Q. Does AccuBurn-R make audio or VCD discs?

A. No.  AccuBurn-R is completely focused on creating reliable data discs.  The techniques used are not suitable for either audio or VCD discs.

Q. How does AccuBurn-R make “reliable” discs?

A. It uses three basic techniques: checking what has been written, using reliable and well-supported disc formats and organizing information for reliability.  By doing this, if a problems are encountered, they are recovered from transparently.  As a last resort, if a failure does occur, the user is left with a disc that is not readable - you can never mistake an improperly written disc for one that is correctly and completely written - unlike other CD writing software.

Q. Does AccuBurn-R use compression or other proprietary techniques?

A. AccuBurn-R stores files in their original format, allowing them to be read and copied without any additional software.  If you have ever backed up files using a “proprietary” backup program and then had this software discontinued, you will understand the value of this.  Yes, because the files are not compressed they can take additional space on CD - but you are never at the mercy of a software product that may one day be discontinued.  AccuBurn-R does not “hold your data hostage” like other backup products do.

Q. Why should I use only CD-R/DVD-R discs for long-term archival?

A. CD-RW discs have been shown to deteriorate over time, sometimes as little as six months.  Since we want your data to be readable for a long time, we strongly recommend the use of CD-R discs for all such purposes.  Moving data between computers is where CD-RW discs offer real advantages, as well as for short-term backups.

For DVD media, we recommend DVD-R as being the most compatible and most likely to be able to be read on future devices.  DVD+R media is likely to be as stable as DVD-R, but it depends on some different technology.  It is unknown at this time if DVD+ or DVD- will eventually be the only format that succeeds.  Rewritable DVD discs, such as DVD-RW and DVD+RW have not proven to have the same problems as CD-RW discs, but they do not have long enough history to be able to tell.

Q. Can I add to an AccuBurn-R disc like I do with DirectCD?

A. Yes and no.  DirectCD consumes 1-2MB per “writing session” and AccuBurn-R uses up to 13MB.  Because of this, it is not practical to copy single files to CD with AccuBurn-R.  However, data can be added at any time and there are no risks of losing all files on the disc.

Q. Can I use AccuBurn-R to make discs for replication?

A. It is not recommended to use AccuBurn-R for this purpose.  While the format of the discs is compatible with all CD-ROM drives since the introduction of CD-R media, it is not a recommended format for replication.

Q. AccuBurn-R seems to write very slowly.  Why?

A. AccuBurn-R before 1.2 operated very differently and encountered performance problems with many writers.  The 1.2 and later versions do not have these sorts of issues.

Q. Will AccuBurn-R span discs?

A. Yes!  AccuBurn-R will allow you to specify any amount of data to be written to CDs or DVDs and will copy these files to as many discs as required.  When the recording operation is begun, an estimate is made of the space required which is translated into a number of discs.  If more than a single disc is required by this estimate, you will be prompted to acknowledge this and have the discs on hand.  This is an estimate and is based on the files as they are found on the disc - without examining the contents of the disc.  It is generally accurate +/- 1 disc.

Q. Will AccuBurn-R copy CDs?

A. No.  It will create data discs from any source accessible to your computer, but it does not make bit-for-bit copies of CDs.

Q. How long can filenames be on AccuBurn-R discs?

A. AccuBurn-R allows up to 210 character file names to be used when the names contain only ASCII characters.  If any special or accented characters are used, the maximum length drops to 64 characters.

Q. Can I make a bootable system backup with AccuBurn-R?

A. Not really.  AccuBurn-R is a data archival tool which can be used to back up critical files.  It does not back up files that are in use and it does not create bootable backups.