Transferring Files Between Computers: Options - Option One: Burn a CD or DVD
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So you can't shake a stick without hitting a computer that has either a CD or DVD drive in it. And most of the new machines nowadays have burning capabilities as well. Why would you burn your CDs or DVDs? Burn is a phrase used to describe writing information to an optical storage device, in this case a CD or DVD.
Burning a CD or DVD is probably one of the most recognized ways of transferring data from one machine to another. It's also pretty easy. Here's an example of dropping files onto a CD or DVD, assuming you have CD/DVD burning software installed (such as Roxio Easy CD/DVD Creator, or Nero Burning Rom).
- Insert blank CD or DVD into your optical drive.
- Your CD/DVD burning software starts up to create a new CD or DVD.
- Using their interface, you drag and drop the files into the disk image, making sure not to overstep the amount of space on the media.
- Click the BURN icon to write the disk.
Within minutes, a shiny new CD or DVD should be ready, containing the files you chose to back up. Now you merely need to take that disk to the other computer and hope it can read it.
Hope it can read it? Is that what I just said?
Yes, unfortunately. It seems that all optical media is not compatible in all drives. For example, if your machine at work has a DVD+RW, and you have a DVD-R at home, you will not be able to read that DVD at home. Worse yet, you may have a drive at home that doesn't recognize rewritable CDs. There's actually a good number of compatibility issues between different drives and the media they can write and/or read. No, it's not impossible, but it can be quite an issue.
The good news? Well, CDs will let you store up to 700 MB depending on the media. DVDs will allow you to store between 4.7 GB and 8.5 GB, depending on the format. Single layer DVD recorders can write approximately 4.7 GB to a DVD, while dual layer DVD recorders can write up to 8.5 GB. While the capacity is impressive, compatibility is the big worry here.
Pros:
- Easy to do.
- Can yield very high capacities.
Cons
- Can be slow, depending on drive speed.
- Media can get expensive after a while.
- Potential media compatibility issues between computers.
Overall, writing to CD or DVD is not a bad thing, so long as you know the issues, and how best to address them.
Next: Option Two: USB Flash Drive >>
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