theehmann

I have Elements 9 and for years have had no problems burning all my images onto a CDR. As of late it will only burn about 2/3 of my selected images on the first attempt. Each time I repeat the process it decreases the #of images I try to burn. Elements 9 doesn't have the option to burn the images to a thumb drive. I am frustrated beyond belief. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

It's difficult to change the way we do things sometime. Optical media (CD, DVD) has proven itself as unreliable for me through the years, and I have abandoned trying to use discs for storage of anything. This is not a criticism of your efforts, but a gentle nudge for you to consider doing something else.

I have to think that your images are stored in a folder on your PC's hard drive. Perhaps multiple folders. After you have edited the images and are happy with them, and you're ready to copy them to some other media, stick a thumb drive in your PC's USB slot. Go to the folder that houses the images you want to copy, select them and simply copy them to the thumb drive. Elements is not needed to do this.

However, your best solution is to go to Best Buy and get a 2TB external hard drive and connect it to your machine. Get some backup software (SyncBackSE is free and more than adequate) and perform a backup of your images to that hard drive on a regular basis.

I have experienced your frustration and that's why I have a drawer full of brand new discs that will last me the rest of my life. Good luck.

theehmann

Excellent suggestion. I'll give this a try. Thank you.

CO

The suggestion to get the external hard drive is a good one. I recently purchased the Samsung T3 SSD external hard drive at Best Buy. It's doing a great job. Check it out at Best Buy.

I wonder if there's something wrong with your CD/DVD burner. Maybe it needs to be repaired or cleaned.

I've also been burning photos to M-Disc DVDs. They're superior to any other CD or DVD. Traditional Cd's and DVD's have a dye based layer that can degrade over time. M-Disc DVD's use a mineral based layer. The data becomes permanently etched into the layer. Tests have determined that data will be stable for 1000 years. You just have to make sure the CD/DVD burner is M-Disc compatible.

theehmann

Thank you. It's a new computer so it shouldn't be malfunctioning. I tried the first suggestion and I couldn't transfer the images to the thumb drive.
. On Monday I'll try the card reader.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

If you really want the longest lasting most robust media for archive, consider a BluRay/Mdisc drive and burn to Mdiscs. More expensive than DVDs or Blu Ray, but the most reliable, long lasting archive media available today. Rotating media such as an external drive is suitable for a mirrored copy or backup with a lifespan of a few years, but not as a long term archive.

Btw, you don't need to "burn" images to a thumb drive the way you burn a CD/DVD, nor do you need to use an application such as Elements to do it. Just open file explorer, go to the folder containing the images you want to copy, highlight them, and either copy and paste or drag and drop onto your thumb drive.

theehmann

Thank you so much for the tip. Much appreciated.

hj Loc: Florida

I have not heard of MDiscs.... Obviously they need to be burned on an MDisc compatible machine, but will the resulting disc then play on older standard players?

CO

M-Discs will play on other machines. I've tried it. I've read that a slightly more powerful laser is required to burn data to M-Discs. That's why the burner has to be M-Disc compatible. The data is permanently etched to a mineral based layer instead of a dye based layer.

hj Loc: Florida

Thanks CO.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I just drag images from the folder to the CD/DVD using Windows.

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Manufacturers making these claims always crack me up... How can you test for stability over time, other than by testing a disc repeatedly over that time period? Unless they have some of these discs sitting there, having held data for 1000 years and still working, the whole claim is just a marketing gimmick. Theory may well suggest that they are longer-lasting than other discs, but...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yeah, I need a disk that will be good for 1,000 years. I keep looking.

Actually, I have video and stills from over twenty years ago that are fine.

Bill_de Loc: US

I agree. It's like the car wax commercial that puts a car through the carwash 50 times. Washing a clean car isn't going to harm a finish like washing it once a week for 50 weeks with road dirt on it. But they claim it simulates a year of washings.

Unfortunately advertising works and makes people rich.

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sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Your computer should be able to treat the CD (or a thumb drive) as it would any other folder using Windows. You can copy and paste the selected images and then burn the disc. It is easier to see what is happening doing it that way.