Backing up data

How to burn CDR's

1. Make a subdirectory on the computer "pizza" to contain the data you want to store.
   

   • pizza% mkdir cddata

2. Copy/move your data to this directory. Make sure you don't put more than 648 MB in this directory; that's the limit that CD's can hold.
3. To double-check that you haven't put too much data in the subdirectory, use the "du" command. The following command would indicate that the directory has 622 MB of data.

   • pizza% du -hs cddata
     622M	cddata

4. You have to create a big file containing the exact data to burn onto the CD. To create this file, use the command:

   • pizza% mkisofs -v -R -l -o /tmp/eric.raw cddata/

   This makes a file called /tmp/eric.raw that is the size of your data, which is to say, up to 648 MB. When this command is finished, it tells you how much data it was, a chance for you to triple-check it's not too big! Why such paranoia? If your file is too big, the CD-burning program is still happy to burn your CD, except it crashes when it gets to the end, and your CD is useless. Don't call your file "eric.raw" unless your name is Eric.
5. Get a blank CD; use a felt-tip marker to label it with your name & any other information you want. Put the labeled CD into the "Smart & Friendly CD-R 8020" drive.
6. The following command burns the CD (depending on which computer you're using):

   • pizza%    cdrecord -v speed=8 dev=6,0 fs=8m /tmp/eric.raw

   • merlinux% cdrecord -v speed=24 dev=1,0,0 fs=8m /tmp/eric.raw

   • static%   cdrecord -v speed=24 dev=2,0,0 fs=8m /tmp/eric.raw

   It takes about 10 minutes for speed=8, less for speed=24.
7. When it's done, you can check to see if it worked; follow the procedures below.
8. Please remove your "raw" file (/tmp/eric.raw in this example).

New information for static, 12-27-05:

1. Insert blank CD into burner
2. Window automatically opens for CD/DVD Creator (/usr/bin/nautilus-cd-burner)
3. Select Places / Computer and then browse to directory
4. Drag folders/files to CD/DVD Creator window
5. Select File / Write to disk

To read the data, follow directions below but the directory is /media/cdrom/ .

How to get your data off a CDR that you burned

1. Put your data CD into the CD drive. On pizza, this is the top drive, not the one labeled Smart & Friendly which is the burner.
2. It may automatically mount if you wait a few seconds. If not, the command is:

   • pizza% mount /mnt/cdrom/

3. Then, you just use it like a normal unix directory. It's location is /mnt/cdrom/. Often after I burn the CD I check it & write out a text file somewhere that contains the directory listing:

   • pizza% ls -l /mnt/cdrom/ > ~/cd01.txt

   That way I have a listing of all the files on the CD, and then I can just use a different number for each one. Do it however you like, this is just what works for me.
4. When you're done, you can just eject the CD, or if that doesn't work try:

   • pizza% umount /mnt/cdrom/

   and then try ejecting it. You can't be in the CD directory (/mnt/cdrom) when you're unmounting or ejecting it.

1. Much easier: just put the CD in the CD drive, then it works like normal.
2. Nonetheless, Linux is still superior to Windows NT.

How to burn DVD+R's

1. Make a subdirectory on the computer "curveball" to contain the data you want to store.
   

   • curveball% mkdir cddata

2. Copy/move your data to this directory. Make sure you don't put more than 4.4 GB in this directory; that's the limit that DVD's can hold.
3. To double-check that you haven't put too much data in the subdirectory, use the "du" command. The following command would indicate that the directory has 3.2 GB of data.

   • curveball% du -hs cddata
     3.2G	cddata

4. What is "step number 4" for CD burning is done "on-the-fly" when durning DVD's - no need to create that big file... very nice :-)
5. Get a blank DVD+R (we do not use other DVD formats, like DVD-R); use a felt-tip marker to label it with your name & any other information you want. Put the labeled DVD into the burner drive.
6. The following command burns the DVD

   • curveball% growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/scd0 -R -J cddata

   • static% growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/hdc -R -J cddata

   Please type this command exactly as shown, with the possible exception of the name of your directory. The order of the commands and the spaces are important. It takes a while to burn a whole DVD: it's a lot of data!
7. When it's done, you can check to see if it worked; follow the procedures below.

How to get your data off a DVD+R that you burned

1. Put your data DVD into a DVD drive. On curveball, this is the drive on the top (the dvd burner is the bottom drive).
2. It may automatically mount if you wait a few seconds. If not, the command is:

   • curveball% mount /mnt/cdrom/

3. Then, you just use it like a normal unix directory. It's location is /mnt/cdrom/. Often after I burn the DVD I check it & write out a text file somewhere that contains the directory listing:

   • curveball% ls -l /mnt/cdrom/ > ~/dvd01.txt

   That way I have a listing of all the files on the DVD, and then I can just use a different number for each one. Do it however you like, this is just what works for me.
4. When you're done, you can just eject the DVD, or if that doesn't work try to unmount it with:

   • curveball% umount /mnt/cdrom/

   and then try ejecting it either with the eject button on the DVD drive or by typing:

   • curveball% eject /mnt/cdrom/

   You can't be in the DVD directory (/mnt/cdrom) when you're unmounting or ejecting it.

1. Much easier: just put the DVD in the drive on mud, then it works like normal.
2. Nonetheless, Linux is still superior to Windows.

How to burn DVDs on Spicysquid using the GUI

1. Put a blank DVD into the lower removable disk drive, this is the DVD Burning drive

   CD/DVD Creator, a GUI DVD burning software package will start, automatically.

2. Navigate to the directory/file you wish to write to the DVD. Drag this to the CD/DVD Creator window.
3. Repeat until all data you want on the disk is in the window.
4. Go to the File menu at the top of the CD/DVD Creator window. Scroll down the list to "Write to Disk". Select "Write to Disk".

   A dialogue box appears asking for details about writing to CD/DVD. In this you should see a field which asks which drive to burn to. Unfortunately, the default is the first drive in the list, which is the CD burner.

THIS IS THE MOST COMMON STEP SKIPPED

5. Change the write drive to "HL-DT-ST DVD +/- RW GWA4164B". This is the only other selection you have the option of selecting.

   The other selections show Write Speed Max Possible. The drive itself is capable of burning at 16x speed. In the After Writing section you should see a check box (checked labeled Eject disk and another check box (checked) labeled Reuse these files for another disk.

6. Click "Write".

   A new dialogue box appears which shows the progress of the burn. This should take approximately 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the amount of data you are burning.

   FWIW, Curveball’s method is very similar, except that it only has one drive so there is no need for step 5.

How to burn single sided BD-Rs

1. Make a subdirectory on the computer "udon" in the directory "/burn" to contain the data you want to store.
   

   • udon% mkdir /burn/data

2. Copy/move your data to this directory. Make sure you don't put more than 24.3 GB in this directory; that's the limit that BD's can hold.
3. To double-check that you haven't put too much data in the subdirectory, use the "du" command. The following command would indicate that the directory has 3.2 GB of /burn/data.

   • udon% du -hs /burn/data
     3.2G	/burn/data

4. What is "step number 4" for CD burning is done "on-the-fly" when durning BD's - no need to create that big file.
5. Get a blank BD-R; use a felt-tip marker to label it with your name & any other information you want. Put the labeled BD into the burner drive.
6. The following command burns the BD

   • udon% growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/sr1 -R -J /burn/data

   Please type this command exactly as shown, with the exception of the name of your directory. The order of the commands and the spaces are important. It takes a while to burn a whole BD: it's a lot of data.
7. When it's done, you can check to see if it worked; follow the procedures below.