Tom's Guide | Tom's Hardware | Tom's Games
 |
 |
 |
I'm just getting into the CD-R process and figured I'd ask here since I've had great luck in solving my problems this way vice reading the directions and surfing the web. Can you add to a CD-R after initially burning it? Example: I burned a music CD with only 4 tracks on it and want to add to it, but I get an error message. I thought they were like floppies and you could add to them after initially burning until they were full. Am I mistaken?
It depends on the software you're using to burn the CD with. On some programs, you have an option to 'leave the session open'. This is what you need to do to be able to add more tracks to a burned CD. The default for most programs is to close the session, making adding more to it impossible after the first write session.
Mikel
0 
i haven't ever seen a program that lets you add to a CD-R....only to a CD-RW....is this something new?
0
Nope, once you burn a CD-R, its done.. you cant add to it. You can add to a CD-RW if you format as a Direct-CD... but you cant create an audio cd with the direct-cd format anyways.
0
I use Sony Extreme to burn CD's, and I can add to them later if I leave the session open. Pretty nice, but since they're so cheap anymore I'll just throw away a used CD-R and burn a new one.
Mikel
0
GPP is totaly incorrect. you can always add to a CD-R as long as you leave the session open.
The only problem with leaving an audio CD open is you won't be able to play it on a regular CD player until you close the session.
0
Ditto to the last few posts. I have a Philips CD-RW drive with Roxio EZ CD Creator, and I add to CD-Rs all the time.
0
See why this is such a great site? Even when you think you know something there is still more to learn. Listen to the previous three posts...they know what they're talking about.
0
hmm.. didnt think you could do that when burning audio cds. Sorry, didnt mean to mislead anyone.
0
Using DirectCD (a companion of EZCDcreator) or InCD (a companion of Nero) allows you to use a CDR or CDRW just like a floppy. One drawback with these programs and a CDR is when you delete or replace a file, the space is not recovered. The deleted or replaced file is just hidden.
0
So just to sum this up: When I'm at CompUSA and I can choose blank CD-RW or CDR's, I should choose CD-RW if I plan on writing over the entire cd many times, as long as I keep sessions open, mainly for nightly backup of my pc. On the other hand, if I plan on filling up a cd as I find new music and data I want to burn I should buy CDR's, knowing that I can't reclaim recorded space again, even when I leave my sessions open. Is this correct?
0
You can format a CD-R as a Direct-CD????? Then whats the point of buying a CD-RW? you probably cant erase the Direct-CD format off of a CD-R like you can a CD-RW then..
0
Ok, here's my 2 cents:
1. You CAN add data and audio to CD-rs if you leave the session open.
2. You almost always CANNOT play a CD-R on a regular CD player until you close the session.
3. You almost always CANNOT play CDRWs on MOST common Car & portable CD players that are over 1 year old (some of the newer high-end models will allow you to.
Question: Why would you format a CD-RW? Seriously, I don't know.
0
Also, you CANNOT erase and write over files on a CD-R in Direct CD (or any other mode). (To do that you must have a CD-RW disk.) What you CAN do with a CD-R in Direct CD is drag and drop files to it just like to a FD or HD.
0
I've had my burner for over a year now. I still use the five original CD-RW disks I bought when I got my burner because I have them. I really don't like or need them. I also got a mess of CD-Rs which I prefer. If I knew then what I know now I could've saved $14.99 that I spent on the CD-RW and bought more CD-Rs. Go with the CD-Rs. They're so inexpensive you can afford to throw them away. Also, the CD-Rs are a more stable medium than CD-RW.
CD-Recordable FAQ: http://www.cdrfaq.org/
0
I think there is some confusion about sessions. You have to finalize the session in order to read the data later, but you can have more than one session as long as you don't finalize the cd. Depending on your burning software, information from earlier sessions is either imported into the new session, or there is a setting to manually import earlier sessions. Then when you read the cd in the cdrom, you can see all the data. If you want to make a music cd, it's best to just save it on your hard drive until you have enough to burn the entire cd all at once. Some programs automatically close an audio cd when you burn one.
0
"Question: Why would you format a CD-RW? Seriously, I don't know."~DaveM
I completely agree. I got a 10 pack of cd-rw's with my burner and used one about 2 years ago and the other 9 are still wrapped. Im going to format it some day :)
Cd-r's<--cheap so i throw them away when im done.CD-R's can be used like a floppy as someone mentioned above. You can update the same file a zillion times but instead of rewriting the file, directcd hides the original and writes the new one. This makes it possible for a 10K word document to consume a whole cd-r if youve updated enough times. Ive done it with a grocery list.
0
Yes. You can add any additional files as long as you leave the track session open or in other words do not finalize the disc. Actually you still can add other files even if you close the session but it would take another extra 30Mb or so depending on your burner software. I'm using a HP CD-Writer Plus CD creator software. This software allows you to either leave the CD-R open, close (finalize) & to protect the CD from being written again. Now the first option is where u can use the CD-R like a floppy with exception u can't delete (actually can delete but it'll never give u back the space u've deleted) but u also can't use the CD to read on a normal CD-ROM drive. The second option is where u r able to finalize the CD whereby u'll be able to read both on a CD-Burner or CD-ROM drive, plus you'll be able to add any files later on with exception add extra 30Mb++ cause of formatting the disc back to directCD. The third session/option is where u end the session ie: write protect it. This is where u can't format the disc anymore, just be like a ROM disc. No writting anymore, just reading.
0  |
 |
 |
This post is quite old and has been locked from receiving new replies. Please create a new posting instead.
| Ads by Google |
