD-DVD Burning: The Basics

Ok so I have been too darned busy to update this and got behind. However, I will soon be writing full time and this project will get its due.

Making, writing or burning CDs and DVDs

CDs and DVDs are basicall just a few types:

1. Music : files playable on any CD or DVD player-usually wav format, which is much larger, so many fewer files will fit
2. MP3 Music: playable on many newer CD and DVD players
3. Video: playable on different machines according to format, usually MPEG, AVI or VID
4. Backup: specially formatted CD and DVD sets sequentially backing up your data. With some programs you must restore ALL the data to the original drive configuration, and with others you can restore selectively to any drive
5. Data: files in the form in which they were originally stored on the computer: These can be any type, but will oftne not work in other electronics, such as CD and DVD player

So let's talk about what kind of data you want to store to CD or DVD and how you do it:

File types are noted by the last three letters of a filename after the dot (.). This is called the file extension, and your computer knows which program to use to open the file by its extension.

• Documents: You want to store your documents as data, always. With most CD/DVD burning programs you can drag and drop your My Documents folder onto the burner and it will open and set up your project, then prompt you for filesnames and to insert the correct amount of CDs or DVDs.The files in the My Documents folder may be of many different types, because Windows defaults to this folder to store much of your output from other programs. The most common file types for text files are txt, dat, doc, pdf and htm.

• Music files: these can be several types: MP3, WAV, WMA, MPEG, and various proprietary protected types for different download services and editing programs. Some of these formats will play on your other electronics, while others will not.

• Compressed files: these are usually ZIP, RAR and BAC (for backup) These can generally not be used without decompressing them first

• Pictures: these can be photos or scans or photos, illustrations and pretty much any still image file. There are dozens of different pormats and the most common are: Jpg, Jpeg, GIF, psd, tif, tiff, psp

• Programs: these are generally compressed, but smaller programs may actually be executables, such as exe or com. Programs can be stored on a data disk, or you may want to decompress them to a foler and then burn the contents of that folder to the root directory of the CD or DVD (usually just a CD)

• Video files: most commonly these are in MPEG3 or 4, AVI or VID. These are playable on the computer, but you may need a different format to use them in your player. Check the documentation of the player.

• CD or DVD Images: these are actually complete copies of an original CDor DVD. They will look like your CD-DVD burning software, usually Nero or Roxio. If you double-click them your default burning software will open and begin to make a CD or DVD from them.

We will cover these in more detail later.

Cds and DVDs

Ok so we pretty much all have a player in the computer for either CDs or DVDs or both. If you bought your computer this century, then you likely have a CD or DVD writer. Many of us have one player and one writer. That is the most convenient setup, as you can play on one machine and record on the other.

So the difference in these products is as follows:

CD reader and DVD reader (or players) play or read only and a CD player can only play CDs. If you are buying new, there is so little difference in price between CD and DVD players, you might as well buy a DVD player, because it can read both. (Most technology is backward compatible.)

CD and DVD writers come in two types, writable and rewritable. Most manufacturers no long make writable, so rewritable is what new machines should have. In addition, for DVDs there are several types and densities. Suffice it to say you should get one with most types listed, but be sure that thay do DVDRW, DVD+ and DVD-. Do not worry about what all the other stuff is. Your machine will know what to use. The difference is format, rather like the difference between 8 track and cassettte or Betamax snd VHS. For DVD writers you also have a choice of dual layer and density, which means you can store more on a DVD, but this requires that you purchase the special dual layer DVDs. Don't worry about that either.

Storage capacity for a CD is 650-700 megabytes. DVDs will store 4.7 gigabytes and dual layer DVDs will store 9 gigabytes. Remember though, that dual layer DVDs can only play on a dual layer capable machine. So if you want to see how much storage that really is figure out how big your My Documents folder is. Right click the folder and select "properties". That will tell you the size of the folder. Of course all sizes are given either in megabytes or gigabytes. 1024 megabytes is a gigbyte, which means that on DVD will hold about 4.4 CDs. Most people just use 1000 for easy computation when they estimate how many CDs or DVDs they need. Remember that one gigabyte is a thousand megabytes.

As for which CD or DVD "burner" to buy, read the reviews on the popular computer magazine and techie sites like CNET.com, ZDNet.com, Anandtech.com and so. They will tell you which ones are better. Just be sure you buy a reasonable quality CD or DVD. You don't have to buy the most expensive, just a major brand. You can even buy them on a spindle without the jewel cases and store them in a CD binder, as long as they are a known brand. (Look on the main computer sites to see what the major brands of the day are.)

So What is Data

Data is anything you or anyone else makes from a program that runs on your computer or on the Internet. Data includes email, documents you write in word processors, spread sheets and databases, presentations (as in PowerPoint), photos and graphics you create or save, music or other sound files, output from any software program, such as charts from Visio or little programs from Flash or Visual Basic or anything else you make or save that is not part of an installed program or of your operating system. This even includes your personal settings for programs, your favorites and your contact lists.

Data is stored in many different ways and formats on your computer, and the computer has a list of which programs will open which files. All of this is controlled by the file format, and the file formaton windows or DOS machines is indicated by the file extension. That is the three letters you see after the period in any filename. You say you don't always see a period or three letters after it? That is because this is usually turned off to keep from confusing people. You can turn it on in folder options if you like:

Open any folder on your computer, not in your browser, but on your computer (like My Documents or My Computer) and click the Tools link on the top menu. You can see what file type you have registered on your computer by clicking the file types tab. To make all the extensions visible, click the View tab, and go down to Hiddent Files and Folders. Deselect "Hide File Extensions for Known File Types" by taking the checkmark out of the box next to that phrase.

Ok You are reading this, because you want to know more about protecting your data, so what is the quickest way? That would be to save all your data to one or more CDs or DVDs.

Step one is to find your data, all of it. Now you know that the Your Documents holds holds a lot of data, so that is the first folder you will want to save to CD. For most of us it also contains My Pictures and My Music. But what about your email? Where is that? Well that depends upon what you use for an email program.

If you use Outlook or Outlook Express you can easily find where your email client stores your email. For Outlook 2002 or later, it is a simple matter to click on File and select Data File Management. For outlook Express, you click on Tools-->Options-->Maintenance-->Store Folder and you can see exactly where the program stores your email. In MSN your email is stored in a folder named db in this pathway: My Computer\C drive\Your Windows Logon (might be Owner)\Local Settings(if you do not see this you need to click Tools-->View-->Hidden Files and Folders and mark Show Hidden Files and Folders then close that window)\Application Data\Microsoft\MSN\db. Of course In MSN and competing products, like Google Gmail and Yahoo, most of your email is stored on the server, so it is probably safe for a while, until you set up your system properly for protecting all your data.

So use your favorite CD or DVD burning program to copy all your email to CD or DVD. If you do not have a CD or DVD writer you need to invest in one. CD writers can be purchased for less than fifty dollars now. I will cover CD purchase, installation and use in the next few blogs.

Protect Your Data: Here's How

Ok this is going to be a book. However we will begin with a CD topic for which I will write the text here. I have worked in IT off and on since 1963, but fairly steadily since 1981. No I am not an engineer or even a programmer. Mostly I do technical writing, create user guides, training manuals and quick start guides. I have also done technical support on every job I have ever had, and that is my day job now, except that I work graveyard shift. This allows me plenty of time to write.

The subject of this Guide is Protecting Your Data. In the past six months alone I have personally spoken with dozens of people who have lost data. This is extremely painful and totally unnecessary! People lose email, documents, pictures and music every day, and it does not ever need to happen. People lose data when their systems crash, when they get a virus or have to have their system repaired. They lose data through accidental deletion or even a malicious invasion from a hacker. This never needs to happen, and it does not take either big bucks or big brains to protect it. It simply takes a little planning, some time and attention. In this space I will tell you how.