Reading CD-RW disks

[JayE]

Hi,

What software do I need to put on a PC to allow it to read CD-RW discs? And do I get hold of it?

I can't find any mention in the docs that came with my CD-RW of this, also what you can do with a CD-R disk and what you can do with a CD-RW?

Your assistance would be most appreciated.

Regards,
Jay/UK

 

[lideho]

What operating system are you using?
If it is Win95, you will have to install packet writing software(DirectCD or Prassi ABCD), preferably the one that was used to write to the disc.
Win98 should read these discs without anything else loaded but will need one of these to packet write to a cd-rw disc.
WinXP will write to these discs and cd-r's natively and can be read by Win95, Win98, WinME, etc.
Cd-r can't be erased the way a cd-rw can. To write to a cd-r you will need cd burning software (EasyCD or Nero are two of the most common).

 

[jbmprods]

hi Jay:

i have used nero,record now and roxio. out of the 3 i like nero the best because you can do more with it, it seems more user friendly and i have yet to burn a bad disk. im from the US so i dont know what stores you have in the UK but you should be able to get it at any big computer store or try ebay. cd-r allows you to copy once to the disk unless your doing a multi session copy which you can read about in the doc. that comes with the burn disk. cd-rw allows you, once formated properly to use like a big floppy disk. you can write to it till its full and format it and write to it again over and over till it wears out. if your lucky hundreds of times. BE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT SPEEDS FOR YOUR BURNER. if you have say a 40x12x40 you'll want disks to match the speeds of the write and rewrite speeds.

good luck and i hope this helps.....jim

 

[JayE]

Hi,

Machine I would like to use to access CD-RWs would be 98 mostly, but I have Me at home and a few of our office PCs are XP.

I understand that with CD-RWs you can do anything, provided you have the right software loaded !

With CD-Rs can you add more files to the disk after the first time? can you delete files? can you rename files? can you copy files from CD-R to a hard drive or another media?

I await your further advice.

Regards,
Jay/UK

 

[cdogg]

CD-R and CD-RW are nearly identical except CD-RW can be erased (as you already know). Here's what you didn't:

- CD-R's are more compatible than CD-RW discs because the lasers in older CDROM drives (slower than 24x) have a hard time reading CD-RW. It's because their reflectivity is much different.

- CD-R's and CD-RW can be written to more than one time, as long as you don't close the disc. They call this "multiple sessions". Usually in the burn options before you make a CD, you are given the option to leave the session open, close the session, or close the disc. If you leave the session open, only CD-RW drives can read the disc. If you close the session, you can add more later. If you close the disc, you won't be able to add more later unless it's a CD-RW disc and you erase it.


Hope that helps...


~cdogg

"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- A. Einstein