Formatting CDS - is it necessary?

Just had a Plextor DVD installed with Roxio software on my XP Pro machine. Now when I want to copy something to the CD, get message device not ready. CD used to work fine. I did manage to format a new CD using the right click menu. I thought CDs were already formatted when you bought them? Am I incorrect... Roxio seems very complicated to me...all I want to do is burn Cds and DVDs easily...is there a simple CD/DVD program that someone could recommend.

(As a warning to other "neophytes ", I should note that my PC had a bad video card which was repaired offsite. At that time I asked the computer repair place to go ahead and add a DVD. They subsequently installed XP Pro as my operating system (I had XP) so it took me two phone calls to get them to send me an XP Pro disk since I couldn't reinstall XP over the Pro...as a novice PC user when it comes to hardware issues, you really are at the mercy of who you take the PC to for repair. I don;t know how you get around this problem? Just ranting....thanks for listening)

 

Hi artful,

It sounds like you are new to the wonderful (and somewhat complicated) world of "burning ". Hope I can explain without confusing myself and the other people will correct my mistakes.

To make a standard burnt disk (like a program, game or audio disk that you buy) you need to create an "image" first. The Roxio program will create that image (an .iso file), then you tell the program to burn it to the disk. You cannot just copy or cut and paste files to a CD (which is why you get "drive not ready "). You need to create the image file first. When you want to burn, put a CD into the drive and start the main Roxio program (Easy DVD, isn't it? I have always used Ahead Nero). There should be a "wizard" to guide you through the file selection process. You select the files you want to burn (should be by "drag and drop "). They are added up in size, maximum is 750mb for a CD and 4.2gb for a DVD. You then have to tell it you have finished selecting files and to create the image. That image can be burnt onto many disks if you want. You then tell the program to "burn" the disk.

A CD-R or CD-RW disk can be left "open" so that you can add more files later...called multisession, but the files may not be able to be read/used until you "close" the disk. A CD-RW disk can be written/burnt over many times.

The "format" you saw was created by an additional program that sets a CD-RW disk to run like a floppy disk so that you can copy, cut and paste just in Windows. Trouble is that it can only be read by that or a similar program, so you cannot read the disk with a CDrom drive, it only works with CD-RW drives and it must have the formatting program or "reader ".

Have a look through the Roxio/Easy DVD help files.

There will be information at the Roxio website.

A good site is www.cdmediaworld.com .

Easy DVD is actually one of the easiest programs to use and probably one of the best for you to start with. You need to get used to how the image file is created.

Hope this is a little clearer than mud

Matt

 

If you have followed the burning software's instructions and still have trouble, it may be the because of the brand of disk that you are using. Some drives are finicky about the disks. If so, see which brand(s) are recommended to be used by Plextor.

Matt

 

Hi artful,

What you want to install from the Roxio CD that you should have with the drive is called Direct CD. It has to be installed separately, and it should run at boot and continuously, so that whenever you put in a CD-RW, it notifies you that the CD is ready for writing.

 

"...is there a simple CD/DVD program that someone could recommend. "

Windows XP has CD-burn program built in. Insert a CD-R disk, then just drag and drop files at will.

Best

 

jubalsams,

Everyone is aware of that, but it's unsatisfactory when compared to comercial software like Roxio. You can drag and drop in XP but nothing is actually written to the disk unless you try to shutdown or log off, when you'll get a message that you have files waiting to be written to the CD. When you click the option to write them, then they get written and the CD is closed. If you want to write more, you need another CD next time.

Direct CD, or InCD in Ahead, is very different. With these programs your CD is used just like another disk drive; you can copy to it, delete from it, write over files on it, and do anything you can do with your C: drive. When you reboot, the disk is still there to use as above, like any other disk.

BTW, the XP writing should be turned off when using the comercial programs.
Rt-clk the drive, chose properties, chose recording tab, and uncheck enable.

 

One little nit-pick - Direct CD is used for formatting, and not needed for anything else. Should really be an "on demand" app. How often is one going to format CD's? Every 5 minutes, that's one thing, but once a day or longer, having it run is just a waste.

Direct CD can used for a "drag & drop" floppy-like function, but, the same thing applies.

See so many posts complaining about "slow" startups (a relative term) and one of the most widspread causes is unnecessary startups.

Regards - Charles

EDIT: Forgot - Direct CD is called "Roxio drag&drop" now.

http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=33550 Paul's post #4

 

I don't think you can drag and drop to your CD if you don't have Direct CD/InCD running in the background, if, as you should, you turn off the XP writing function. Actually, formatting is done as the files are written to the CD in modern programs, and they're written immediately - not later, and the long 20-30 min. format is a thing of the past. Setup of a new CD for use as another drive takes only seconds. That's the problem artful was having, not running the program in the background.

Chas., you need to upgrade your CD/DVD writing software.

 

I had so much trouble with it almost three years ago, that I just decided to leave Roxio on the 9X and do all the burning from there.

Haven't found a compelling reason to upgrade to DVD burning yet.

Regards - Charles

 

"I thought CDs were already formatted when you bought them? Am I incorrect.. "

Unfortunately, CD-RW disks are not formatted from the factory like most floppies. The is probably because there are at least four different UDF formats, also, you don't need to use a CD-RW as a CD-RW .... you can use it as a CD-R that can be erased (formatted) and used again as a CD-RW.
Takes a long time to format, this depends on the udf software ... my abCD is the fastest at 6 min. but it won't run on NT class, so i stuck with DirectCD on XP. InCD about 28 min. on my machine.

Best

 

charlesvar,

My apologies, I am wrong and you are correct!
I have been using the same CD-RW for so long I'd forgotten that they originally need a long format. I have been erasing them without doing the InCD erase which does require a reformat afterward.

And I disabled Incd, which I'm using, and altho I haven't rebooted, I can still copy to the RW just fine. More apologies.

I need to do some brushing up.

 

I've been recycling thru the same RW's 4 for a long time as well.

Regards - Charles

 

The XP cd-writing is more sophisticated than you are making out.

Dragging and dropping is indeed supported without a prior format.
You can write the CDs immediately by choosing File > Write these files to CD. If you use the Explorer side-bar it's the top option.

You can add files afterwards without any problems. Just drag and drop in the same way and write to cd, there is no formatting required. You can use up the whole CD-RW then just erase and start again - no need for any third-party software.

 

Wow - who knew

Thanks so much for the info....always just thought of the CD as another drive...not sure I understand everything completely, but disabling the xp cd write will get rid of an aggravating problem. No manual with my new CD (OEM) software - I miss laying on the couch flipping through pages learning about how to use something. Online manuals don't work well for me..they're great for finding a specific answer to a problem but don't give me the overview I get from printed material - must need a brain boost. Anyway, I'm writing to my CD now that it's formatted....thanks again everyone - as usual you have the answers....Michelle

 

Well, I did, and I found out that everything I said originally was correct! It applied to the old DirectCD and the new Roxio Drag to Disk. No long format is necessary. Nero is the only software that requires that long formet first. So, I'm done with Nero!

 

Sparrow welcome back.

I seldom see posts extolling Roxio over Nero - I think that's what you're doing

Regards - Charles

 

cd burning

http://www.sonic.com/pr/
Sonic has purchased Roxio. I tried this software reccently & found it to by very user friendly, simple, fast & really fun to use. Nero 6 has been my cd/dvd burning choice for mastering disk, however Sonic is easy on resourses & gets the basic jobs done faster. Also has "DLA" instead of "INCD" for NERO's re-writeables. This allows "formating" standerd cd's for drag & drop funtions in windows explorer, very much like multi-sessions in other softwares. You must finish the cd (close it) before it can be seen by other cdroms.

 

Hello Rancher,

Wasn't aware that Sonic purchased Roxio, thanks for the info.

BTW, wlecome back - long time no see

Regards - Charles

 

wasting time on CD burning issue

I don't know why you guys waste a lot of time about CD burning unless you are some geek or freak burning electro music and spend 24 hours on internet downloading heavy metal and videos and burning and burning....
If you are an average guy the windows CD burner will suffice, I don'r have any Roxio nor Nero nor I need anything else I just use the Windows standard CD writer to burn documents and digital pictures and other data to my CD-R/RW-DVD and that's all I need. I drag and drop the file into the "open" blank CD (or right click "send to "+CD drive and that's all you need) then the wizard comes and I click GO and that's it and the CD is ejected when the writing is finished and you can also put another CD and copy the same files to it (why do you need to complicate your life?) if you need some document or pictures (I don't have experience on burning music I never do it, I just listen to factory music CDs) you open the burned CD and drag and drop the item to desktop and voila, you have a copy of that folder or you could drag to desktop what you want to keep and erased that CD-RW with old obsolete items then burn back the most recent folders. Why complicate things? I also have SimpleTech SimpleDrive 120 GB External USB 2.0 HD where I can just drag and drop anything and delete anything (it is a HD that I use for storage and I even do a flawless weekly full system backup to it with Acronis True Image 7), so why do I need to burn CDs when I have a super big warehouse (the external HD) to store years of digital pictures a 2GB wallpapers collection, hundreds of documents, etc...) Do yourselves a favor and remember the saying "KISS" (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Now... and by the way all of you are straying from the initial complaint: a Roxio problem or incompatibility "disc not ready" could be due to a BAD or incomplete installation of the OS by the technician or incorrect configuration of the CD drive (I am not a tech) but it is obvious that your advise is complicating things further, at bthis pace, someone will start advising to tweak the registry and the poor guy will get his PC messed up very badly. He wants to burn CDs? Do it with the Windows CD writer. He wants to be a music freaky burner? go to the Geek freaky website for advise.

 

cd burning etc:

Thanks for the welcome back, been doin' heavy techy stuff out in our capitalist (money) world
A follow up on burning/formating; Sonic's Drive Letter Access (DLA) has a "Quick" format feature for cd-r. You must have this appy installed much like you would "direct cd" or "incd" in roxio & nero. When you place a cd-rw in the burner, you will get the "Full" format feature & the quick feature will be grayed out. Works like the old Adaptec software did circa 1996/98.
The Sonic "Record Now" ver:6.5 and the Sonic "DLA" ver:4.6 is the software I have tested. Newer ver: are now available as well as dvd software.