Writing files to CD in Windows

Transcription

1 Writing files to CD in Windows You are reminded that if you use a blank CD in University-owned equipment you are bound by the University Computing Regulations. Your attention is drawn in particular to Regulation 4 which states: Users must comply with the provisions of any current United Kingdom or Scots law, including laws relating to a) intellectual property rights including copyright and trademarks, b) misuse of computers, and c) Data Protection. Use of computing facilities should be in furtherance of academic studies and pursuits. Misuse may lead to total withdrawal of privileges to use such facilities. Basic Information Availability of CD-writers Most of the PCs in the open-access computing areas are equipped with CD-writers. To check whether a computer has a CD-writer, read the logo on the front of the CD drive. It will say something like "compact disc rewritable" if it's a CD-writer. Unlike earlier versions of Windows, Windows XP has built in CD-writing facilities so you do not need to use special software to create data CDs. This guide explains how to create a data CD using Windows XP. Writing files to CD in Windows You cannot save files directly from a windows program (e.g. Word) to a writeable CD as you would with a floppy disk but must first save them to another location e.g. your M: drive, a USB drive or floppy disk and then copy them to the writeable CD. Differences between CD-R and CD-RW Recordable CDs come in two formats: CD-R (Recordable) or CD-RW (Rewritable) and usually hold MB of data (compared to 1.44MB on a standard floppy disk). Both CD-RWs and CD-Rs are useful for saving data on many different occasions. CD-RWs are re-usable; when the disc is full, you can reformat it and use it again as a blank disc. CD- Rs cannot be re-used; when the disc is full, you can't save any more files to it. (It may appear that you can 'delete' files from a CD-R, but this only removes the files from the list of contents on the disc - the files become invisible, but they still take up space.) CD-RWs are more expensive than CD-Rs, but they tend to be cheaper in the long run because you can reuse them again and again. CD-RWs have a shorter life expectancy than CD-Rs (and their life span is reduced the more often they're rewritten), and may be slightly more prone to losing data. In general, CD-RWs are a better choice for making short-term back-ups and transferring files between computers, but CD-Rs are a better choice for long-term back-ups

2 Some older CD-ROM drives cannot read CD-RWs, only CD-Rs, but this should not be a problem in the open-access computing areas. Saving files to CD in Windows XP First Save your files to the M: drive, a floppy disk, a Zip disk, or a pen drive. Open the My Computer window (double click on the desktop icon or select it from the Start menu) and locate the files that you wish to copy to CD. Select the files that you wish to save to CD by clicking on them once to highlight them. To select multiple files, click once on the first in the list and then while pressing and holding the [Shift] key click once on the last file in the list. To select or deselect individual files from the highlighted list hold down the [Ctrl] (Control) key while clicking on the file name. With the files you wish to save to CD selected, we must now copy them to the CD drive. There are many different ways to copy files in Windows, but for the purposes of this guide we will use the blue sidebar. Read the list of commands in the blue bar down the left hand side of the window. This list will vary slightly depending on the folder that you are currently viewing, but when a file is highlighted it will always include the option Copy this file, or Copy the selected items if you have multiple files selected. (As illustrated, in some folders you may also see the alternative option Copy to CD but for the purposes of this guide we will use the Copy this file/selected items command). With your chosen files highlighted, click on Copy the selected items in the sidebar. A window will appear asking you to select the destination for the files.

3 Click on the CD Drive icon to select it and then click on the Copy button. In the My Computer window open the CD drive by double clicking on it. You will see a list of the files that you have copied across. As shown below, each file will have a small arrow in the bottom left corner indicating that it is a temporary copy and hasn't yet been saved to the CD. At the top of the blue panel on the left is a section headed CD Writing Tasks. If you have changed your mind about saving any of the files before writing them to the CD, select the files you wish to remove and choose the Delete temporary files options to remove them from the list. When you are ready to save the files to CD, click on the option 'Write these files to CD' to start the CD Writing Wizard.

4 Fill in the CD name: box with an appropriate title for your CD. If you wish the Wizard to close once the CD has been created, make sure there is a tick in the Close the Wizard... box. Now click the Next button and the CD will be written. If you ticked the Close Wizard box, the Wizard disappears once the CD has been created. You will know that the writing process has finished because the CD drive will open. If you did not tick the box a final Wizard window will appear (as illustrated above) asking if you want to create another CD from these files. Click the Finish button to close the Wizard. The CD drive will open, indicating that writing has completed. Congratulations! You have now created your data CD and you may remove it from the CD drive. If the CD is not yet full, you can add more files at a later date in the same way as described earlier. Viewing the contents of your CD It is a good idea to check that you have successfully created your CD. To view the contents, insert the CD into the CD drive again. Open My Computer from the desktop icon by double clicking on it, or selecting it from the Start menu. Double click on the CD drive icon. Erasing files from a CD-RW in Windows XP If you are using a CD-RW, you may eventually wish to erase the contents of the disk so that you can reuse it. Note that this is an "all or nothing" procedure - the erase function deletes the entire contents of the disk. You cannot delete individual files or folders only. Insert the CD-RW that you wish to erase into the drive. A window showing the contents of the CD-RW should automatically open. If it does not, double click on the My Computer icon and then double click on the CD drive icon to view the contents of the CD. If you wish to keep any of the files you should copy them to your M: drive or a floppy disk before continuing with the erase procedure. There is no recovery mechanism if you accidentally erase them!

5 From the menu on the left of the window click on the Erase this CD-RW option. A threestage Wizard will begin which will guide you through the erase process. This Wizard is almost identical to the CD Writing Wizard described previously. Saving files to CD in Windows Vista In Windows Vista, writable CDs can be used in the same way as USB drives. To save files to a CD, simply drag and drop, or copy and paste. You do not need to go through any additional steps to write files to the CD; they are saved to the CD as you move them. CDs created in this manner are readable by most Windows Vista and Windows XP computers, but may not be readable on other computers. If you would like to create a CD that is compatible with a wide range of computers, you will need to write it using the Mastered format. (The disadvantage to using the Mastered format is that CDs created in this way cannot be modified after they are created.) To do this: Insert a blank CD-R or CD-RW into the drive. From the AutoPlay options, choose Burn files to disc using Windows.

6 Click Show Formatting Options. Choose Mastered. You can now drag and drop or copy and paste files to the CD folder, but they will not be saved to the CD immediately. When you have added all of the files that you want to save to the CD, click Burn to disc to create the CD. Erasing files from a CD-RW in Windows Vista If you are using a CD-RW, you may eventually wish to erase the contents of the disk so that you can reuse it. Note that this is an "all or nothing" procedure the erase function deletes the entire contents of the disk. You cannot delete individual files or folders only. If you wish to keep any of the files you should copy them to your M: drive or a floppy disk before continuing with the erase procedure. There is no recovery mechanism if you accidentally erase them! Go to Start. Choose Computer. Click on the CD drive. In the toolbar, click Erase this disc. CD life expectancy CD-R and DVD-R discs' longevity depends on the dye used by the manufacturer. Although opinions vary, the general life expectancy for these discs is estimated as years. However some CD-Rs are unreadable after as little as two years, because the cheap dye used in the CD recording layer has faded. If you plan to not just backup, but to archive on disc, look for archival-grade CD-Rs or DVD-Rs (which have, for example, a gold reflective layer and phthalocyanine-based dyes).