Do you still use optical media?

[bruceb]

You can probably find singles, but the price for the 10 pack is way cheaper.
1 Pack of Verbatim BDXL is $10 at Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-100...g_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VZSN74P33RNAVHJW21WT

 

[bigboxes]

Rarely. I've got a Blu-Ray burner in my main rig, but almost never use it. I install the OS via flash drive if I'm able. All my backups are on external HDDs. My goal is to get a third set and store it offsite.

I recently repaired my file server. In my quest to make sure I had all of my media on the file server I went back through my 12-13 year old backup discs (CDs/DVDs) that I have spindles of. That was a process. Not much was needed and very time consuming.

The reason I switched to HDD backups was the size of my data. Today, I've got over ten backup externals. Imagine the discs needed to backup that. Not to mention the expense.

I still save all my program discs (games/apps) from my Win98/WinXP days. I've pretty much gone diskless these days.

 

[John Connor]

You can probably find singles, but the price for the 10 pack is way cheaper.
1 Pack of Verbatim BDXL is $10 at Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-100...g_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VZSN74P33RNAVHJW21WT

OMG! I paid $20 for one disk! Bookmarked!

 

[Oyeve]

I hardly burn a disc any more. A shame as a few years ago I was buying hundreds of blank Ritek disc as they were so cheap. I literally have 1000s of blanks and nothing to burn.

 

[rchunter]

Mostly never. I still have about 300 verbatim discs, I can't see me ever using them all. They'll probably eventually get thrown out 5-10 years from now.

 

[bigboxes]

And I don't burn movies to disc any longer. I rip everything to the file server and play them back on the HTPC in the living room. I've got a couple spindles of blank DVDs, a small pack of dual-layer DVDs and a small pack of Blu-Ray. Haven't burned a disc in years. If I can't wait to get it on the file server I simply copy the image on a flash drive and walk it over to the HTPC.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The good thing about DVD/BR - you can copy something onto one, or make a bootable OS disc, or whatever, and take it from machine to machine, without worrying about getting a virus and transferring it between machines, like you can with a USB flash drive.

And with the increasing (?) prevalence of the "Bad USB" virus (infecting, not the USB flash drive's data, but the actual controller inside, and the controller handling your PC's USB ports), DVDs should be making a comeback.

Until they fix the HUGE design flaw with USB that allows for things like "Bad USB" to exist, I'm going to continue to burn optical media.

 

[mnewsham]

without worrying about getting a virus and transferring it between machines

Well considering stuxnet and others install rootkits into the MBR of your primary HDD/SSD that is rewritten upon boot (you can't get rid of it because it's literally in the firmware of the HDD/SSD) I highly doubt it's impossible to do the same with a BR/DVD drive.

It would be far less likely of an attack vector because more people use USB devices these days than optical media, but there is nothing to stop someone from doing it if they had the resources and the inclination to do so.

 

[corkyg]

Infrequently but yes. Disks are still the best medium for snail mailing to those who do not or cannot use cloud drops or social media.

 

[Insomniator]

I use Redbox for blurays on my Ps3 once in a while, other than that not at all. I know people will come in here saying 'I have 5000 movies backed up to discs because i like to watch the same thing over and over and don't trust hdd's rah rah rah' but yeah... its basically dead.

 

[gsilver]

Not really.
I've found myself watching streaming versions of stuff that I own on Bluray, just because it's a lot more convenient (no front-loaded trailers/menus/juggling the disk/slow player interface/etc)

And for backups... I switched from disks to external hard drives long ago. Rsync'ing the drive is much, much easier than updating optical disks, or, god forbid, burning entire new ones just because 3% of your files changed.

 

[Raduque]

I use the one in my Xbox One for games and movies.

My laptop has an optical drive and I hate it. Even just the slightest brush of the left side of the machine causes the effing thing to pop out. I almost want to break it off it's rails and glue it back in. I'd remove it, but don't have anything to put in it's place.

 

[piasabird]

My last computer build I opted not to install an optical drive simply because that mostly takes up space for a drive that is barely used. So I used a case with no options for an optical drive. However, I installed the chipset drivers using an optical drive plugged in temporarily. It was just easier to hook up an optical drive during the install. I did install the OS from a USB. You can purcase Windows 10 on a USB.

 

[piasabird]

If you dont install an optical drive it wont try to spin up and make noise every time you reboot.

 

[bruceb]

Odd you should mention the laptop cd drive issue. My Toshiba laptop also likes to open the cd drive now and then. At first, I thought something was wrong with the machine or it got infected. But a Google search shows this is happening to many people and many brands of laptops. I think it is just a cheaply made cd drive. It has a little meal hook to keep it closed and either it is not extending far enough or high enough. Or the area on the plastic part is worn down and the hook won't catch it properly. Either way, not worth the cost or time to swap the drive unit.

 

[corkyg]

That's one of the good things about the Lenovo T series. I replaced the opticals with Ultrabay adapters and that provides a second data drive. The optical can be put back in if needed, but that has become a rare event.

 

[bob4432]

Have switched over for the most part to not using optical media for some time. All my machines have an optical drive just in case and on my LAN, so everything is moved via that and since the transfer rate is 100MB/s, and reliable I see no reason to change. OS installs are usually USB drive. While at the moment my sftp server is down, that is the way I would move files when away from home or a friend needs a file. Have also been using Dropbox quite a bit for pdf documents that I need to access on my phone while away from home. Archival is done via the same images on different HDDs, some internal, some external. Have about 75% of a regular 100 DVD spindle still available....

 

[VeryCharBroiled]

yup. use blurays for off site backups

 

[bob4432]

How reliable and for how long is a Blu-ray backup good for for offsite use? I know in the past I had used regular dvds and luckily I did not need them, it seemed they did not last according to md5 verification and also examing the backups - they were somehow corrupted even though the burn vetificatin was good. What software are you using for the backup and burning process? I had used corporate ghost, then moved to acronis, acronis has been good for full backups to hdd but am always open to something new, especially since I have basically been out of computers for a bit but am getting back into it.
Thanks in advance,
Bob

 

[mnewsham]

How reliable and for how long is a Blu-ray backup good for for offsite use? I know in the past I had used regular dvds and luckily I did not need them, it seemed they did not last according to md5 verification and also examing the backups - they were somehow corrupted even though the burn vetificatin was good. What software are you using for the backup and burning process? I had used corporate ghost, then moved to acronis, acronis has been good for full backups to hdd but am always open to something new, especially since I have basically been out of computers for a bit but am getting back into it.
Thanks in advance,
Bob

Look up M-Disc

 

[StinkyPinky]

I have a blu-ray reader/dvd writer combo drive that pretty much collects dust. I use it probably 1-2 times a year. Tempted to get an external enclosure for it and just throw it in a draw somewhere for the rare time i need it.

 

[master_shake_]

I use the one in my Xbox One for games and movies.

My laptop has an optical drive and I hate it. Even just the slightest brush of the left side of the machine causes the effing thing to pop out. I almost want to break it off it's rails and glue it back in. I'd remove it, but don't have anything to put in it's place.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SATA-2nd-HD...niversal-CD-DVD-ROM-Optical-Bay-/280820379708
??

 

[Raduque]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SATA-2nd-HD...niversal-CD-DVD-ROM-Optical-Bay-/280820379708
??

Not a bad idea, but I'd have to do something custom or find one made for the G751. The DVD drive faceplate curves under the machine.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

How reliable and for how long is a Blu-ray backup good for for offsite use? I know in the past I had used regular dvds and luckily I did not need them, it seemed they did not last according to md5 verification and also examing the backups - they were somehow corrupted even though the burn vetificatin was good. What software are you using for the backup and burning process? I had used corporate ghost, then moved to acronis, acronis has been good for full backups to hdd but am always open to something new, especially since I have basically been out of computers for a bit but am getting back into it.
Thanks in advance,
Bob

The problem is simply that writeable DVDs use an organic die to write on, which, depending on storage conditions, doesn't last all that long. Blu-rays* use a phase change medium for writing, and so should last quite a bit longer. For archival grade material M-Disc should be even better, and can also be found in standard DVD format.

Another thing to watch out for is writing speed. If possible keep it between 2x and 4x. But it really deserves a full write-up on its own.

*Avoid the LTH variety of blu-rays. They use the same organic die as DVDs. But they are cheaper.

 

[rh71]

Affordable external drives of 2TB+ have saved me. I'm trying to copy things off of the DVD-Rs still.