Last week I posted a message about this problem which was, I think, unclear. Now I have refined the problem: I have been using the HP CD-Writer 9100i with CD-RW discs like a hard drive for storing financial files and digital photos. Recently and suddenly I have not been able to modify files, change filenames or edit photos. I get messages that the files are read-only and that I cannot change them. When I check the properties of the files, they are indeed marked read-only but when I try to uncheck the read-only box, the check mark is immediately replaced. I can't find any way to change a possible read-only property of the drive itself. I have ininstalled and reinstalled the software for the drive, and have downloaded and installed an HP upgrade to the drive's firmware (although the upgrade was apparently unchanged from the original). These steps have made no difference in the malfunction described above. I have thought that perhaps the drive has lost the ability to distinguish between CD-RW and CD-R discs, but I don't know how to check that out. When I put the same RW discs in the CD-R/RW drive of my laptop, I can write and rewrite to them without difficulty. Does anyone have any suggestions for restoring the problem drive's functionality?

Josmg, I do not think it is a problem associated with your CD writer but likely a setting within the software you are using to burn the CDs. Check all of the settings within the program to make sure they are how you like them. Which burning software are you using? Perhaps another is familiar with that setting's location. Bryan

Files on a CD are ALWAYS read only, nothing you can do about that. Their attribute will only change when you transfer from the CD back to the hard disk. If you are trying to update files rather than reburn the whole CD, are you sure you remember to check the Multi-session box so you can add-to the CD-RW?

What safeTsurfa says makes a lot of sense. I thought that if you are using InCD on your laptop then perhaps that is the difference because it is my understanding (not experience) that using InCD makes it work like a floppy disk. Bryan

A CD-RW will allow you to avoid the Read-Only attribute providing you do not finalize the session upon exit. I use Roxio Direct CD-Option to burn CD-RW's this way all the time. However, just a word of caution, backups of critical information using this method are notoriously unreliable so if it is really critical, I'd burn them to CD-R's. They're cheap enough and are much more reliable. That way, you can restore your data to any computer with a CD-drive.