You don't know the best part.
I still have my Commodore 64. :P
Posted on 04/17/2006 9:22:06 AM PDT by holymoly
For several years, I had been using a tape drive & NovaStor software to backup files. The tape drive has died.
I'm looking for alternative methods to backup data; primarily a CD-R drive. (Never used/owned one.)
System specs:
Soyo SY-6VBA MB
1ghz Pentium 3
512mb RAM
Win98
20gb IDE HD (I forget the manufacturer)
I live in a rural area. Store choices within driving range are limited to OfficeMax, Best Buy and Circuit City (which I dislike).
The CD-R/burner software should produce CDs which can be read by any PC, even if the system is running MS-DOS.
Currently, I'm looking this Sony CD-R Drive at OfficeMax.
You don't know the best part. The drive was so honking big, it took two 5.25" drive bays. The tape cartidges are roughtly two-thirds the size of a VHS casette.
Skip the CD-R. Why not just get a DVD-RW? 4.7GB of backup there.
Portability. I'd like CDs I can stick into virtually any PC, not just those with a DVD/RW drive.
Don't buy another CD-R drive that'll just become obsolete anyway in months. Go to Tigerdirect.com and get yourself a good DVD-R.
I didn't know that. Thank you.
Side panels are 1/4" foam carpet padding. Reduces noise, increases are flow.
Did I mention my PC's cobbled together from various bits and pieces (some used)? ;)
About 1/3 to 1/2. Of course, I prefer buying locally. If it croaks (under warranty) I can get it replaced the same day.
Not a bad idea.
Currently I need to back up about 4 gigs of data (patches, software I've collected over the years, etc.), in preparation for (eventually) replacing this system. For that, I'm still leaning towards a CD-R or DVD/RW drive.
Good info & advice. Thanks.
You don't know the best part.
I still have my Commodore 64. :P
Ahhh...then go with a DVD-R solution. They hold about 4 Gig a piece.
I have data storage needs that are about 30 times that so the snap/clone solution fits me juuust right.
I still have my Apple][+ and my Amiga (before they had numbers).
The side panels of the DVD-drive packaging for the specs.
Ah.
Actually, I may have to go with a 2nd HD. From what I see on the net, the software included w. CD-R & DVD-R drives requires at least W98SE, and I'm running W98 FE.
I've converted from tape to disk for backups, as hard drives are now about the cheapest solution, as well as more convenient and faster.
I had been using external drives, attached by USB or such, but that's slow, and one pays a little extra from the external packaging.
I just stumbled on a nice, functional and economical internal removable drive solution:
http://addonics.com/products/combo_hdd/aechdsa35.asp
Combo Hard Drive for Serial ATA hard drive
The Combo Hard Drive for Serial ATA hard drive is another innovative hard drive kit solution from Addonics. This drive kit enables any Serial ATA hard drive to be used as a hot swap removable hard drive and as an external Serial ATA hard drive. To provide efficient cooling for the high RPM Serial ATA hard drive, high air flow is forced through the drive enclosure by an innovative fan system located at the bottom of the drive cradle.
The cost for additional drive enclosures is just $9 per drive, the fan in the drive cradle (the part that screws permanently in a 5.25" external drive slot) keeps the disk cool, and it all works quite nicely.Product features
- Support any 3.5" Serial ATA hard drive
- Innovative bottom fan system for fast cooling
- Pass through Serial ATA and Power port at the front of drive cradle
- Point to point Serial ATA connection (no cable to connect hard drive to enclosure)
- Power and hard drive access* indicators
- Install into any 5 1/4" drive bay as a removable hard drive
- Hot swappable hard drive can be removed or add to the system without restarting*
- Convert any Serial ATA hard drive into an external Serial ATA hard drive
- OS independent
- Simple installation
For systems built in the last year or so that have SATA controllers, if one has both a spare SATA connection and an available 5.25" external bay, it's the cat's meow.
I'm adding a PCI controller board for SATA, since my mainboard's SATA doesn't support hot swap, so I won't have to power down to swap backup drives. I run two backups, one to a permanently mounted internal harddrive, and the second copying that to a removable that I swap out now and then. Both run automatically, a couple of times a day.
Um...for about 3 hundred dollars you can get a new computer with lots of HD, a CD-RW, and XP. Please!!!
My problem seems to be (at least partly) solved.
A friend has just given me an old Acer 2x CD-R drive, which seems to be working fine with DeepBurner freeware, which I've downloaded. I've burned four CDs this morning, and all seem to check out OK,
I can now breathe a little easier, while I think about building a new(er) system.
Honestly, I'm not interested in any version of Windows beyond 98SE, though I might try 2000, if I ever stumble on a CD at a yard/garage sale.
I won't do XP.
There are a number of reasons, among them the fact that I've talked to people who couldn't get some of their Win9x software running under XP, even when using the so-called "compatibility" modes. I've been down that road before, when I moved from MS-DOS to Win95.
When the day comes that I have to abandon Win98SE, assuming I haven't found a copy of W2K, I'll probably go to Linux. I believe I have a copy of Red Hat around here, somewhere.
If you do go with Linux, I'd recommend you get a set of the latest CD's for one of the major distros - I tend to prefer SuSE, but Red Hat and Mandriva are good too for general purpose use. You can get the complete 5 CD set of the latest SuSE version from Cheapbytes.com for $12.99 - SuSE Linux 10.0 x86 CD Set.
It is well worth it to have one current CD set, as it makes it easy to install a variety of the latest software, and booting from the CD is the preferred way to fix any boottime problems (see the Rescue option in the SuSE CD boot menu.)
For someone who is avoiding wasting alot of money on this you can get quite a bit more performance, with fewer crash and security problems, from Linux than from Windows.
Microsoft will stop providing security patches for Windows 98 and 98SE on July 11, 2006 -- just a few months away.
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