Backing Up a Laptop

[Anonymous Poster]

All my above comments are based on hardware...

Yes, CD-R is also write-one time only media[/i]...

Dave simplified it the best...{Thanks Dave} /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Phred]

Guys,

I use all of the above.
CD-RW is not useful in my opnion because you are using it for backup right? So why would you want to erase it? Also cost more.
CD-R s are the way to go. These things are writeable with a burner that costs ~$200 and looks just like a regular cd drive. The burner also reads CD-Rs and regular CDs. CD-Rs are ~ free, less than $1 in volume.
However, if you have a lot of data, more than 650mb, you need a tape drive. Tapes are slow but can back up 20Gb overnight.
I also use zip disks but these things are not nearly as relaible, and occasionally will loose you data. Also cost much more. Main use is for transfer of files between PCs; use a file at work and at home.

just my two cents.

Fred

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi ya Ed...

I'm getting tired... I can see, yes yes yes all the above... my brain was engaged in hardware... yours was software/media.

You're absolutely correct on software.../w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

I'm absolutely correct on hardware...

I'm going to bed, need to restore my weak brain...

 

[glennmac]

Fred,

Can't you shoot files between laptops just using a copy function over an ethernet wire connecting the two. I believe you can on Macs, anyway.

Thanks to everyone. I think I understand the concepts now.

 

[glennmac]

Dave or anyone, is there a Mac/PC incompatibility with CDs as there was with floppy disks. That is, can a Mac CD-ROM drive read a CD-R disk that was burned on an PC CD-RW drive, and vice versa.

For example, all my Powerpoint presentations were created in PC Powerpoint on a PC network system and burned on CDs with PC burners. I've been assuming I can read the CDs into a Mac, copy them onto the Mac's hard drive, and then view and modifiy the presentations with Mac Powerpoint. Am I wrong on this. I guess this is both a hardware and software question.

 

[Andyfr]

Glennmac

You can copy files between computers using LapLink. There are some laptops at work and the users sometimes take them home to copy files to their desktop machines. The version we have connects the two machine via the serial ports and the software is installed on both, then you can copy from one to the other.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Andrew.

 

[jwstewar]

It depends. If you used a straight CD-R yes more than likely the Mac can read it, but if you used Adaptec's DirectCD with a CD-RW disc the Mac won't be able to read it. If you want to take a CD-R from the Mac to a PC you will need a software package like MacDrive on the PC to read the Mac disk.

Bottom line: Mac's can read PC disks but PCs can't read Mac disks /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>Mac's can read PC disks but PCs can't read Mac disks</font color=blue>

Okay, now we're really getting into it. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

The above statement is absolutely true (one reason I prefer Mac's), but when it comes to CD's, it gets even gnarlier:

Although there are simple ways to create CD's for your personal use, there are a variety of CD formats and, fortunately/unfortunately, many combinations and options are possible.

If you wish to live entirely in the world of Mac, you can create all your CD's in Mac Volume (HFS) format. If your data consists entirely of Mac applications, for example, this would be a perfectly logical format to use.

ISO 9660, however, is the universal cross-platform format, which is readable on Macintosh, DOS, UNIX, Atari, Amiga and even Windows /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif systems, and more. If your data consists of image files (jpg, gif, etc.), plain text files or any other cross-platform files, this would be a smart format to use.

Now then, if you have cross-platform files, as mentioned abaove, but you want to include the applications to manipulate them (image file viewer, editor, etc.), you probably want to create a Mac/ISO Hybrid CD. Easier than it sounds, you create a Mac partition with your Mac applications and any files you wish to share between platforms, a separate partition with your PC applications and an ISO partition with everything else. When you pop one of these into a PC, you see the PC apps plus the shared files. When you insert this same disk into a Mac, you see only the Mac applications plus the same files.

Other formats include the Audio CD (playable in standard consumer CD players), Video and other miscellaneous formats, but we certainly don't want to get into them here. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

It is also possible to burn multiple sessions (each appears as a separate volume) onto one disk, which I do for some of my Mac stuff, but as far as I know, PC's only know how to read the last session written. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

If anyone cares, I use Adaptec's TOAST for doing all of the above and more. Very cool application.

 

[caddison]

Glen,

I was using a LS-120 drive for my backups. Worked slick because you could read a ls-120 disk or a standard floppy. Well I just bought a new laptop "Gateway 5300" and it shipped with XP instead of 98 and now my LS-120 drive has been rendered useless because XP won't recognize it. If you look at laptops consider a LS-120 drive. Some manufactures still offer it as an option. My gateway came with a CDRW so I'll use it until they have some drivers for the LS-120. Oh the LS-120 has 120 meg of storage. I have read about a new version that will store 240. Good luck!

 

[GlueGuy]

mAC's can read PC disks but PCs can't read mAC disks

Not true at all. It is true that you can read PC disks from a mAC, but the reverse is also true. The main issue is that you usually need to buy the software to do it on a PC; you get the PC-readability for no extra cost on a mAC. Of course the base cost of a mAC is usually higher than a PC, so calling it "free" might be not quite the way to say it.

It's also true that most PC users don't need to read a mAC disk. The reverse is certainly not true. Not too big a deal these days with near-universal networking.

BTW - One format you missed was UDF. AKA packet writing.

The GlueGuy