Zip file help

12/12/05 | self

[Redcloak]

Amazing.

Okey dokey... Here's why I think that CD-RW disks are a waste of time and money. First, as I stated before, CD-R disks are cheap. They are also reliable. The only times I've had them screw up is when the burner software attempts to run at an impossible speed. (BTW, K3B is the best software I've come across for burning. It won't let you screw up by trying to run too fast. The price is right too!) CD-RW disks, on the other hand, do screw up. If you're archiving data, you don't want to be left guessing about whether that data is safe or not. (Presumably, you're archiving it because you want to keep it.) You can also use that CD-R in other machines. The CD-RW might not be readable in another box. (And if your box just died, and you're trying to resurrect your old data on a new machine, this matters.)

I offered my advice to the original poster because I assumed that they didn't want to screw up their burner upgrade with a faulty disk. Being penny-wise and pound-foolish by worrying about wasted disk space could do just that. A completed CD-R is something you can rely on. A CD-RW is not.

Now if only you had chosen to be a bit more verbose to begin with ...

[JoJo Gunn]

Little old me not verbose? Surely you jest!

I'm with you concerning the part of archiving. But that's why I use multiple discs. I have 5 formatted to throw things on quickly, and a couple of times a week I'll bundle a lot and burn a couple, in case one goes kaput. I do it a lot more since getting a camera. (Actually, I'm running low on -R's).

I of course like RW's but wouldn't recommend them for just anything, such as those SONY cameras that use the 3" discs. Well, change that. The still camera I might, but the one (do they have more than one?) video camera they make I'm not so sure I'd use RW's for. I guess I'd just have to mess with it a while before deciding I'd trust it with RW's. I'd be wary at birthdays and the like, at least in the beginning.

Addenda: SONY makes at least 3 DVD camcorders.

I'm not sure if I'm reading you right, but is there a chance your burner isn't recognizing the Write speed of the discs? My old burner does RW's at only 4x max, and all my programs see that limit. I brought a friend's higher speed 8x disc home one night and my burner used it but only at the 4x limit.

All in all, I highly recommend RW's, but not exclusively. Experiment first, just as you should with any batch/brand of -R's. (I'm not so sure it's such a problem now, but it used to be that Memorex had a little bit of a bad reputation in some circles, as were Ritek's, (which made discs for Imation, the old 3M, among others, but Imations worked for me).