Backing up iTunes on DVD

[slunky]

What format is my iTunes library backup when I burn it to data DVD? Is it something only Mac can read? Is there any loss from the compresion? I'm just starting to do the backup and I've experienced some problems with "verifying the disc" in Toast and the same batch of songs burned by iTunes got spit out before it finished. Corupt files maybe? Should I just buy a 50 pack of CD's and burn in MP3?

 

[gauchogolfer]

If you just do a direct drag-n-drop to Toast of the iTunes Library folder you shouldn't have any losses. All of your song files are in their original quality, and the iTunes Library database goes along too, which preserves ratings, playlists, etc.

 

[slunky]

Hi...still having problems getting my 30.2 gigs of songs backed up so I can make more room and have an archive if the digital data goes south. When I burn with Toast, what category do I use for dvd? If I use audio, it will only burn 99 songs saying a cd won't hold anymore, but I've got a blank dvd in the drawer. Do I use data and if so, what do I pick from the menu?

 

[rafifreak00]

I don't think you can burn iTMS purchased songs in Toast...

 

[quigleybc]

If you want to burn the whole library, and have Toast do all the work for you, in other words you just drag the whole library into the Toast window and click "burn" then you will need to select the "Mac only" option, and Toast will split it all up for you and will spit out the DVD's when it's time to burn the next one, and it makes the process a lot faster. But it's Mac only. For PC & Mac you'll need to burn individual DVD's of your library by highlight 4.2 gigs of your iTunes library over and over until you've burned the whole library, using colors helps with this.

you can also do a Mac only disc span burn backup in iTunes itself by changing your settings to "data"

 

[Keebler]

I label each song in the 'comment' field with numbers representing each burned DVD. ie. DVD1 DVD2 etc.. etc.

then i created a smart playlist to grab that comment. i periodically check the smart list for a data count and when close to 4.2....i burn it.

of course, this does nothing to save the library file to help reorg my stuff. i do a complete backup to an external for that. the dvds are my "omg..everything crashed on me' backups 🙂

i burn from within itunes btw. i love toast, but don't use it for this task.

 

[slunky]

Well, I've begun the ugly task of burning my iTunes library as mp3 cd's because I still can't seem to burn iTunes onto DVD's. I have Roxio Toast 6.0.5 and it will not do multi disk burning that I can figure anyway. It just tells me that the 4.4 Gigs is not enough room for he 30 Gig Itunes folder

 

[Keebler]

Well, I've begun the ugly task of burning my iTunes library as mp3 cd's because I still can't seem to burn iTunes onto DVD's. I have Roxio Toast 6.0.5 and it will not do multi disk burning that I can figure anyway. It just tells me that the 4.4 Gigs is not enough room for he 30 Gig Itunes folder

slunky..did you try what i suggested by making smart lists for different DVDs? when you say you're burning mp3s, are you converting your library into mp3 format before burning or are they already mp3s?

do you have an external hard drive? that would be one way to back it up and those drives are pretty cost effective these days.

 

[21stcenturykid]

I was wondering how todo exactly this the other day but never got around 2 it. are you guys sayin u can burn dvds via itunes??

also my thought was to drag a dvds worth of tracks into automator n use the burn function in there? would that work? and what about dual layer dvds how would that work?

sorry 4 all the questions im just not used to dvds.🙂

 

[Keebler]

I was wondering how todo exactly this the other day but never got around 2 it. are you guys sayin u can burn dvds via itunes??

also my thought was to drag a dvds worth of tracks into automator n use the burn function in there? would that work? and what about dual layer dvds how would that work?

sorry 4 all the questions im just not used to dvds.🙂

that's right 21st. you can burn dvds as backups within itunes.
personally, i backup to an seperate, dedicated (means nothing else on it) hard drive, then i burn backup dvds.

in the comments field, i name each file (ie. dvd 1 ; dvd 2 etc.. etc..). then i created a smartlist to include only the songs with that name in the comment field. this produces a specific playlist and at the bottom of the screen, you can see the space it takes up (ie. 4.2 GBs etc.. etc..) so you know when it's time to burn a backup.

to burn, you go into your preferences, then to burning i believe and choose dvd. and then burn. even better if you have a dual burner..more space on the dvd to burn 🙂

cheers,
keebler

 

[gauchogolfer]

that's right 21st. you can burn dvds as backups within itunes.
....

to burn, you go into your preferences, then to burning i believe and choose dvd. and then burn. even better if you have a dual burner..more space on the dvd to burn 🙂

cheers,
keebler

This is the preferences pane you want. Just select the DVD button at bottom.

 

[21stcenturykid]

.

in the comments field, i name each file (ie. dvd 1 ; dvd 2 etc.. etc..). then i created a smartlist to include only the songs with that name in the comment field. this produces a specific playlist and at the bottom of the screen, you can see the space it takes up (ie. 4.2 GBs etc.. etc..) so you know when it's time to burn a backup.

wldnt that take like aaaaaaaaaaaaages tho? or can u do group comments? sorry 4 the ignorance again! also i would backup on a seperate drive but i cant afford another one and it wouldnt b worth it 4 just 20-30Gb of music.

 

[Rapmastac1]

If I were you, I would just get a Pocket Drive, that is about 40 gigs or so, that way you an back up ur music and more, it may even use less power than a disc (I'm talking about laptop battery's, always about power) Anyway, getting an external (for a desktop) or a pocket drive (for a Laptop) should all do you wel and good. The reason you get a pocket drive for the laptop is becuase almsot all external hard drives, even tho cheaper, and bigger in space, require external power, and that is a lot of cords to carry around, trust me. Using a pocke drive is either a lot of flash memory, I forget the highest there is, or a hard drive (IE Pocket Hard Drive). The advantage of this is it's smaller and does not require external power, even tho the space is a lot smaller for more penny. You can get one for about 100.00 (I think 40 or sixty gigs) But compared to how much laptop memory is, that isn't too bad of a price for something you can carry around (Use ur ipod if you already have one). All this takes less time to put on an external and you don't have to wait for read times (USB is a lot faster .... rite?).

 

[gauchogolfer]

If I were you, I would just get a Pocket Drive, that is about 40 gigs or so, that way you an back up ur music and more, it may even use less power than a disc (I'm talking about laptop battery's, always about power) Anyway, getting an external (for a desktop) or a pocket drive (for a Laptop) should all do you wel and good. The reason you get a pocket drive for the laptop is becuase almsot all external hard drives, even tho cheaper, and bigger in space, require external power, and that is a lot of cords to carry around, trust me. Using a pocke drive is either a lot of flash memory, I forget the highest there is, or a hard drive (IE Pocket Hard Drive). The advantage of this is it's smaller and does not require external power, even tho the space is a lot smaller for more penny. You can get one for about 100.00 (I think 40 or sixty gigs) But compared to how much laptop memory is, that isn't too bad of a price for something you can carry around (Use ur ipod if you already have one). All this takes less time to put on an external and you don't have to wait for read times (USB is a lot faster .... rite?).

If the guy wants permanent storage, DVDs might be a better option, especially for archival storage, given the failure rate of portable HDs. If it's to be the final, for-sure backup, I'd stick to DVDs.

 

[Keebler]

wldnt that take like aaaaaaaaaaaaages tho? or can u do group comments? sorry 4 the ignorance again! also i would backup on a seperate drive but i cant afford another one and it wouldnt b worth it 4 just 20-30Gb of music.

nope..it shouldn't. you just hilight a bunch of songs in tunes, click on them, go to info and add the comment. make sure that is the only field you redo as any other field will redo their content (this goes for the comment field too). check the playlist for a running total and then add more tunes or change the info if you are over. that should work.

 

[Greenjeens]

Copying to Data DVD with Toast or itunes works well and is SUPER fast, considering the amount of data moved.
Dual layer DVDs of any quality are usually too expensive, unless a person reqiures the minimum amount of discs used. The DL DVDs are used for uncompressed DVD movie backups.

For archiving music, try to use some better quality DVD media, at least stay away from the ultra cheapo DVD blanks. Then store them out of the light and heat.

Keep an eye on the last date that was burned to DVD, so adding to the library with additional burns is easy to track.

I burned all my ~150GB's of itunes music to DVD, with Toast, but I ran into a glitch and the burn stopped somewhere in the middle of downloading🙁
That made for an organizational nightmare trying to figure out how finish the burning.

Witha growing itunes collection, I decided to get a dedicated external drive just to hold the itunes library.

Having spent a great deal of time importing song files into itunes, it seemed like a backup of the itunes song files was prudent. I never want to have to sit down and feed/listen/edit/label 160GBs of CDs onto my HD again.

I recomend getting an external FIREWIRE Hard Drive or combo. Doesn't sound like you need that much room and HD prices are very inexpensive, considering the ease and safety in backing up ALL your stuff, not just itunes!
Create a few partitions. Especially make a partion to hold a complete "clean" copy of your OS and personal files. SuperDuper is a good backup software, but took a while to learn.

If your thinking that backing up seems like a smart idea, and it ALWAYS is, it's not much more difficult to set up a back up of everything, at the same time.

I'm so glad I backed up (cloned) everything to an external drive! 2 days I somehow goofed up safari and couldn't be fixed after much effort. I booted from the backup external firewire drive in minutes, using it exactly like the original drive and then used Super Duper to to a complete replacement of contents to the main HD. Suspected conflicts from recent downloaded apps.

Problems fixed, with a few key strokes. I will NEVER go without a cloned drive again! Turns a potential gigantic trauma/hassle caused by a drive failure or software meltdown into a non event.

The G4 and an external drive, when retired, will likely wind up becoming a music server, integrated with a home stereo system.
-
Dave