Backup to DVD

As a media to store your backups DVD discs seem to be one of the best choices. Any type of DVD will do, but we recommend rewritable DVDs for their obvious ability to be used repeatedly.

Mostly DVD backups duplicate the CD backup approach with one significant difference: DVDs are much bigger, so DVDs allow larger backups to be stored on a single disc without spanning (see Spanning backups to learn how to span backups across multiple media).

When to choose DVDs to save files

We recommend to back up to DVD if:

• Backup is large: If a backup is too large to fit one CD, but small enough to fit one DVD, it's better to record it to DVD.
• You need your files elsewhere: Being a removable media, DVDs are ideal for the task of transporting some files to another place. But with help of the unchallenged ABE power of selecting, compressing, splitting backups and making them self-extracting, DVD discs become almost unlimited in their file transfer abilities.

How to direct a backup to DVD?

Just add any of your DVD recorders to your project's Storage Folders. The ABE will write your backups to any kind of media: whether it's a blank, ISO96690 / Joliet or UDF-formatted for packet-writing.

Large backups span across multiple CD or DVD discs

What if the inserted disc doesn't have enough free space to hold a backup? The Active Backup Expert will warn you about that, offering options to replace or erase the disc. If a backup still doesn't fit  the inserted disc, the backup software will offer you to span your backup. While spanning a backup across multiple media the ABE uses all free space on the current disc and then asks for the next. The next disc doesn't have to be the same size or type as the current disc.

ZIP, CAB and Self-Extracting DVD Backups

The Active Backup Expert stores backups as standard ZIP or CAB files and offers you an option to create a self-extracting backup. So, to restore a DVD backup on another computer you don't even have to install the ABE. Though, if you install the ABE on the other computer you'll be able to import the backup there to restore the files in the most comfortable way.

Security of DVD 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 DVD backups. The ABE offers you to secure your backups by applying the 128-bit Blowfish algorithm.

Operating Systems supported

The ABE package includes a CD/DVD recording engine - StarBurn by RocketDivision.com. It means that you can use DVDs as your backup media under any Windows platform: 95/96/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista without the need to run any additional software.

Worn out discs

The life of re-writable DVD and CD discs is limited by their own device. They can survive a limited number of burns to become worn out after all. They can get scratched or even broken down. Due to these optical media features the ABE always verifies whether the last write to a rewritable DVD or CD disc was successful.

Media rotation

The ABE doesn't define any fixed role for a particular disc. It's up to you which disc to insert before recording a backup to it. However, we strongly recommend not to use the same disc for consequental backups. Having at least two discs would increase your chances to have the most up-to-date backup tenfold.

Don't try to erase DVD discs every time. If a DVD contains previous backups, and it still has enough space to hold more backups, just use it until it is full.

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