I Can't Delete Or Write Over My CD-RW Discs!

[Vanchatron]

I've just been out and bought some CD-RW discs and added 700mb worth of data to one of them. I then copied this data from the disc onto another PC. When putting the disc back into my original PC and then attempting to delete the data (so that I could add more data to be transferred) it says:

"Files on this CD are Read Only - You can still copy new files to this writable CD, which will replace files already on the disc"

So I got around 698mb worth of data and tried burning it to the CD but it says:

"The disc in the drive is not a writable CD or it is full".

Well yeah it's full because it has my 700mb worth of data from the previous burn but the message I got above says that I can copy new files to the CD which will replace the files already on the disc... I'm pretty confused and could do with some help, thanks.


HK

[mjc]

What burning software are you using?

[Sylvander]

If you use a "Packet-Writing" program the CD-RW can be treated like a giant floppy disk [deleting files/folders, renaming, writing new files]...

If you use an ordinary disk-burning program you cannot treat the CD-RW like a giant floppy...
Instead you burn "sessions"...
If those sessions are not "closed" they can only be read on a PC.

Files that have been burned to a CD and then copied over to a PC would have their attribute marked as "read-only" and be such on the PC's HDD.
To avoid that problem, zip them all up in an archive file...
Then copy that file to the PC's HDD [and untick the "read-only" attribute of that if you need to for any purpose] and unzip the archive [unpack the contents] and those files inside will not be marked as read-only.

[Vanchatron]

I 'WAS' using the standard Windows CD Writing method but I just downloaded Nero 7. I then told it to burn the selected files to disc and it went through the motion, then after about 8-10 minutes it said 'Burning Complete' or something along those lines.

I then went to check my disc and it still had the previous data on it and not the new data that Nero said it had burned to it.

I do have a type of file on the desktop called 'image' which was left by Nero... Could this mean anything?


HK

[Vanchatron]

Right, sorry for the language but HOW THE HELL DO I USE CD-RW DISCS??!!

I'm getting really agitated with it now as I've been trying for 3 days to find a way of storing my music onto another PC and now that I've finally bought some CD-RW discs I don't know how to use them.

All I need to do is put 700mb of music at a time onto the disc, then transfer that music to another PC, wipe the disc clean and start over until I've moved all 8gb of my music to the other PC but I don't know how to do it.


HK

[Sylvander]

Sounds like [wihout being aware of it] you configured Nero to "write" the files to an "image" file on the HDD.
That can be a good idea IF you intended to burn multiple disks...
Copying an image file from the hdd to multiple optical disks is very efficient, but not so if you only intend to burn a single disk; in that case burning an image file to the HDD is rather a waste of effort.
However, having done so, you need to figure out the Nero procedure for burning an image file to an optical disk.

In my program [RecordNow] I just burn a "data" disk, and when I choose an image file, the program recognises that [and that the disk is a CD-RW] and asks if I want to erase the previous data before burning this image.

[mjc]

Nero writes an image file if you haven't specifically chosen your writer as default in it or if for some reason the writer is not detected. Nero also has an 'Erase' feature, under the 'More' options...

[Vanchatron]

Sounds like [wihout being aware of it] you configured Nero to "write" the files to an "image" file on the HDD.
That can be a good idea IF you intended to burn multiple disks...
Copying an image file from the hdd to multiple optical disks is very efficient, but not so if you only intend to burn a single disk; in that case burning an image file to the HDD is rather a waste of effort.
However, having done so, you need to figure out the Nero procedure for burning an image file to an optical disk.

In my program [RecordNow] I just burn a "data" disk, and when I choose an image file, the program recognises that [and that the disk is a CD-RW] and asks if I want to erase the previous data before burning this image.

Is this Roxio RecordNow by any chance?


HK

[Sylvander]

"Is this Roxio RecordNow by any chance?"
No.
"Veritas Software Corp.", "HP Record Now v3.5" by "Gracenote CDDB".

[Vanchatron]

3 Simple tasks and I can't find a way to do them!

It can't be that hard to just do the following:

1) Put 700mb worth of data onto a CD-RW disc
2) transfer that data to another PC
3) erase the data from the CD-RW disc
4) Do steps 1-3 again


HK

[Sylvander]

You sent me a PM saying you were able to erase the CD contents the 1st time with no problem, but the 2nd time it gave you...
"Now when I click 'erase disc' on the main RecordNow menu, my CD Drive ejects the disc & I get a message saying "Please insert a rewritable disc into the HL-DT-ST CD-R/W [E:] drive" which I did.

When I click 'OK' it then puts the CD back into the drive and I get another message saying "The disc you have inserted is not blank. Would you like to erase it now?" so I click YES.

I then get a box displaying 'erasing progress' but after about 5 seconds of doing nothing, the disc gets ejected from the drive & I get the same message saying "Please insert a rewritable disc into the HL-DT-ST CD-R/W [E:] drive".

I just thought that you would know what to do as you have the same program."

I'm no expert on the program [I'm new to it], but...

It seems the program is failing to recognise that the CD is RW! :confused: :(
I wonder if these notes from my help files might be of use...

Advanced Tab
The Advanced tab contains options controlling the default settings for your optical drive, and determines how RecordNow handles re-writable media.

Use the Advanced tab to customize the following settings:

Limit the maximum recorder speed to: Specify a recording speed from the drop-down menu if you want RecordNow to control the recorder speed.
This option is useful if your recorder speed is faster than the drive you are using to read your source disc. If you experience errors during recording try reducing the maximum recorder speed to a speed equal to or slower than the read speed of the drive you are using to read your source disc.

Always do a full erase on rewritable media: A check mark in this box causes RecordNow to automatically erase the contents of rewriteable media before beginning a recording.
Test operation before recording discs: A check mark in this box causes RecordNow to test its reading process before beginning to record. This feature can help catch potential problems before recording and prevent wasting media due to a failed recording process.

[Sylvander]

I'm havng a problem myself at the moment.

My older CD-RW disks are 2x speed and work just fine.
My latest set are 4x - 10x speed and when I tried to test the system to see if I could learn anything of use to you I find I'm getting...
The CD-RW disk you have inserted is not compatible with your recorder. :( :confused:
I know my hardware [CD-RW drive] can only handle 8x speed when burning.

[Vanchatron]

Mine say 8x-12x but surely if it has been able to read the disc the first time (and delete the data) it should be able to do it again :confused:


HK

[Sylvander]

"Mine say 8x-12x but surely if it has been able to read the disc the first time (and delete the data) it should be able to do it again?"
Quite so!
You might want to make sure the configuration setting for the speed hasn't changed between the two attempts.

The most likely significant clue is the fact that the program isn't recognising the CD as a rewritable CD.
What would have that effect I wonder? :confused:

I used to like my previous software package/set.
It included "CD Eraser"; an independent program that could/would erase CD-RW disks before presenting them to the burning program.

[mjc]

There is a good chance that your drive is in need of a firmware update to handle this particular batch of media...

[Sylvander]

I applied a firmware update a couple of years back.
I believe it was THIS ONE (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=co523en&cc=uk&lc=en&dlc=en&product=59293&dlc=en&lang=en) "Recording at 10X on TDK media can result in unreadable CDs"...
Could Vanchatron's 1st burn have made his CD-RW disk "unreadable", or unwritable?