Re: archiving mp3s

suds macheath wrote:

How do I put mp3's on a cd by a "read only" file? I'd like to back up
the tunes I buy and download, and archive the tunes I ripped from old
cassette tapes. Thanx in advance....

I´m not really sure, if I understand your question correctly. Generally, I´d
say, that burning the files to a normal CD-R in "data CD" format is the
answer to your question. A burned CD-R disc is "read only" by
specification... I would suggest to burn the mp3 files directly and not use
any kind of "file archive" format (like .zip or .rar) additionally. Since
mp3 files are already "compressed", you probably won´t gain any or only very
little file size by using a typical "file archive" format. It´s preferrable
to have the mp3 files directly accessible from a CD-R, so you don´t have to
rely on an additional program to access the actual mp3 files.

The real question is, if you really want to rely on CD-Rs for long-time
archival. They´re regarded rather unreliable for long-time archival, because
CD-Rs tend to be quite prone to becoming problematic over long periods of
time. CD-Rs are good for file transfers and short-time archivals, but you
can never be sure, they can be read accurately after maybe 5 years or 10...
I often burn CD-Rs for listening to audio-CDs in the car radio and usually,
after about 6 months, they become unusable due to "jumps" and stuff like
that. Well, I have to admit, that I don´t really handle these CD-Rs with
"good care" and just regard them as "disposable", but on the other hand I
still have old cassette tapes, that still play with less problems after
15-20 years - also after years of use and storage in cars... when a CD-R
becomes faulty after car radio use, I just burn a new one and use that.

Archiving digital data over long time periods is a general problem. Many big
companies still use old-fashioned tapes for archiving. Even external hard
disks are not really "secure". I´ve heard of at least one external USB HD,
that was packed with "backup" data, then disconnected and put into a shelf
and after a few months, when it was re-connected, there was no data on the
HD anymore... Don´t know, if a data recovery software could have been used
with any success. The guy, who told me about it, said the data had not been
soooo important and he already put new files on that HD, before he asked me
(out of interest), if I had an idea, what could be done to recover the lost
data. File recovery software can only be successful, as long as no new
"write" action has happened to the HD after the loss. There are companies,
that specialize on data recovery from broken HDs, but their services are
very expensive. For personal use, you won´t want to pay such prices.


Phil


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  • Re: archiving mp3s
    ... the tunes I buy and download, and archive the tunes I ripped from old ... A burned CD-R disc is "read only" by specification... ... Well, I have to admit, that I don´t really handle these CD-Rs with "good care" and just regard them as "disposable", but on the other hand I still have old cassette tapes, that still play with less problems after 15-20 years - also after years of use and storage in cars... ... Archiving digital data over long time periods is a general problem. ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)