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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
and a CD/DVD burner (optical drive that records CD-R/CD-RW), 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 or Vista, when you first
insert a blank CD into your CD recorder drive, Windows 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 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.
You can use Windows built-in CD recording features, including the CD
making capability of Windows Media Player, or you can use an
after-market CD creating software product (such as Roxio CD
Creator). Using either (Windows, Media Player, or CD burning
software) makes creating your own CDs is an easy process, even
though the technology behind the screen is a quite complex process.
Most of the time, just follow the prompts and in a few moments, out
pops your finished CD.
CD Choice
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 - in other
words, for disc you burn once and use. A CD-R disc can be played in
most CD-ROM/DVD drives as well as most home and car audio players,
and DVD players.
The other kind of recordable CDs
are CD-RW. 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 use readily readable
beyond your PC (though there are some CD & DVD players that can read
them). Standard CD-ROM drives and many home and car audio, and DVD
players cannot read them (check your product documentation to be
sure).
CD Burning
Tips
To make this an even easier
process, and better assure perfect results, try the following tips:
- Check your hard disk for errors
and defragment it regularly. This will improve your drive's
performance, and help your drive send data to the CD burner at the
best possible speed and avoid buffer underruns (underruns result
in useless CD - also known as coasters).
- Free up enough hard drive space
for the files you want to burn to the CD. Generally, you’re going
to have to copy the files to your hard drive before burning - so
be sure you have a few GB to spare, since a typical CD require
about 750MB.
- It’s a good idea to shut down
all programs but the ones you need to finish your task. This
depends on your PC - newer PC with multiple GB of RAM, and Windows
Vista have less problem with prioritizing software to feed your CD
burner, but it is still a good idea to give your CD burning
software all the available RAM and processor resources.
- If you discover you’re having
problems burning discs and getting errors, try recording at a
speed that’s slower than what your drive and media are certified
for. This may slow down the burning operation a little, but is
more likely to produce reliable CDs.
- After you finish burning your
CD, it’s a great idea to use a label kit to design and organize
your library. Printing labels and jewelcase inserts is easy
on most printers, and can produce very professional looking
results. If you have a LightScribe drive and are using
LightScribe media, you can label the CD itself.
- Keep in mind that CD technology has changed
dramatically in just the last couple of years. Replacing a
CD burner is something you can expect every 2 years, to stay up to
date with the latest capabilities. Today's burners, not only
burn CDs and DVDs, but also Blu-ray discs as well! A burner
with LightScribe capability also makes your discs look just like
those that come from Microsoft!
Further Information
For further information, just read
your optical drive user manual, your Windows 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. Simply follow the drive manufacturer’s and
software instructions.
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