s wrote:
I have some questions about this cd writing thing. (Relatively new
to this).
I've done it only in Windows, so I'm not sure how my answers apply to
Linux.
1. With a cdrw, is it necessary to blank it before rewriting over
it? (I seem to have to).
Yes. If you're using regular CD creator software on a CD-RW disk, you
select Erase CD-RW from a menu somewhere if you want to use the disk
again. This is not the same as packet writing (will talk about that
later).
2. What is fixating?
I haven't heard it called that, but I'm guessing that this means telling
the software to close the disk. When you do multisession CD burning, you
can keep adding stuff until the CD-R or CD-RW is full. Some CD-ROM
drives won't see a multisession CD unless you close the disk when you're
finished writing. Once it's closed the vast majority of plain CD-ROM
drives will be able to see and use the data on the disk.
3. What is multisession? (I kinda think this mean different formats
on the same cd).
It means you burn in several sessions, adding files until the disk is
full. Some other ways are Disk at Once and Track at Once, with no
possibility of adding more files later. Once you burn in one session,
you can't burn again unless you use Multisession.
4. How does one use a cdrw just like say a floppy or zip? (Where
one can add a few files today, and a few more tomorrow, etc.)
You can add a few files today, a few more tomorrow, by doing a
multisession burn. However, if you're using the CD-RW disk as a huge
floppy, you can copy, move, and delete files the same as you would with
any drive. You don't need to use a burning program when you copy, move,
or delete files, just regular file managers. You can drag and drop files
onto the CD-RW drive. In order to do this, you have to format the disk
for packet writing. You need a special program to do this, such as
Direct CD or abCD in Windows. It formats the CD-RW for packet writing
and once the CD-RW disk is formatted, you can use it like a giant
floppy.
The down side is that formatting for packet writing eats up about 90
megs of the 650 on a CD disk. Another down side is that it takes a long
time to format a CD-RW disk for packet writing (though formatting once
is enough, I believe). The other down side is that packet writing
software tends to be troublesome in Windows. It may not work
consistently, or the software may cause large or subtle problems on your
system. For this reason, a lot of us avoid packet writing. Instead, I'd
just burn CD-RW disks with regular disk-burning software and when the
disk is full, erase it if I wanted to use it again. Or I use CD-R disks,
which are so cheap I just throw them away if I don't want them any more.
I usually get them on sale, free after a rebate.
One more thing: quite a few CD-ROM drives can't see a CD-RW disk that
has been formatted for packet writing. Anything older than 24x probably
won't be able to read the disk at all. More recent drives may be able to
read it if the operating system supports packet writing or you have
appropriate software installed.
How all this applies to Linux I have no idea.
--Judy Miner
