XP problem with backup to CDR

24-05-2007

I've discovered a problem with using Windows XP to backup files to a CDR. If you backup more than 7 times to the same disc, your earlier backups are no longer visible on the CDR.

I have a large pile of CDRs which cost me next to nothing and which I've been using as my backup method. I backup my essential files every month to a CDR until it is full. Once full, I start on a new CDR. The advantage is that it's a cheap way of backing up your data (if you have a lot of inexpensive CDRs lying around) and it doesn't require any specialist backup software, which can be expensive to buy.

I don't know why but if the data I am backing up is small enough so that I can keep writing to the same CDR more than 7 times, after the 8th time, when you insert the CDR disc, the only session you can see is the 7th one.

The rest of the data (not the 8th session) is still on the disc, you just can't see it. I've used third party recovery software to recover my data from the CDR. I carried out a few experiments and that's how I found out that it was happening every 8th write to the CDR using XP.

To get around this problem I now employ a lowtech method. With a marker pen I mark a tally on the disc label every time I backup to it. When I get to 7, I switch to a new CDR disc.

Has anyone else experienced any similar problems?

How do you backup your data?

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