What cd r should i buy

About 74 minutes of audio, or about MB of data. Yes and no. The process can be a bit more involved than that, and requires software that usually comes bundled with the drive.

On a CD-R you can only write to each part of the disc once, so deleting files doesn't gain any space. There are other limitations as well.

When you're doing the writing you can't interrupt the drive, and you can't reclaim the space you've used. However, almost all regular CD-ROM drives manufactured today, including all multiread drives, will have no trouble with them.

What is packet writing? Packet writing is a software feature that enables you to transfer files individually, or a few at a time, to a CD-R or CD-RW disc, rather than writing the entire disc at once. Most CD-RW drives come with packet-writing software.

Packet-writing software enables a CD-RW disc to function more or less like a floppy or hard disc, with selective writing and erasing.

It contains information about the files just written, plus all the information from the previous VAT on the disc, forming a complete table of contents. There are some limitations to packet-writing technology, however. The resulting packet-written CDs require the computer on which they are read to have Universal Disc Format UDF reader software and a compatible operating system such as a bit version of Windows.

Packet writing and UDF are much bigger topics than can be covered here; see the list of resources at the end of this Daily Drill Down for more information. How can I avoid ruining discs when recording? This is the million-dollar question for most CD-R users. Because a CD-R disc can be written to only once, in a single pass except in special cases like multisession and packet writing , recording success depends on the CD-R drive being fed a steady, uninterrupted stream of data at exactly the right pace.

The drive contains a small buffer usually K or more in which data from the PC waits to be recorded. If that buffer empties and no data is forthcoming from the PC, the writing laser is idle and a buffer underrun error occurs, thereby ruining the disc.

Other problems can occasionally occur to ruin a disc, but by far the buffer underrun error is the most common. Disable all programs running in the background before recording, such as your antivirus program, for the same reason as above. This allows it to operate with less CPU interaction. If your writing software supports it, do a test write first. Use a lower recording speed than the maximum that your drive is capable of.

Defragment your hard disk and run ScanDisk or other disk-checking software before making the CD. If you are making a CD from data on your hard disk, turn off the power management feature for your hard disk before recording.

If your writing software supports it, create a disc image first and then create the CD from the image. With their large capacities and long data life, using these technologies could solve most of your storage needs, providing you understand the technologies and how to troubleshoot them.

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