Well I finally got Zygote to reply to my many e-mails. And they did pull through. I won't go into details but...Zygote has always beeen great, but a little slow on the e-mail support. I hope with the new attention I seem to be getting, means a change in policy. Anyway thanks Zygote for finally getting me my replacement Faerie Bun! James

One thing I always do with any software I download is burn it to a CD-R or CD-RW. I do the same with my artwork. This way I can dance with magnets over my hard drive and not lose any vital data. Never lose anything to any sudden accidents. I would recommend the purchase of a CD-writer to anyone in here. Just remember that making copies to hand out is not ok. But personal backups are.

Thanks for the advice. I wish I could afford one. (CDR) I seem to be constantly using my saved pennies for upgrades these days. And that's pulling a rabbit out of my hat . But you're correct, BACKUP IS KEY. Now that I have 10 megs I seem to forget. And since my ZIP drive has the cronic (albeit fatal) click, backup is extreamly difucult. Oh for the new days of a new DAT drive ;-) James

I'm still contemplating 'what' CD-RW to buy. Decisions, decisions. ZDTV has recommended 'Smart and Friendly' Rocket--I've never heard or seen 'Smart & Friendl'--anyone?!? They are a bit pricey, SCSI but also have a md. price. The other one they are recommending is Iomega's. I need to decide soon and do it. Right now I'm using gazillions of zip disks. Diane B

Diane, I had a freind who bought a Smart and Friendly CDRW. Long story short, It didn't work and after 5 months worth of hassle he finally got them to give him his money back. I have the Sony cdrw and it's been running perfect for about 7 months:) AR

I use smart and friendly. I'd never heard of them either. But they were low price and had the most awards when I looked into it all. I got me a 4224. Who needs speed anyway on the write. I've made about 40-50 CDs worth of stuff now. I get a bad CD about 1 in 10. But that's the CDs not the drive. Search on the web at cnet or pricewatch and you might be able to get one at about $100 or so.

What ever you do get. Take a hard look at the software it uses to arrange the burning process. I have a cheapo CD-R but it came with Adaptec Easy CD creator3.5. Which has been around for a while and has a proven track record. You can also test the process before burning anything which will eliminate making any bad disks. -scottA

Scott: Doesn't always eliminate bad disks. smart and friendly uses Adaptec as well and I've gotten bad disks despite a test before. Sometimes the disks themselves are just bad. In fact in all but one case I just put another disk in and was able to write to the new one. In that one case I discovered I had bad data... and was in fact able to use that disk for something else thanks to having done it as a test first. Anyway. CD-R/RW backups beat out ZIP/JAZ for many reasons. Sure they don't read back as fast. But they're permanent. And cheaper. I get 20 CDs for the cost of 2 Zips. and it gives me 13 gb of storage versus the 200 mb of the ZIPs. We won't even get into the absurd price of JAZ disks. I've got an old one of those sitting around as well.

Sorry for getting OT here jack. This is my last one. ;-). I've noticed the same kind of failure once in a while from my CD-R. Before throwing that disk away. Try re-booting the computer with the disk still in the drive. On my system. I can then retry to write to the disk and it has always worked and I didn't waste a disk because of the first failure. Next time you get a bad session. Try it. Hopefully you'll save a disk or two. scottA iamsba@aol.com

LOL, How did this end up a CD-R thread? It all started as a thanks to Zygote. BTW, The Bun was lost through my switching from an old 75 mhz MAC to my new G4. It was just plain stupidity on my part. Not the lack of backup. ;-) James

I don't think the test prior to burn has anything to do with checking for bad media. I think it's a timing test to see if the overall system can feed data to the CD drive fast enough to keep the buffer filled. A data underrun (CD runs out of buffered data) can screw up the burn. I think the only way to catch bad media is to read-check the new CD. I had an earlier version of Adaptec Easy CD creator that had a "verify" function. I can't find it in the newer version that came with my lasted CD burner. Does anybody here know where it's hidden? I have Version 3.5c Jude

Well, this became a CD-R thread cause I asked a question--but then, James sort of lead us into this one too, didn't he? Regardless, it has been helpful. I think we had sort of this same conversation before, some of us, in VT where everyone just about recommended against HP. That's all that's in any of the stores around here-well, and a few Sony's and some 'unknown' ones. I'm looking online--that's how I saved a bunch on my Wacom Intuos last year. Diane B

Well, I have a Yamaha and I like it. Good news it is seems to write reliably on even the cheapest blank media. Bad news is it's a bit pricey (My 6X write drive was $300, but that was months ago). People with PC's (rather than Mac's) might regard the SCSI interface as a bummer, too, although I think the same basic model is available in IDE as well. Jude PS: This IS rather offtopic. Is there a better forum to take this thread to?

How 'bout Virtual Tavern? I think this is where it first came up. I'm never sure where to ask these kind of questions--asked one about cable modems there too. However, I think its really helpful for CGers to discuss these things. I'm def not a 'hardware' person--I just don't care--all I want it to do is 'work' (maybe its a 'woman' thing--but then, I guess there are lots of women who are interested in 'hardware'-shouldn't stereotype). All the input I can get before making these decisions is really helpful-(I did the same before I bought my Wacom Intuos too). They aren't cheap, for sure, and I don't want to get something that everyone else knew was lousy. Diane B

OK, If you want to talk more about it I'll see you in the tavern. You post first, I'll keep an eye sorta peeled for it. Jude