CD Backup with Active Backup Expert software

CD backup (or backup to CD) as a data protection approach has likely become the most popular solution for last few years. CD discs, as backup media are quite inexpensive nowadays. On the other hand, CD devices are removable, so you can get a backup CD as far from your data files as you wish (The only backup solution that can compete with CD backups in terms of taking them far from data files is Online Backup. Please see the Where to store backups page for other alternatives to CD backups).

Understanding importance of  CD backup, we paid special attention when developing the features of the Active Backup Expert that serve to CD backup creation.

How to direct a backup to CD?

The Active Backup Expert supports recording backups to CD by the following two ways:

• multi-session or blank CD (Windows XP or later) If your system supports IMAPI (the Image Mastering API), the backup software will utilize it for all CD recording operations. To check out if the backup software supports your CDRW or CDR, please search for it at Windows Hardware Compatibility List.
• UDF CD If the inserted disc is formatted under UDF (the Universal Disc Format), and there is a packet-writing software (InCD, DirectCD, etc.) installed on your system, the backup software will write a backup to CD that way.

To have your backups recorded to CD just select your CDRW or CDR in the Storage Folder field of your backup-project.

Large backups span across multiple CD discs

What if the inserted CD doesn't have enough free space to fit a backup? The Active Backup Expert will warn you about that, offering options to replace or erase the CD, or remove some files from UDF CD. If a backup still doesn't fit to the CD, the backup software will offer you to span.

When splitting a backup onto parts, the backup software will take all the free space on the CD, and ask you for the next disc until the job is done.

Restoring a spanned CD backup is as simple as providing the backup software with backup CDs in correct order - the ABE will warn you if it's a wrong CD.

ZIP, CAB and Self-Extracting CD Backups

When you create a CD backup, you always keep in mind that there is a chance you'll be restoring the backup on another computer. To make it easier for you the Active Backup Expert stores backups as ZIP or CAB files and provides you with an option to create a self-extracting backup.

Saving your data files into well-known ZIP or CAB files, the backup software gives you the confidence that you'll be able to restore the backups with any compression software.

Unlike other backups, self-extracting backups have the exe file extension, and can run as a Windows application, offering you to select a folder to extract to and to do the restoring itself. While adding only about 100Kb to the size of a backup, the self-extracting option makes your CD backup free from the need to install the Active Backup Expert as well as any compression tool on the computer to restore on.

Security of CD backup

While you taking a backup CD to another place, there is always a chance that it can be lost, stolen, etc. To avoid the risk of being read by other people, please use the Strong Encryption option for your CD backups. The ABE offers you to secure your backups by applying the 128-bit Blowfish algorithm.

Try it now

Please download your free trial of Active Backup Expert Pro at

ABE Pro - online backup software (2.4 Mb)