cd-rw

Peter2

New Member
Power User
Messages
865
Location
MD
I use cd-rw's for my rescue discs because Macrium updates maybe 2-3 times a month. It has worked well for some time now.
How often would you exchange the disc for a new one?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8300, Dell Inspiron 15 R N5010
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GE force 420
    Hard Drives
    1TB
    Browser
    Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender, MBAM, Router
You can use a CD/DVD-RW maybe five times, maybe a little more. I've had a couple last up to 10 reburns. If you keep em clean they should last as long as any regular CD/DVD until you reburn it. I'd test them once a week to make sure they were still viable. I've got CD-RW and DVD-RW's I burnt years ago that are still good.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
CD-Rs are so cheap I would not trust my backup to a CD-RW, ever.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
If your data is irreplaceable do not use CD-RW

The more you use them the weaker they get, and theyre not that strong to begin with, they were designed to be used as work horses then disposed of.. They are also very slow because they have to erase previous burns before writing new data..

CD-R are very cheap its like .30 each or less if you get no name brand. Thats about $12.00 per year for your needs..

The slower you burn CDs the more reliable the data will be.

If you want to use them instead of throwing them away then make backups more often.

Make a backup every week on different CD-RW, so that the worst case is you lose a week...

Cycle through maybe 3 or 4 CDs, maybe mark them the 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th. to show backup date.

Have you considered a flashdrive backup?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 & Windows 7 Dual Boot
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP G60
    CPU
    AMD Turion RM-70 Dual Core 2.0 GHZ
    Memory
    3 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 8200M G
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Mouse
    MS Intellipoint 5 button (love it!)
    Browser
    Chrome and Chromium
    Antivirus
    Avast Free & Malwarebytes
You can use a CD/DVD-RW maybe five times, maybe a little more. I've had a couple last up to 10 reburns. If you keep em clean they should last as long as any regular CD/DVD until you reburn it. I'd test them once a week to make sure they were still viable. I've got CD-RW and DVD-RW's I burnt years ago that are still good.


>>I assume you mean to use the entire disc 5 times. I insert it and Macrium says it needs erasing which it then does, erases. Then it writes the rescue disc, which I then test. I would think it could last quite a long time or many writes as the information is so brief. I usually change it once a year as I only write to it maybe 3 times a month.
Please correct me if I am wrong. If you inspect the shiny side you will see that it does not really erase but continues to write as the circle grows larger.
I read a cd-rw could be written to 50 times but would never do that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8300, Dell Inspiron 15 R N5010
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GE force 420
    Hard Drives
    1TB
    Browser
    Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender, MBAM, Router
DVD-Rs are much cheaper than CD-RW, I don't care if I only have to write 200MB of data on a 4GB DVD disc because they cost 10 to 15 cents each if you buy a pack of 50 or 100.
Rewritable CDs are more unreliable the more you erase and re-write on it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 (64) : Win 7 (64) : Vista (64) : Android JB 4.2 : iOS 6
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer AX Series & HP i-5 2400s
    Screen Resolution
    Main PC - 2x Sony PS3 3D LED Displays + 1x 22" Philips; HTPC - 47" HDTV w/ 17" LCD secondary display
    Hard Drives
    Internal- 1TB on each system; 1x120GB SSD on main PC
    External (network attached)- 1x2TB Seagate backup; 1x1TB ext. storage; 1x500GB,
    Other Info
    http://tinyurl.com/br4uxrk

    http://tinyurl.com/cwj93pj
reliable

There is no arguing that fact, and thank you.
I will be cautious.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro x 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8300, Dell Inspiron 15 R N5010
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GE force 420
    Hard Drives
    1TB
    Browser
    Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Defender, MBAM, Router
Back
Top