I was told i should be using cd-rw to copy my documents files, not cd-r. But
I am getting errors concerning "read only" files. When I make changes to
the files, it refuses to let me back up. I found a link to the following
from this board:

So the Windows XP inbuilt software is really a system most suitable for
preparing straightforward data CDs on CD-R. It is not one which allows a
CD-RW to be used as a backing store on which individual files can be updated,
and it will not work as an output destination for backup programs and other
software that simply attempts to write to it directly as if it were a hard
disk. Nor will it make a direct copy of a CD. And, because of the overhead
for a TOC in each session, it is not suitable for updating a small volume of
files on a regular basis.

I just bought these cd-rw because the salesman said they were what I needed,
not cd-r... any suggestions?

A cd-r wont copy files,it only reads the cd,a cdrw will copy to a cd.A cdrw
will copy backup files to a cd,really the only diffrence between a cdr and
cdrw
is the later can write to a cd,the other only reads.

"nancyn" wrote:

> I was told i should be using cd-rw to copy my documents files, not cd-r. But
> I am getting errors concerning "read only" files. When I make changes to
> the files, it refuses to let me back up. I found a link to the following
> from this board:
>
> So the Windows XP inbuilt software is really a system most suitable for
> preparing straightforward data CDs on CD-R. It is not one which allows a
> CD-RW to be used as a backing store on which individual files can be updated,
> and it will not work as an output destination for backup programs and other
> software that simply attempts to write to it directly as if it were a hard
> disk. Nor will it make a direct copy of a CD. And, because of the overhead
> for a TOC in each session, it is not suitable for updating a small volume of
> files on a regular basis.
>
> I just bought these cd-rw because the salesman said they were what I needed,
> not cd-r... any suggestions?

If you have Roxio Easy CD Creator or Nero Burning, you can format
the CD-RW and that way it can be used as a backup harddrive of
about 650Mbs. This procedure is called Packet-writing. Then you
can copy&paste or drag&drop files to the CD-RW just like you do
to the harddrive. You can create personal photo albums and/or
personal music libraries. You'll be able to add, delete files and even
create a boot disk with it in case of a malfunction of your harddrive.
--
XP - WNP
Today is the first day of the
rest of your life.


"nancyn" wrote:

> I was told i should be using cd-rw to copy my documents files, not cd-r. But
> I am getting errors concerning "read only" files. When I make changes to
> the files, it refuses to let me back up. I found a link to the following
> from this board:
>
> So the Windows XP inbuilt software is really a system most suitable for
> preparing straightforward data CDs on CD-R. It is not one which allows a
> CD-RW to be used as a backing store on which individual files can be updated,
> and it will not work as an output destination for backup programs and other
> software that simply attempts to write to it directly as if it were a hard
> disk. Nor will it make a direct copy of a CD. And, because of the overhead
> for a TOC in each session, it is not suitable for updating a small volume of
> files on a regular basis.
>
> I just bought these cd-rw because the salesman said they were what I needed,
> not cd-r... any suggestions?

nancyn wrote:

> I was told i should be using cd-rw to copy my documents files, not
> cd-r.


My advice is exactly the opposite. CDRs are much more reliable than CDRWs,
and I recommend that you use CDRs for backup.

The advantage of CDRWs is that you can change or delete what's on them, but
I don't think that's a good tradeoff for their lower reliability. That's
especially true since you can usually find CDRs on sale for pennies.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


> But I am getting errors concerning "read only" files. When I
> make changes to the files, it refuses to let me back up. I found a
> link to the following from this board:
>
> So the Windows XP inbuilt software is really a system most suitable
> for preparing straightforward data CDs on CD-R. It is not one which
> allows a CD-RW to be used as a backing store on which individual
> files can be updated, and it will not work as an output destination
> for backup programs and other software that simply attempts to write
> to it directly as if it were a hard disk. Nor will it make a direct
> copy of a CD. And, because of the overhead for a TOC in each session,
> it is not suitable for updating a small volume of files on a regular
> basis.
>
> I just bought these cd-rw because the salesman said they were what I
> needed, not cd-r... any suggestions?

Andrew E. wrote:

> A cd-r wont copy files,it only reads the cd,


More utter nonsense from Andrew E., our resident troll who delights in
giving people erroneous information.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


> a cdrw will copy to a
> cd.A cdrw will copy backup files to a cd,really the only diffrence
> between a cdr and cdrw
> is the later can write to a cd,the other only reads.
>
> "nancyn" wrote:
>
>> I was told i should be using cd-rw to copy my documents files, not
>> cd-r. But I am getting errors concerning "read only" files. When
>> I make changes to the files, it refuses to let me back up. I found
>> a link to the following from this board:
>>
>> So the Windows XP inbuilt software is really a system most suitable
>> for preparing straightforward data CDs on CD-R. It is not one which
>> allows a CD-RW to be used as a backing store on which individual
>> files can be updated, and it will not work as an output destination
>> for backup programs and other software that simply attempts to write
>> to it directly as if it were a hard disk. Nor will it make a direct
>> copy of a CD. And, because of the overhead for a TOC in each
>> session, it is not suitable for updating a small volume of files on
>> a regular basis.
>>
>> I just bought these cd-rw because the salesman said they were what I
>> needed, not cd-r... any suggestions?