I hate digital media. Plain and simple. I have a long list of reasons why, but this thread isn't about that really. Part of the reason I love GOG however is that, thanks to their DRM free policy, I have long been meaning to download all of my PC games (Excluding the Steam ones at least) to physical copies so that I can play any of them at any time, regardless of the state of my internet or the GOG site stability.


Well I'm finally getting close to that moment. But I have a few questions to ask, little things to clear up before I can take that great leap forward.


Firstly, to my understanding I'll want to have the download files for the games on the disc correct? Or should I just straight up install the game on to the disc and run it from there? Will that even work?

Second, the most cost effective way is going to be buying groups of 4.7 GB discs. But many of the games I own here on GOG are bigger than that according to the download page. So what are my options there?

That should be all off the top of my head. I look forward to your replies, thanks. :D

I'd recommend to backup the installers, not the installation. Backing up the installation might work too in some cases, but isn't as safe and reliable. Big files are split up in several parts of ~1-2 GB, so you should have no problems with burning them to dvds. But whenever you want to install the game afterwards, you'd have to temporarirly copy the separated installation files back to your harddisk so that they're all in the same directory, as I don't believe the installer will ask you to "insert disc 2" if it finds something is missing. ;)

I would keep just the installers. The larger ones are broken up into ~2 GB pieces max, I believe. There are too many problems (like lack of registry entries) that can arise from running games that are installed directly to disc on a different computer (not to mention some games are too big for you to do this with anyway). Personally, I'd back the files up on at least one external hard drive as opposed to discs, as it's faster to read from and write to, more 'malleable' as you will be able to add new games and patches at any time, you'll have more space to work with depending on the size of the hard drive, and it takes up less physical space.

I would have just bought an external harddrive, or even spend some more money on a 8.5GB dvd-r.

Like SCPM mentioned though, 4.7GB disks shouldn't be a problem given that the entire installer is usually spread across smaller files.

I would avoid using DVDs or CDs. While they are a cheap medium, they are also fragile and do not last as long as some might expect. Hard Drives, while still fragile, they provide a much safer and larger backup. I've had CDs that were bad right after I burned them, so I have no use for them.
I have two backup drives, and I store the install file on both of them. I only connect those drives when I need something off of them or I have something to add to them. One of them is stored in a fireproof safe, while the other one is nearby for when I need a quick file. If I want to install a game, I will copy the install to my computer and then run it from the computer's hard drive. I don't drag the one from my safe out every time I have a new file, but the new file will be on my computer's hard drive until I do. And I will have that file on the other backup drive within a day or two.

Given that external 1 TB (and larger) USB drives can be had for less than $100, that's the route I'd go. Er, that's the route I DO go. You'll pay about half that for the 200+ DVDs it would take for the same capacity, with a bunch more chance of error, coasters, hassle, slower speed, more physical storage space required, etc.

Just a thing to note completely offtopic, there's a list of Steam games that you can just copy out of the Steam directory, copy them over to a different computer, and they'll work. Ironically enough, HL2 + expansions can do that now as well, I have HL2 on a computer that has never seen a steam installation

Backup your installers only. Instead of using optical discs I would go for HDD. That way you will have your files stored in 2 separate places (GOG servers and your HDD). I would also consider buying another backup drive that will be kept outside your place (I use office for that reason). It will not give you more protection (it is not very likely GOG goes down the same time your first backup drive) - but could be convenient if your collection is BIG and you would have to download hundreds of GB again.

I use a 2nd hard drive, but I'm also thinking of burning dvd's due to those awesome custom dvd inserts.

Definitely just buy another hard drive, either external or internal. It will cost you less than buying tens of dvds. One drive will take less space than all those dvds, and should be more durable from them.

In general, don't backup to media that requires more ~than six units to the job. It's too much work to keep updated and periodically verify for integrity.

"If it isn't tested it isn't a backup, it's an aspiration."

Correct. Plus you can update without having to reburn however many discs and it's a ton easier to check for bit rot than a gargantuan stack of DVDs.
Dang ninja +1

I have all my GoGs backed up on a 1TB HDD (an external one from Amazon costs about £50 for a decent unit).

I think the key points have already been covered here; I have my favourite ones written to CD/DVD as well - mainly so I can have awesome looking CD cases on my shelf. There's a good thread somewhere with links to box art.

Another alternative, get yourself SkyDrive or something similar, if you can afford it and have a good internet connection. Never have to bother with physical stuff again, and all your things would be kept safe from sudden death by fire.

Physical discs degrade over time, so unless you make a few backups of everything, you're not really safe.