Unlimited Disk Space for low $$$
Written: Jun 02 '00 (Updated Jun 03 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Low Media Cost, Easy to Use, Cost Effective
Cons: Not Recognized as a Backup Device by MS Backup
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| benagee's Full Review: Hewlett Packard CD-Writer 9100i CD-RW Burner |
I have been trying to decide what type of backup device I needed for my computer. Up until about a month ago I was using 1.44MB floppies to back up by critical data files. Needless to say, this was getting very old – not to mention I was not backup up all of my data, but only the critical stuff.
The Alternatives
The first device that I researched was tape drives. I was looking for a low-cost solution, so my search was limited primarily to low-end tape drives. My father had a Ditto tape drive from IoMega and was always complaining about how slow it was. The other problem with tape drives is that they are pretty much limited to use as a backup device. Devices such as the CD-RW drive can be written and read directly as another hard drive.
The second type of device that I researched was the ZIP drive. We use the ZIP drives at work to transport data from one PC to another. Some of my co-workers have ZIP drives at home, so this alternative looked somewhat promising for me. However, I really didn’t like the thought of paying $40 for 3 100MB cartridges. The other problem with the 100MB and the 250MB ZIP drives is that it still takes several of these to back 2 GIG of data. The Jaz drives hold quite a bit more, but are also more expensive.
The third type of backup device that I researched was backup to the Internet. I am sure that there are reputable companies providing low-cost backup solutions to the internet, but I am simply not comfortable with my critical backups being stored on someone else’s computer over which I have no control. This type of backup also seems like it would be very slow as well.
The fourth type of backup device that I considered was …… you guessed it – the CD-RW drive. In my opinion, the CD-RW drive provides the best of all worlds. With my CD-RW drive, I am able to read and write up to 650MB of data onto a single RW disc. So far, I have not found a limit as to how often I can overwrite the data on the RW disc. The cost of the RW media is about $1.00 per 650MB disc for generic discs and up to $3.00 for name brand discs. I also have the ability to burn a “normal” CD that can be read by any CD-ROM drive. This allows me to carry large amounts of data from my computer to almost any computer (since most now have CD-ROM drives). The cost of a 650MB Recordable disc is about $1.00 or less.
How I use the CD-RW Drive
My primary use for the drive is to back up data that I have stored on my hard drive. I only have a 6 GIG hard drive, so there are certain types of data that I do not want stored on my hard drive at all. For example, I now have a CD-RW disc that I use for scanned items (receipts, pictures, etc). Since pictures can take up quite a bit of space, I scan them directly onto the CD-RW drive as if it is a huge floppy. Whenever I feel like I need a backup of the CD-RW disc, I can copy it from a CD-RW to a CD-R as a snapshot or another CD-RW.
My normal backup procedure is to use Microsoft Backup to make a backup of all of my data and my registry file whenever I have edited important documents on my computer. One down-side is that Microsoft Backup does not recognize the CD-RW drive as a normal backup device, so you can only write to a file on the CD-RW disc and it does not allow you to span multiple discs if necessary. So far, this has not been a problem since I am only backing up data. There are other commercial backup programs that do recognize CD-RW drives as backup devices and allow spanning across multiple discs.
The drive also has the capability of writing an Audio CD. I have never used this feature, but you are supposed to be able to copy audio CDs (other than the copyright problems!) and even rearrange the songs on the CD.
Hardware Details and Installation
The 9110i is a 32x MultiRead drive. This means that when it functions as a normal CD-ROM drive, it can operate at 32x. This is not quite as fast as some of the newest CD-ROM drives (48x, etc.), but it is not real slow either. Therefore, I sometimes use my CD-RW as a normal CD-ROM drive. However, I recommend that you add the CD-RW to your computer in addition to a normal CD-ROM drive so that you can copy files, etc. more easily.
The write speed when writing a CD-R disc is 8x, which is fairly standard for CD-R drives. The write speed when writing a CD-RW disc is 4x, which is obviously slower than the CD-R disc, but still much faster than reading and writing to a floppy. I don’t know exactly how the speed compares to the ZIP drive, but it seems quite a bit faster than the ZIP drive to me as well.
The 9110i is an internal IDE drive. The drive came with all of the cables, etc. that was needed to install it. However, if your computer needs guide rails to install floppies, and CD-ROM drives, the drive does not come with those – you will have to purchase them separately. Otherwise, installation was as simple as taking the cover off of the computer, sliding the drive into an open drive slot, and connecting the IDE cable to the IDE controller. You will have to pay attention to the master/slave configuration, but the documentation covers how to do that.
Software Features
The 9110i comes with several pieces of software. The most obvious is the drivers needed to interface the drive with the operating system (Window 98/NT). It also comes with the Adaptec DirectCD Wizard. The DirectCD software allows files to be copied to and from the CD drive as if it were another hard drive in the Windows Explorer. Whenever you have copied the files that you want on the CD, you can burn a CD-R when you eject the CD or you can burn the CD-RW as you copy the files. DirectCD is the software that I always use when interfacing with the CD-Drive.
The 9110i also comes with the Easy CD Creator software. The Easy CD Creator is a wizard that essentially steps you through each step of creating a CD. I believe that if you want to create an Audio CD, you almost have to use this software. Personally, I find interacting with the CD to be easier through the Windows Explorer using the DirectCD software.
The 9110i also comes with several pieces of “bonus” software. My drive came with a CD Labeler and Filing Central by eFax and Broderbund Print Shop Multimedia Organizer. I have not bothered to load either of these programs so I cannot really address exactly what they do or how well they do it.
The drive also comes with software that allows you to create a disaster recovery disc. A disaster recover disc is a floppy (or two) and one or more RW CDs. In the event that you have a hard drive failure, you can re-load your computer exactly like it was at the time you created your disks.
Summary
Hewlett Packard has always been very dependable with everything that I have purchased from them. I highly recommend the HP CD-Writer Plus 9110i. I have even thought about the fact that maybe all new bundled computers should come with this drive (or one similar to it) standard instead of a standard CD-ROM drive. This drive series is less expensive than many of the other popular CD-RW drives and I cannot see where it is any less of a performer than those more expensive drives. At $250, it is a great deal!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
benagee
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Member: Ben Agee
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 40 members
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