I have a cd-rewritable disc drive in my compaq 7470. Any way windows 98. I was using this image zone software to try and burn some photos onto a CD and it closes out the CD and doesn't burn anything onto it. What am I doing , is it broke am I using the wrong discs. I can look at other discs and listen to music it works but have never been able to burn a CD. I thought All the software was already loaded when I got the computer.

You will require some disk writing software - Nero or the like - to be able to write to/copy CD's: having a re-writeable CD drive is not enough on its own!

FWIW, I've never seen a single Compaq system ship with a CD / DVD burner and NOT include the burning software, so it is possible that Ray Peate misunderstood your post; I get the impression that you DO have a disk-writing program, but can't make it work properly. Please give us more details about the software you're trying to burn your photo CDs with; "image zone" doesn't ring a bell...

While we're waiting for that information, I'd like to suggest that you download and install some FREE disk-writing software, which might resolve this problem for you rather quickly.

IIRC, the Compaq 7470 shipped with the "just!burn" CD recording program from CeQuadrat; is this the program you're currently using to try to burn a CD? Sorry to say, I'm not familiar with it; I haven't actually repaired that particular Compaq model in more than four years, so I'm not as familiar with it as I'd prefer to be. That being said, since I can't advise you on using the "just!burn" program (or whichever one is installed on your system), I'm going to suggest a couple of disk-writing programs that you can download and use for free.

Let me explain that I have used BOTH of these freeware CD-burning programs successfully on two Win98SE boxes. Though I mainly use Linux (or Win2k), I keep the Win98SE systems for testing software, and BOTH programs work as expected; I don't think you'll have any problems using either one...

You can download the FREE version of DeepBurner 1.8 here:

http://www.deepburner.com

Link to the features page:

http://www.deepburner.com/?r=products&pr=deepburner&prr=features

You can read the online HELP file without first having to download and install Deepburner on this page; I recommend that you look through it to get familiar with using the program:

http://www.deepburner.com/help/

This is the link to the download page:

http://www.deepburner.com/?r=download

You'll also find the installation instructions for Deepburner on the download page; the file is less than 3MB, so it shouldn't take too long, even if you're using a dial-up connection.

The other FREE CD-burning software program I recommend is CDBurnerXP Pro; according to the website, CDBurnerXP Pro has been reported to work with your CD-RW drive (which is actually a Philips CDD-4401). BTW, don't let the name mislead you; you do NOT need Windows XP to use the program; as I've mentioned, I've used it with Win98SE without a problem.

Here's the link to the main page:

http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

Link to the features page:

http://www.cdburnerxp.se/features.php

Link to the download page:

http://www.cdburnerxp.se/download.php

The free version of CDBurnerXP Pro is a MUCH larger program (with many more features) than Deepburner; the file is close to 13MB in size, so it will take longer to download, which might be a consideration if you're using a dial-up modem to access the 'net. If you have broadband (DSL or cable), the download times are insignificant...

Keep in mind that I've successfully installed BOTH of these programs onto the same system and used them without conflicts, so you should be able to do the same thing without a problem. You can try each program to see which one you prefer; both programs are also available with in commercial versions (with more features), which are NOT free, though I've never used either of them, so I can't advise you about them. As long as you're only interested in creating music and data / photo CDs and DVDs, either of these programs should work for you.

These programs can help you avoid spending money on software you probably don't really need. Though Nero is my favorite CD-burning application, it is somewhat expensive, and you probably don't need any of the features not found in Deepburner and CDBurnerXP Pro.

The next step is up to you; you can continue trying to make the software you have work properly, you can spend money on a commercial product full of features you'l probably never use, or you can try these free programs and see if they meet your needs.

If you have any specific questions about either program, please post them here, and I'll do my best to answer them for you. Though I've only used these programs to burn .ISO images and make photo and music CDs, I think they'll do the job for you without a lot of heartburn.

Good luck; I'm really looking forward to a follow-up report from you, and hope you'll follow my advice and take both Deepburner and CDBurnerXP Pro for a testdrive... of course, I'm also hoping that you'll remember to tell us whether or not one (or both) of these programs solve your CD-burning problems... both seem designed for ease of use, and I'd like to know how well they work for someone who hasn't had much luck (yet) with CD-burning software...

I do have the just burn it software and for some reason it has never worked. I have had problems with this computer from day one, but its still ticking. I have a million photos I need to burn before it dies so I'm trying to save them before time runs out. I will try those you suggested and let you know thank yopu so much. Suzette

I'm not familiar with that burner software. I always install Nero on the PCs I put together. You can download older versions here. Some of those may be trial versions. Or I can mail you a copy of the one I use. It's worked with every burner I've tried.