I just have all the compressed downloads in a file that I can store wherever I want (discs, thumb drive, laptop, etc). If I need to reinstall I can just copy the folder to my DAW system and extract them again. The sections are all numbered so it's pretty much the same as installing from discs. One part finishes you move on to the next. I also have the extracted files in their own folder so I can just use those too but they are obviously larger and will just stay where they are on the DAW to save disk space and copy/pasta times elsewhere. But really that's all just to avoid having to spend the time downloading it all again from the Cake store. If something managed to completely wipe out the backups I'll just download again. Cheers, Danny.

Thank you all once again. :)

No you will need about 15 GB capacity thus 2 double layer DVD. Each is 8 GB

It makes you wonder why Cakewalk did not just give us an option for downloading ISOs. It would make life SO much easier. Although, after I ran the initial download, I copied the folder buried in the temp folder rather than the initial download.

HD backup here.

How long does it take to read that much data from a Blu-Ray DVD? And what is the reliability?

I'm just curious, never tried this, but standard DVDs are pretty slow.

I remember installing Komplete 7 with a stack of DVDs and it took all day...

I have a folder with all VSTs and programs etc. duplicated on 3 hard drives.

Hey Danny,

If you don't already have one, get an eSATA or USB-3 HD docking station.
They're perfect for backups and transferring data (such as the X2 install).
ie:  For about $42, you can get a USB-3 docking station that has two drive slots.
You can run two drives simultaneously (2.5" or 3.5") - you can even run a pair of drives in RAID-0.
Speeds top out around the 500MB/Sec mark (of course this depends on the drives used).  A pair of fast 1TB HDs yields ~265MB/Sec sustained.  Same speed as using SATA-II or SATA-III RAID-0.
No additional drivers/apps to be loaded...

Sonar 8.5 is on a DVD with all updates for all versions of Sonar from Sonar 2XL to Sonar 8.53. All serial numbers and registration numbers are there as well.  I also have 2 external backup drives which have the files as well. I also have two full backups of the system drives on external drives as well.  I believe in making sure I have working copies of my software.

I have not burned the Sonar X1 or Sonar X2 Producer files to DVD yet, but have them on HD backups, and system backups as mentioned above.  I just haven't gotten around to making DVD's for them yet.

I have been kicking around the idea of using some USB Flash drives for backup.

...put mine on an external hdd with all my programs and stuff...

Jim Roseberry


Hey Danny,

If you don't already have one, get an eSATA or USB-3 HD docking station.
They're perfect for backups and transferring data (such as the X2 install).
ie:  For about $42, you can get a USB-3 docking station that has two drive slots.
You can run two drives simultaneously (2.5" or 3.5") - you can even run a pair of drives in RAID-0.
Speeds top out around the 500MB/Sec mark (of course this depends on the drives used).  A pair of fast 1TB HDs yields ~265MB/Sec sustained.  Same speed as using SATA-II or SATA-III RAID-0.
No additional drivers/apps to be loaded...

I have both a USB-3 and eSata docking station.
I think the USB-3 station is a bit error-prone. I don't trust it to write large amounts of data.
I tried a few different brands before I settled on the one I have.
On the other hand, the eSata dock has been totally reliable and I routinely backup 1.5 TB during an Acronis image backup.