Ok... I can't help myself any longer. I've got to comment on this. My
apologies to the list for the off-topic nature of this post.
David, here is your original statement:
Well, for one, DVD drive support on Windows, especially WinXP, is decidedly
problematic. It's not provided by the OS natively, but by add-in software.
WinXP, in particular, has similar problems with CD-R/RW drives, ones which
are inherent in the OS, and not correctable.
Optical drives with WinXP are very problematic.
And,
There are fundamental problems in WinXP's optical drive support that make
WinXP different from previous versions of Windows. There are Microsoft
Knowledge Base articles documenting many of these problems.
Now, if you are confining your observations to Windows and native cd
*writing* support, then I would support you. It has some severe limitations
in WinXP, and of course, is not implemented natively in earlier versions of
Windows. But really, there are many reliable and robust third-party writing
solutions (i.e. Nero, Easy CD Creator, etc.) that work just fine in XP and
earlier versions. Most of these programs come with a new PC, and are
normally included in all but OEM hardware if the drive is purchased
separately. As for *reading* support, I cannot agree with you that there
are *fundamental* problems with this - please do quote the knowledge base
articles.
Next, there has been a discussion of how a backup script of yours that makes
use of the command-line XCOPY is now unreliable in Windows XP. This may
very well be true, however, it in no way supports your blanket statement
that optical drives are *problematic* in Windows XP. They may be in your
specific situation, but I believe it is accurate to suggest that 99% of
Windows users do not run custom backup scripts using DOS batch files and
XCOPY. Most Windows users I know both burn and read CDs and DVDs with 100%
reliability.
When you are called upon to distinguish between a general problem with
optical drives, and a much more specific problem with one backup script, you
respond:
Well, for reading DVD drives you still have to have appropriate drivers.
The client of mine who "downgraded" from WinXP to Win2K is now unable to
use their DVD drive because the Win2K drivers Dell provides for the drive
don't work with it.
I do not understand the need for third-party device drivers for optical
drives. I have worked in the computer industry for over 15 years, managing
corporate networks, doing Windows programming, building custom PCs and
providing repair and consulting services. I have *never* installed a
third-party driver for an optical drive in WinXP or Win2K. They are
sometimes required for Win9x, but the last I ever recall doing something of
that sort was a basic CD-ROM driver for DOS 6.2. I even went over to the
Dell website and searched for 'DVD Driver', which turned up nothing for
Windows XP or 2000. I can only suspect that you are using an older machine
with a BIOS that does not properly understand optical drivers. This is
somewhat confirmed by your statement:
This is not a WinXP problem, of course. It's a problem with the lack of
real support for DVDs in the OS (and, as Hiro points out, in the BIOS,
which on the PC supports only the IDE interface, not the specific quirks of
optical drives).
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'only the IDE interface'. How is your
optical driver connected? Is it SCSI? That, of course, is another animal
entirely. However, it is still not a *Windows* problem, but instead a
hardware one. And any modern BIOS of the last few years will properly and
correctly identify a DVD or CD-ROM.
If, on the other hand, you try to use methods with the optical drive that
have worked for several past versions of Windows (why would you want to
change your backup methods when you simply got a new computer?), you may
very well encounter major problems that lead to a locked up PC that won't
shut down, that corrupts CD-R media and that can lead to blue screens
crashes of WinXP.
What other methods have caused problems for you, besides your backup
script(s)?
Look, David. I don't doubt that you have found a problem in Windows. There
are many. But surely you must admit that all that seems to be at issue here
is that you are using an old backup script that worked for you in earlier
versions of Windows, but is now unreliable in WinXP. I do not dispute this.
However, to turn that into a suggestion that consumers should not purchase
DVD or CD-ROM drives because Windows support is problematic, perplexes me.
How do you make this leap?
Read my message again -- I said CD-R. I was using XCOPY to make backups.
Indeed, that's the way I've been doing it with many of my clients since the
days before CD-R drives were common and they were using Zip drives for
backup. When CD-R was a cheap option, my clients started buying machines
with that in them and we used the same XCOPY scripts for backing up their
files (with suitable alterations to reflect different paths and drives, of
course).
Here is more support then, that you are using a *very* old script. As some
others have pointed out in this forum, there are newer and easier ways to
accomplish backups. You can schedule automated backups with Acronis True
Image, for example. And yes, they are incremental backups. You may argue
that this is not a built-in method; but a safe, reliable and robust backup
system is not something you should skimp on - pay the $50 for the program,
it is worth it.
At any rate, I am sure you will have more to say on the topic. And I admire
your stuborness. I am an old curmudgeon myself. But please, let's keep the
discourse above the childish level it has sometimes descended to, and let's
at least entertain the notion that maybe, David, you overstated things and
are unwilling to admit it.
Cheers,
Jim
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