Copying the files you want to back up onto this temporary partition will ensure that they are all contiguous (with no gaps between the data) and available from the same drive. A temporary hard disk icon, which behaves just like a normal hard disk, will appear on your desktop. Just select the relevant item from the Options menu, and you'll be able to name the partition and select which drive to use. If you're using a larger hard drive, you can create a temporary partition, of up to 650Mb in size, and then copy the data you want to record to CD‑ROM into this. If you have a hard disk of up to 650Mb in size, you can simply select this from within Toast and 'burn' it to disc. As far as software is concerned, I started out with Astarte's Toast CD‑ROM Pro so that I could back up my Macintosh files more cost‑effectively and ended up shelling out plenty of extra dosh for Digidesign's MasterList CD so that I could produce professional‑quality audio discs. I use a PowerMac 9500/132 computer with Digidesign Pro Tools III installed, although until recently I was using a Quadra 950 with a 4‑channel Pro Tools system, which also worked extremely well. I stick to well‑known brands such as Maxell, HHB and TDK, and I have had problems with some other makes refusing to burn successfully. You also need to give some thought to blank discs (as these are not all made equal), particularly if you want to burn discs at 4x speed. You need to use a fast hard drive, ideally an A/V model which will stream the data onto the CD‑R disc with no interruptions, and you'll need an audio card if you go for Digidesign's MasterList CD software. Of course, this also depends to some extent on the CPU speed of the computer you are using and the capabilities of any other software or hardware involved. A 1x machine takes as long to write the disc as the audio lasts, while 2x halves the time taken and 4x quarters it. These drives offer different speeds of writing, with the Sony and Plasmon offering up to 2x speeds and the Yamaha offering 4x speed. There are lots of CD‑R drives available to choose from, and I have had successful results using the Sony 920, the Plasmon 4240, and the Yamaha CDR100. A whopping 650Mb of computer data can be backed up on a CD‑ROM disc for around a fiver, and you can also make an audio CD with the same machine - if you have the right software. Already, your hard disks are full of data, and opticals for backups are not particularly cheap - so a CD‑writer could do a lot for you. You probably already have a suitable computer, and maybe you also have a digital audio card for it. Like many studio owners, you may have started to notice some great deals on CD writers and software at around half the price they were this time last year you might be wondering whether you could now take the plunge into making your own CDs. Mike Collins explains the benefits and takes you through the burning process using two popular software packages. Now that CD writers and well‑specified CD‑burning software are becoming more affordable, you might like to think about the advantages DIY CDs could bring to your studio.
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