Monday 09 Jan 2023

DVD back-up

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Why use DVDs for back-up in 2023?

As part of my back-up strategy, I use DVDs. I create a regular back-up (monthly) using Macrium to encrypt my documents and important files. I also use DVDs for archival back-up. Every year, I back-up my pictures and documents because if lose access to my home primary data and back-up I would have to download all my data again, this takes time and will cost money. Given the size of photos, I use 7-Zip to split the archives into as many chunks that are required to fit onto disks.

Adding DVDs into the back-up mix creates a seperate media. So my data are not stored on hard drives, cloud and DVDs. I do not use USB drives for back-up.

In the creation window, I select DVD:

Remember to encrypt your back-up and store the passphrase in your password manager.

Once I have created the archive, I create a checksum to check the integrity of the file if I need to restore.

• Right-click on the file,
• Select 7-Zip,
• Choose CRC SHA,
• Click SHA-256 -> FileName.sha256 to create a checksum file.

Burn both to DVD using your favourite burning software.

Read more on my back-up strategy.