How to transfer a disk file to a computer. We write data from optical discs to flash drives. Possible problems and malfunctions

Nowadays, disks are no longer used so often; even new computers often don’t have disk drives, and small laptops don’t even have them - they take up too much precious space. In this article we will look at how to correctly copy the contents of one CD/DVD disc to another.

How to copy a data disk to another disk

If you have regular files on your disk, for example, mp3 files or various kinds of documents, then copying the disk is as easy as shelling pears. There is no need to even resort to special programs. Just select all the files and folders on the disk and copy to any folder on your computer. Then insert a blank disk into the drive and open it in Windows Explorer. Copy or drag files previously copied from another drive there. All that remains is to right-click on the disk icon and select “Burn”.

If you are copying, for example, an audio disc, then you will not be able to simply copy it to your hard drive. To do this you need to make a full disk image. Then deploy this image to a new disk. Windows does not have a built-in tool for creating images, so we will use a simple and free program called Small CD-Writer (virus tested). It's simple, first you create an ISO image and then burn it to disk.

Common errors when copying discs

Even if you have 2 CD/DVD drives installed in your computer, you should not make copies on the fly. This is simpler, no intermediate step is needed, but it is not very reliable.

When writing data to disk, do not select the maximum speed, as this also increases the likelihood of recording errors.

If you have any questions, we will definitely help you!

Optical discs (CDs and DVDs) are now used extremely rarely, since their niche as portable storage media has been occupied by flash drives. In the article below we would like to introduce you to ways to copy information from disks to flash drives.

The procedure is not much different from the banal operation of copying or moving any other files between different storage media. This task can be performed either by third-party tools or using Windows tools.

Method 1: Total Commander

Total Commander was and remains number 1 in popularity among third-party file managers. Of course, this program is also capable of transferring information from a CD or DVD to a flash drive.

1. Open the program. In the left work panel, in any available way, go to the flash drive into which you want to place files from the optical drive.



2. Go to the right panel and there go to your CD or DVD. The easiest way to do this is in the drop-down list of drives; the drive is highlighted there with a name and icon.
   
   
   Click on the name or icon to open the disc for viewing.
3. Once in the folder with the disk files, select the ones you need by pressing the left mouse button while holding down Ctrl. Selected files are marked with a light pink name color.



4. It is better not to cut information from optical disks, in order to avoid failures, but to copy it. Therefore, either click on the button that says "F5 Copy", or press the key F5.



5. In the copy dialog box, make sure you have selected the correct destination and click "OK" to start the procedure.
   
   
   It may take some time, which depends on many factors (disk condition, drive condition, type and reading speed, similar flash drive parameters), so be patient.
6. If the process completes successfully, the copied files will be placed on your flash drive.

The procedure is fairly simple, but optical drives are notoriously tricky—if you encounter problems, see the last section of this article on possible problems.

Method 2: FAR Manager

Another alternative file manager, this time with a console interface. Thanks to its high compatibility and speed, it is almost ideal for copying information from a CD or DVD.

FAR Manager is known for its lightweight and almost lightning-fast speed, so we can recommend this method for users of low-power computers or laptops.

Method 3: Windows System Tools

Most users will be satisfied with the fairly convenient file and directory management implemented in Windows by default. All separate versions of this OS, starting with Windows 95, have always had tools for working with optical disks.

As practice shows, failures and problems most often arise when using standard "Conductor".

Method 4: Copy data from protected drives

If the disk from which you are going to transfer data to a flash drive is protected from copying, then methods with third-party file managers and "Conductor" they won't help you. However, for music discs there is a rather clever way of copying using Windows Media Player.

1. Insert the music disc into the drive and start it.
   
   
   By default, Audio CD playback starts in Windows Media Player. Pause playback and go to the library - a small button in the upper right corner.



2. Once in the library, look at the toolbar and look for the option “Setting up copying from disk”.
   
   
   Click on this option and select from the dropdown list "Extra options…".



3. A settings window will open. Tab open by default "Copying music from a CD", that's what we need. Pay attention to the block “Folder for copying music from a CD”.
   
   
   To change the default path, click on the corresponding button.
4. A directory selection dialog box will open. Go there to your flash drive and select it as the final copying address.



5. Set the copy format as "MP3", "Quality…"- 256 or 320 kbit/s, or the maximum allowed.
   
   
   To save settings, press "Apply" And "OK".
6. When the options window closes, look at the toolbar again and click on the item "Copy music from CD".



7. The process of copying songs to the selected location will begin - progress is displayed as green bars next to each track.
   
   
   The procedure will take some time (5 to 15 minutes), so please wait.
8. Once the process is complete, you can go to the flash drive and check if everything has been copied. A new folder should appear containing music files.

Copying videos from protected DVDs cannot be done using system tools, so we will resort to a third-party program called Freestar Free DVD Ripper.

1. Insert the video disc into the drive and run the program. In the main window, select "Open DVD".



2. A dialog box will open in which you need to select a physical drive.
   
   

   Attention! Do not confuse a real device with a virtual drive, if any!

3. Files available on the disk are marked in the box on the left. On the right is the preview window.
   
   
   Mark the videos you need by checking the boxes on the right next to the file names.
4. Videos cannot be copied “as is”; they will have to be converted in any case. So take a look at the section "Profile" and select a suitable container.
   
   
   As practice shows, the best in terms of “size/quality/no problems” ratio will be MPEG4, we select it.
5. Next, you should select the location of the converted video. Click the button "Browse" to bring up the dialog box "Conductor". We select our flash drive in it.



6. Check the settings and then press the button "Rip".
   
   
   The process of converting the clips and copying them to the flash drive will begin.

Note: In some cases, it is better to copy multimedia files not directly from the disk to a flash drive, but first save them to your computer, and then move them to the flash drive.

For disks that lack protection, it is better to use methods 1-3 described above.

Possible problems and malfunctions

As already mentioned, optical discs are more demanding and demanding in terms of storage and use conditions than flash drives, so problems with them are common. Let's look at them in order.

• Copy speed is too slow
  The cause of this problem can be either a flash drive or a disk. The universal way in this case is intermediate copying: first copy the files from the disk to the hard drive, and from there to the flash drive.
• Copying files reaches a certain percentage and freezes
  In most cases, this problem means there is a problem with the CD: one of the files being copied is incorrect or there is a damaged area on the disk from which data cannot be read. The best solution in this situation would be to copy the files one at a time, rather than all at once - this action will help identify the source of the problem.
• Disc is not recognized
  A common and quite serious problem. There are several reasons for this, the main one being the scratched surface of the CD. The best solution would be to remove an image from such a disk and work with a virtual copy, and not with real media.

  There is a high probability of problems with the disk drive, so we recommend checking it too - for example, inserting another CD or DVD into it. We also recommend that you read the article below.

To summarize, we would like to note: every year more and more PCs and laptops are released without hardware for working with CDs or DVDs. Therefore, finally, we would like to recommend that you make copies of important data from CDs in advance and transfer them to more reliable and popular drives.

If you borrowed a disc from a video DVD or CD and liked the contents, then in order to watch it several more times in the future (offer it to others), then it would be a good idea to copy it to a computer, or even better to an external hard drive or flash drive - it’s more reliable.

The process of copying video is similar for all drives and there is nothing complicated.

Difficulties arise only if you want to record a video (for example, a movie) onto a DVD disc for viewing on TV through a player - copying will not work.

Then you will need . A lot of them.

I won’t dwell on the recording process, but will only describe the easiest and fastest way to copy a video from a disk to a computer.

Instructions for copying discs to a computer

First of all, open the drive and insert the disc into it. Then click on the computer line (on the right side).

The entire contents of the disk on your computer or laptop will open in front of you.

Highlight it in blue (hold down the left mouse button and move up from the bottom of the window or vice versa) and, now pressing the left button, click in the “copy” tab that appears.

Now select the location (folder) where you want to save the copied video on your computer and, pressing the left key in it, click on the “paste” line.

After this, all the contents will appear on your computer, if, of course, you do it correctly - as described.

There are of course many other ways. You can simply drag and drop files (videos) and copying will occur automatically or use hotkeys.

Try the method described above for now, and over time you will learn the rest. Good luck!

How to transfer the “My Documents”, “Downloads” and “Desktop” folders.

In this very important and useful article I will tell you how to transfer the “My Documents”, “Downloads” and “Desktop” folders from the system drive to another drive and why it is generally advisable for all users to do this immediately after installing the Windows operating system.

In fact, transferring these system folders is very simple and easy; it is much more important to understand why it is desirable to do this. My task in this article is to convince you of the feasibility of this operation and its necessity.

Why move system folders

Here are a few reasons why I strongly recommend that you move your “My Documents”, “Downloads” and “Desktop” folders from your system drive to another...

The first reason is that their content very quickly and heavily fills the “C” drive with secondary files, which slows down the system over time...

The fact is that for normal, fast operation of the Windows operating system 10% free space required on your disk.

Most computer programs shove the fruits of their work into the “My Documents” folder by default. For example, photo and video editors. No, the system, of course, asks where to save the file, but usually users, simply out of laziness, immediately press “Ok” agreeing to the default location.

All browsers by default save files you download from the Internet to the “Downloads” folder, which is located on the system drive.

In general, everything is very bad with the “Desktop” folder. For many years, I have not been able to convince at least one user (even my own wife) to refuse to place films and photo albums on the desktop. And this is understandable - it’s just more convenient for everyone.

Maybe someone didn’t know that when you “throw” a film of several gigabytes in size onto the desktop, among the shortcuts, you thereby place it in the “Desktop” folder, which is “mounted” in the system drive?

The second reason is that after your operating system suddenly quietly dies from abuse, it will take all your downloads, projects, saved programs and games to the land of cartoons...

If you transfer the “My Documents”, “Downloads” and “Desktop” folders to another drive, all your documents and files will truly become YOUR documents and files. After reinstalling the system, they will remain the most alive.

The third reason will be useful to owners of SSD drives. By transferring these folders, you will extend the life of your favorite hustler.

For novice computer users, recording to external storage media such as CDs and DVDs may pose some difficulties. However, there are very, very many ways to record. I will highlight two methods: the standard one and through a special program for working with disks - Nero.

The first method is to transfer the files to a disk folder. Such files are being prepared for writing, but are not being written yet! Once the files are ready to be written to disk, when you click on write, all the files are written to disk at once. Then such files cannot be deleted separately. To delete a file from a disk, you will first need to save all the files on your computer, clean the disk, re-prepare those files that need to be written, and, in fact, write them.

Burning discs

So now let's try burning the files to the new drive.

First way- standard.

Insert the disc into the drive, open "Start">"Computer">"DVD RW drive" (or CD RW drive).

Let's use the most common method of recording discs ("With a CD/DVD player"). Enter the name of the disk (for example, "MyDisc"). Click "Next". A folder opens into which you need to drag files from your computer and prepare them for writing. After this, the folder will look like this:

After that, right-click and select “Burn to disk”.

After that, enter the name of the disk and click the “Next” button.

Then, we wait for the files to be written to disk. Typically, recording time on a DVD-RW disc is 30 minutes. But not always. Much depends on the selected recording type and volume.

To complete the recording procedure, click the "Finish" button.

The disc was successfully burned!

Second way can only be used if the Nero program is present on the computer (tested on Nero 7).

You just need to look at the following icon on your computer desktop, or in the "Start">"All Programs">"Nero 7 Ultra Edition">"NeroStartSmart" menu.

If there is such a program, then we launch it accordingly (if Windows 8 is installed, we launch it using the administrator). Next, click on the left arrow to expand the functionality of the program (a list of programs is displayed).

Then, move the mouse pointer (do not click anywhere) on the items “Data”> “Create DVD with data”.

On the left in the “Open with:” window, select the “Nero Express” program. and click on the green arrow on the right:

Nero Express will open. In the empty field in the center of the program you need to move files from your computer that need to be written to disk. At the bottom there is an indicator of recording availability. At the moment, you can record a volume of information of no more than 4500 MB (highlighted in green). If the amount of information exceeds the permissible norm, the indicator shows that there is “excess” information. It is necessary to reduce the amount of information, because it doesn't fit on the disk. After that, click the “Next” button.

Enter the name of the disk, put two checkmarks, according to the figure below, and click “Burn” (when burning a one-time CD/DVD-R disc, it is better not to check the first checkbox, because if errors occur during recording, a lot of problems will appear, as a result which the disk may be damaged)

This way, you can be sure that the information will be opened on another computer (or device).

In the future, if there is space left on the disk, it will be possible to write more data. If you turn off the second checkbox for creating a multisession disk, then the empty space on the disk is filled and no information can be written to the disk in the future.

Click "Record".

A window opens with current write operations to the disk.