I just got a new computer but it didn’t come with any disks. I need to create a system recovery disk (system image).
The CD-RW disks I just bought apparently aren’t big enough. After it formated the disk and tried to create the first of 5 recovery disks I got an error message saying that it wasn’t big enough (capacity-wise).
I can only assume that a DVD-RW disk is larger and is what I should have gotten. Is that correct?
I only noticed DVD-R disks in the store I was in.
I just want to make sure I know what I’m looking for before I buy any more disks.
Any advice would be appreciated.
The "RW" designation means "ReWrite" for a reusable disc.
It takes quite a long time to erase and re-format, and they are quite expensive.
I don't think capacity is any better than DVD-R or DVD+R discs with the same number of layers.
With prices for the one-time-use media having fallen quite a bit, few still use the DVD-RW format for optical storage.
any RW media is unreliable believe me (i am trustworthy ;) ), CD-RW, DVD-RW, ETC-RW.
system rec images (acronis) are safe to save on DVD-R's (*.TIB-file extension)
empty CD-R /CD-RW are 650-700 MB typically.
empty DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW/DVD-RAM typically have ~4.480-4490 MB when they are single layer and a bit less than twice as much when dual layer (DL). For backup purposes I would recommend single layer DVD+R from a brand name (Taiyo Yuden (JVC) or Verbatim archival grade). They are reported to be the safest cost effective way for disc backups.
don't use dvd-rw for backups or (windows) operating system installation media.
DVDs is a good idea, but you might also consider an online backup service, if you do end up upgrading your internet connection. Next best, and cheaper option is a second set of disks off site (relative's house).
I'd be more concerned with your personal data than a system backup (although having both is great). If your hard drive died I could easily help you get a new one up in about the time a restore takes...
Historically, the reliability of Acronis disk images has been the best if they were written to, and read from, an internal HD (that's what I always do).
Second best is an external HD, while CDs and DVDs may let you down.
I think he is talking about the initial creation of the system recovery discs and not general backup advice. Most modern pre-configured PCs automatically ask for creating those discs on every start-up until they are created.
There is usually an OEM utility which bugs you to burn the "proper" back-to-factory restore discs. Do this as above with DVD-Rs.
Get everything how you like it, then clonezilla the disk. :)
I have no experience w/ acronis, so I googled it
yikes
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/22330
I just boot to winpe on usb flash drive and image the whole hard disc to a usb portable drive w/ imagex (winpe and imagex are free tools). Its easy to do but you need the flash drive and image storage drive...
first of all you need a recovery program Acronis ( as Kreisler mentioned ) is first choice.
if you use it don`t forget to set the file splitting to 2 GB.
After that burn it to dvd or cd and don`t use RW,
they aren`t trustworthy as mentioned above.
I believe gcbryan is saying that his pc is asking him to make a recovery set, not that he's looking for backup software. This is common among all new laptops, instead of giving you a recovery disk, they have you create your own. Make a backup set as soon as you can, preferably before you apply any updates. You can use DVD-r or DVD+r. Don't use dual layer (DL) for this purpose. Your backup should use 3 to 4 of the single layer DVDs. You can buy a cd/dvd safe marker to number them if you like after you burn them.
Yes, this is for the initial system recovery set of disks.
I bought CD/RW and the capacity wasn’t enough according to the program I was using. It said I need a higher capacity disk.
So, I’m asking if DVD is higher capacity. I’m also asking about DVD-R which is all I saw in the store. My impression was that R meant read only however they were blank disks so I’m confused.
Can one write to DVD-R and is the capacity of DVD-R any greater than the CD-RW which I just bought and which wasn’t good enough to the recovery disk manager.
This is for a desktop rather than laptop as well.
The R stands for recordable.
People's experiences vary. For something like that I'd spend a bit of cash on whatever works best in your machine. Kodak used to sell Kodak branded Mitsui media which are as good as they get. If you can find Mitsui disks use those. If not, don't buy the cheapest and don't expect them to be readable 3 years down the road - I've found DVD+-R not to be all that long-lived. Like the silly cheap CD-Rs that were good if you could verify them, let alone read them next month.
I expect to pay around 30 cents for a recordable disk. For archival purposes I expect to spend around ten times that.
These days I use hard drive space (Though prices here are still way higher than two years ago) as they are faster and cheaper per terabyte - I need to back up about six terabytes just now for archival purposes.
My take.
Stripe and mirror everything and burn the important stuff to optical media too.
For a new device - it needs to be something that you can boot from if required. USB sticks aren't that expensive in the required capacities. Get one and put it in an offsite safe once you've made the recovery stuff. But make sure your device can boot from the resulting backup.
But what is really valuable is your data. And there can be a lot of it.
Acronis is great for getting a working setup back up and running. Get an HDD and put it on a shelf once done. But remember that is only a backup up to the date it was made.
I use a USB flash drive for a backup on my new laptop.
-R or +R is just for "once recordable", opposed to -RW + RW "rewritable"
great method
assuming you aren't a magnet freak, and a little careless with them, like me 
burn simulation (Nero Burning Rome) isnt possible with DVD+R but only with DVD-R.
(woah, what a bold assumption!! yeah, kreisler. as always. hehe.)
Between your magnet, flashlight and midget porn fixations I am surprised you ever leave the house. 
lmao!!!
for a second there I thought.....how does he know?!
then I remembered I leech internet connectivity from my employer....and I play racquetball w/ the network supervisor.....and I know he likes to look at the DNS destinations of people browsing.....so there's no porn browsing here lol
oh, and who said I leave the house?! did you forget about my agoraphobia?
only to go to the wilderness, man. Its safer for everyone that way 
Anyone know the difference between “Windows Explorer” and “Windows Media Player”?
In my old computer Media Player was easy to use. In this computer I don’t know how to load anything into it. It has some sample files, pics, video but I probably erased getting rid of junk how the images still appear in Media Player but when I press “play” it can’t find them.
That’s fine but I can’t see how to import my pics. So on my new computer it looks like Media Player is useless.
However now this Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) and it shows (including a slide show) my pictures and music. It’s doing what Media Player did in my last computer.
I’m about ready to remove Media Player. What’s the deal? I have Windows & 64 bit.