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Simple Guide to
Burning CDs
There are two types of recordable CD Media CD-R (CD-Recordable) and CD-RW
(CD-Rewritable. While prerecorded CDs are pressed from a mold, recordable
compact discs are actually burned with a laser, which is why the process of
recording to CDs is known as burning. CD-R disks can only be recorded once.
Once you create a CD using a CD-R disc you cannot add, delete or modify.
CD-RWs can be erased and rewritten to, but you cannot add information without
erasing the contents first.
The Basics of Burning
If you have a new PC with Windows XP burning CDs is incredibly easy. It’s
simply a matter of performing “save as” or “drag and drop” file operations
like you would save files to a floppy or the hard drive. Using Windows XP,
when you first insert a blank CD into your CD recorder drive, XP opens a
dialog box asking you if you want to open a writable CD folder. With the
folder open, you can drag and drop files and/or directories into it. Windows
XP makes a copy of these files in a special staging area until it is time to
burn the CD, and displays a list of the contents waiting to be recorded.
For further information, just read your user manual or access your PC’s help
section for step-by-step instructions. If you’re working with a Mac or an
older computer Windows 95/98/2000/ME you'll have to use special CD burning
software. Once you have CD burning software, creating your own CDs is an easy
process, although the technology involved is quite complex. Simply follow the
manufacturer’s instructions and observe the following tips.
First decide what you want
to burn and what kind of disc you want to use. Since CD-R discs can only be
recorded once, we recommend you use them for making music CDs, sharing videos
and large files, and archiving your files. A CD-R disc can be played in most
CD-ROM drives as well as most home and car audio players. You can erase and
record CD-RW discs up to 1,000 times. This makes them great for backing up
files that you continually update or want to change. A CD-RW disc can be
played in CD-RW drives and multi-read drives, but aren’t readily readable
beyond your PC. Standard CD-ROM drives and many home and car audio players
cannot read them.
1. Check your hard disk for errors and defragment it regularly. This will
help your drive send data to the CD burner at the required rate and avoid
buffer underruns.
2. Free up enough hard drive space for the files you want to burn to CD.
Generally, you’re going to have to copy the files to your hard drive before
burning.
3. It’s a good idea to shut down all programs but the ones you need to finish
your task.
4. If you discover you’re having problems burning discs without getting
errors, try recording at a speed that’s slower than what your drive and media
are certified for. This won’t radically slow down the burning operation.
5. After you finish burning your CD, it’s a great idea to use a label kit to
design and organize your library.
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