Back it Up: the Best Way to Save Your Computer`s Information - CD-R and others
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Most newer computers now come standard with a CD burner, meaning you can slip a CD-R into your computer and immediately write data right onto the CD. You can purchase recordable CDs (CD-Rs) in quantities, but the price generally works out to be less than one dollar per disk. A single CD-R can hold around 700MB of data, so you can store quite a bit of information on only one. Once you write to a CD-R, however, it's a done deal. If you have only a little bit of work or data to back up, it's really not feasible to use an entire CD-R for a few files.
How to use: To use your CD burner, first make sure a new, unrecorded CD-R is in your computer's CD drive. Next, you'll have to access the software for your CD burner. This should be fairly easy to find on your computer's main drive (the C drive). Select "record to disk" or "burn to disk" or the option that's most similar. The step-by-step instructions should take you through the process of selecting the data you want to copy. Remember, CD-Rs can hold a lot but you can never add any more -- so don't be afraid to fill up the disks to get the most of out of them.
These days, CD burners are being replaced with DVD burners, and some Blu-ray burners are already available; they cost several hundred dollars. The storage media isn't cheap, with the most expensive being the dual-layer, 50 GB rewritable version; that will set you back about $50. On the up side, a Blu-ray burner will play CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, so you don't have to upgrade your old disks.
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