dvdisaster tool - for archiving and checking discs.

[Coyote]

Anyone have any experience with this tool? It uses Reed Solomon error checking and you can augment your CD image files with this error correction. Similar to PAR2 files, but it reads the disc at the sector level, not the file level. It has a nice graph that shows number of errors. The website says it can correct up to 32 sectors per ECC block, depending on the level of redundancy.

Here is what I've been doing to archive my data on DVD+R...
1. Create RAR and PAR2 files of the data.
2. Create ISO image using ImgBurn.
3. Open ISO with "dvdisaster" and create an augmented ISO file with the embedded error correction.
4. Burn ISO to disc.

I do PAR2 files too, so that way I have double backup of error correction on my discs. The PAR2 files go on a seperate disc, and I use dvdisaster on that disc too. Anyone think this is overkill for protecting data?

http://www.dvdisaster.com

[MonsterMan]

Anyone think this is overkill for protecting data?

Not if it's important data.

Interesting app...I'll be checking into it, for sure...thanks for the link!!

[hoxlund]

im just curious as to what is this important that you need this much data protection

[dolphinius_rex]

im just curious as to what is this important that you need this much data protection

Family photos? Maybe of people who have since passed on?

[hoxlund]

thx for that answer, i'll accept that

[Coyote]

Yes this is for family photos and VHS videos that I'm scanning and capturing. I'm scanning 35mm slides that come out to 200MB each. The VHS videos are being captured as DV-AVI, so these use 13GB/hour storage space.

I want to keep these original files and not compress them further. I'm using "good" DVD-R's (Maxell and Fuji both made in Japan). But even "good" DVD-R's probably won't last more than 10 years without degrading a litte bit. I may just have to look at buying some big hard drives, or using tape backup.

[[buck]]

Yes this is for family photos and VHS videos that I'm scanning and capturing. I'm scanning 35mm slides that come out to 200MB each. The VHS videos are being captured as DV-AVI, so these use 13GB/hour storage space.

I want to keep these original files and not compress them further. I'm using "good" DVD-R's (Maxell and Fuji both made in Japan). But even "good" DVD-R's probably won't last more than 10 years without degrading a litte bit. I may just have to look at buying some big hard drives, or using tape backup.

Have you considered using Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs instead of (or as well as) DVD-Rs? They are ALOT more proven and are virtually issue free, which can't be said about Taiyo Yuden DVD-Rs. Certainly, it would be alot more time consuming and costly, but it's definately safer.

Alternatively, I'd recommend burning burning each disc to 3 different disc types, perhaps MIJ Maxell, Taiyo Yuden, and Verbatim, and checking on them regularly (every year perhaps?).

Good luck!