How do I backup data?

Hi Shelf LIfe, I have Nero5 Burning Room and an old cd burner someone put in themselves. I couldnt understand how to use the Nero correctly to copy data. Do you know of a link that instructs how to do so for Nero? Do you recommend if i use cd's to copy data as a backup in case my sd reader wears out, that I use regular cd's or cdrw's? I think all of mine are regular cd's. bbfn, Safira

Hi Safira, You are doing better than you think! Once you have got to your "My documents" folder try this as an experiment. 1 Find say 2 files that you would like to copy then hold down the Ctrl key and whilst you are holding it down single left click on the first file you want to copy, it will be highlighted in blue as soon as you click on it. 2 Now whilst still holding down the Ctrl key do a single left click on the second file you want to copy and hey presto this will turn blue as well, you can now let go of the Ctrl key if you want. (all the time you keep the Ctrl key pressed down it will allow you to highlight in blue as many files as you want, but I reckon for this experiment 2 is OK) 3 Now whilst the two files are still highlighted in blue, move your cursor to a part of the blue highlighted area (any part will do as long as its highlighted) and now do a single RIGHT click and a menu will open: 4 Now place your cursor on the line that says "Send to" and another menu will open. 5 Click on the line that refers to your cd recorder or Dvd recorder (it is often, but not always the last item in the list) 6 Now click on this and a "Balloon "will open saying you have files to copy, so click anyware in this baloon and another box will open showing the 2 files you want to copy. 7 Now put your cursor to the menu bar of that box where it says" File" and a menu will appear so click on the first line that says "Write these files to cd" 8 A Wizard will open and if you follow the instructions on screen you will be able to congratulate yourself that you have copied the 2 files to a cd. Don't forget that when you have copied files you will need to mark them with a name or label them with a CD labelling pen so you know what's on it and then keep it somewhere safe. Before you go any further and before you try to start using Nero I think it would be best to get a bit of practice in by following the above steps a few times. However its up to you and of course shelf life who is a real expert on these things or any of us here will try and help out if you get stuck. One final point if all the files you want to copy are in your "My Documents" folder you can go there right at the beginning rather than by going through "My Computer, so see how you go. Regards paws Ps Its a good idea to print out these instructions so you can work methodically through them and tick or checkmard them off when you have finished each bit….Good luck.

hi Safira,

did that work for you? you want to use a CD-R to burn.heres a link to using nero 5.0;

http://www.colin.edu/mbritt/how_to_burn_a_…h_nero_burn.htm

Hi Paws and Shelf life, Thanks so much Paws for your very detailed and thorough post….I know its easier to just show someone in person so i do appreciate the time it took you to type that out. And thank you Shelf, for the nero link ; ) I have not gotten around to completing all of the above as the fridge decided to not work again so thats taken up my time, but…I will print your posts out and study that while I get over this major appliance challenge! hope to be back soon, Safira

Hi Safira, Sorry to hear about the fridge, I'm useless on Fridges, so I guess you are on your own on that one!! We will stand by to assist you when you can get back to your compo. Regard paws

Hi Paws, This reply as late as the fridge fiasco posed a great challenge but am glad to say I, for the time being, am moving forward and now have a better understanding of major appliances. Thank you for showing me step-by-step how to highlight/copy multiple files at the same time My highlight showed up in green for some reason. Do you think I should use this method to copy files to a cd or the Nero? My burner is old and sounds like its on its way out so Ill need to copy as much as i can as well as the sd card. This might sound like a dumb q but are cdrw's the ones that are able to erase and rerecord files? I think i just have the regular blank cd's. bbfn, Safira

Hi Safira, I'm glad you have got your fridge back under control! Don't worry about the "highlight" being in green…I guess whoever set up your machine in the first place had a better sense of art and colour than the usual computer tech! Obviously its your call as to which method you use to "burn a cd" and there is no doubt that Nero is a fine product. However if you are anything like me you may find it more comfortable to get really familiar with doing it one way before moving on to the next. (like using Nero, as the procedure is quite different!) Once you are really happy that you can burn a cd just using the method and tools provided free in Windows XP, (that's the method I set out in my previous post to you) then maybe its time to consider moving on and exploring the delights of Nero with all its valuable extra features. Anyway as I said its your call! Yes you are spot on, the regular cd (recordable) enable you to burn the data or music or photos or whatever and are pretty inexpensive. and form a permanent record. The cd (Rewritable) are more expensive, but can be erased and have new data written to them. If you have the inexpensive variety cd (recordable) that is just fine, and actually its exactly what I would recommend you start with. Please keep us posted, I want to hear that you have successfully copied your important stuff to cd and have marked the cd with a cd marking pen with the date and roughly what is contains (so when you come across it in 6 months time you won't wonder if its a blank one or your important copy!!) Regards paws

Hi Paws, Thanks for explaining about the cd's ; ) I'm late giving an update w/all the things that keep breaking down here But…..I am very slowly saving my data to the sd card and to cd following the advice given here ; ) Right now, im still burning to cd w/the Windows xp method (havent tried nero yet). I'm also typing in a separate document a list of what I've saved and what format its on since ive got tons more ahead of me to transfer. Thank you again and all the others (Shelf) for your needed help Safira

Hi Safira, That is really good news. I am delighted that you are now expert in burning files to CD, well done! (shelf life will be delighted as well when he reads of your success) Keep up the good work. Regards paws