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CD Recording FAQ
6. Creating custom DataCDs
6.7. Backing up a hard disk on CDs
One of the most fascinating uses of a cd recorder is to back up a hard drive so that you can restore a part or all of it in case you need to.
To accomplish this, there are different approaches, each one with its strong and weak points. Programs which will allow you to backup to a recorder fall into three categories:
- Programs which will copy files and directories you specify, using drive letter access to the recorder provided by packet writing software. These programs are ideal for incremental daily backups and very easy to use. However, packet writing does not provide reliability, so this option has to be considered as easy but not too reliable.
- Programs which will copy all hard disk contents to cds from within Windows. These programs also provide tools to create a special boot floppy so that you can restore your system using this floppy and the cds created by the program. Such programs are easy to use, but can be very slow and often face compatibility problems because of the drivers they use.
- Programs which will clone the entire hard disk, making an image of its exact contents, and will be able to restore it exactly as it was. These programs work from DOS and demand some basic DOS knowledge. They offer amazing speed and are the ultimate solution in terms of performance and reliability.
Which program suits your needs depends on which you find you can handle and which one supports your hardware. Disk cloning programs are the only 100% reliable solution, but many people are put off because of the need for DOS. Also, disk cloning programs are able to copy a large hard disk to/from cds in less than 30 minutes.
Though disk cloning programs work in DOS, they can support cd recorders, but this means that you have to prepare a boot floppy (or cd) with DOS ASPI drivers. This is not too difficult if you can understand a few basic things about DOS, and the boot floppy prepared by Windows may be all you need, so it is a good idea to try with Windows boot floppy first.
Though DOS may sound unattractive, it ensures reliable hard disk cloning. When you try to backup an active partition under an operating system like Windows, system files are open and system parameterers are changed during the backup process. There are many programs running in the background, which can easily modify the registry or something else while files are transfered to the backup device.
You can enjoy the benefits of disk cloning software even if your recorder is not supported by any disk cloning program. The procedure described below, however, is not so elegant and straight through.
What you need is:
- A second bootable partition
- Disk cloning software
- Drive letter access to your recorder via packet writing
The basic idea is to boot into the second bootable partition, where packet writing and disk cloning software have both been installed, and start the disk cloning software from within Windows (if it allows this). You can then use your recorder as a target drive (since you have drive letter access to it), and make an image of the first bootable partition on cds. After finishing with this, you have to finalize all cds to ISO 9660.