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Geek Stuff : Tutorials : Ubuntu : Burning a Data DVD with K3b
August 14, 2008
A while back I purchased an inexpensive DVD+RW burner for my old 1.4Ghz PC running Ubuntu Linux 8.04 “Hardy Heron” (for about $30 from New Egg). The backup archives from my web sites and databases are now over 2GB, so burning to CD's was no longer enough.
It turns out that burning data files to DVD is pretty darn easy in Ubuntu Linux. Just as easy as on a Mac or Windows machine these days in fact. So I'm posting this tutorial to show how easy it is to install and use one of the many available DVD burning programs available for Linux.
Note: I did not have to install any “drivers” or do anything extra to make the DVD+RW burner work my Ubuntu Linux system. I just plugged it with an IDE ribbon cable and power inside the box, and it just worked. Linux has definitely gotten more user-friendly over the 12 years I've been using it. :)
About K3b
K3b is a freely available program, licensed under the GPL, that we will be installing and using. It has an easy to use GUI (graphical user interface), and burns a DVD in just a few minutes.
Installing K3b
Although you can also use the Synaptic Package Manager (under `System > Administration' menu) to install programs, I installed K3b using the simple “apt-get” command line method.
~$ sudo apt-get install k3b
Type `sudo apt-get install k3b', then press the [enter] key, and enter your password when prompted.
You can get to the command line by using the “Terminal” program under the `Applications > Accessories' menu.
Running K3b
After the install completes we can run K3b by simply by typing `k3b' at the command line, and hitting the [enter] key. Linux is “case sensitive”, so the program name must be entered in all lower case.
~$ k3b
We can also start the program by going to the `Applications > Sound & Video > K3b' menu.
The program will open the main program window. At this time we just need to choose `New Data DVD Project' to begin creating our new DVD, circled in red in the screen shot.
Adding Files to DVD
The program opens a window that resembles an FTP program. We can navigate to the directory we wish to add files from in the top section. The left shows the directories you can choose from, and after clicking on one the files and folders inside are shown to the right.
To add a file simply click on the desired file in the top right pane, and it will then be added to the DVD in the lower right pane. To add an entire folder simply right-click on a folder and choose `Add to Project' from the resulting menu.
As we add files and folders to our DVD project the green bar at the bottom of the window will show us how much space is still available. Our example above shows we have added about 3.9GB of files to our DVD.
Create the DVD
Once we have added all of the files we want burning them to a DVD is easy. We just click on `Burn' above the lower left pane to begin the process.
A small window will pop up giving us several tabs full of options. I use almost all defaults. The only item you may want to change is the `Filesystem' tab, where you can choose the File System to write to the DVD. You may want to choose the “Linux/UNIX + Windows” option, but I usually choose “Linux/UNIX Only” since I only own a Linux PC and a Macintosh PowerBook (OS X is a UNIX based operating system) and the Windows compatibility limits filenames to 16 characters.
Then click the `Burn' button in the lower right of the window to start burning the DVD.
A progress window will pop-up showing how the burn process is going.
Upon completion the window will show “Writing successfully completed” with a green check mark. It also shows the time it took to burn the DVD. Mine took just 6 minutes and 19 seconds to burn the 3.9GB to DVD, not bad for an old 1.4Ghz PC with just 512MB of RAM (I need to get more, but Linux does OK with low RAM!). :)
At this time you should notice your DVD tray has opened, and your finished DVD is done and ready to use.
