CD copy and drag and drop

[tjwood]

I have been trying and trying to either copy or drag and drop an Excel
file ont a CD-RW. I usually use the CD-RW as an additional copy. I add
files and change them the same as I do on the C drive.
However today I cannot do so. I can only burn. The burned files are
"read only " and I cannot seem to change that function. On the file
properties it is shadowed.
Any suggestions and thank you in advance.
Thelma in Winnipeg

 

[peter]

Packet writing is an optical disc recording technology used to allow
write-once and rewritable CD and DVD media to be used in a similar manner to
a floppy disk from within the operating system, i.e., it allows users to
create, modify, and delete files and directories on demand without the need
to burn a whole disc. Packet writing technology achieves this by writing
data in incremental blocks rather than in a single block. The most common
file system for packet writing systems is the UDF format.

you seem to have lost that ability and since it is not native to XP what
program were you using???
peter

 

[Twayne]

I have been trying and trying to either copy or drag and drop an Excel

file ont a CD-RW. I usually use the CD-RW as an additional copy. I add
files and change them the same as I do on the C drive.

You shouldn't do that. Excel and most any program create a lot of
"temporary" files as they work and the CD soon fills up with those
temporary files.
You didn't provide many useful details, but often a CD-RW doesn't
actually allow you or programs to actually delete those temporaray files
as they are supposed to be able to do, and reclaim the space for other
use. Once used the first time, it's used up and not available even after
deleting the file. Therefore the disk fills up quickly. That kind of
system creates a CD that you can erase, then you erase the entire CD's
contents, all at once. This is what sounds like is happening.
You should NOT be working on files that are on a CD; copy them to
your hard drive to work on them.

However today I cannot do so. I can only burn.

That could be because there is no more room to create enough of the
scratch files that it needs.

The burned files are

"read only " and I cannot seem to change that function. On the file

That's because they are read-only. You have to basically reformat the
CD in order to get an of its space back. Just deleting files makes them
look deleted, but the file's contents is still there, taking up space on
the CD. You don't get that space back to re-use. Well, not until you
reformat or erase the whole disk, that is.

properties it is shadowed.
Any suggestions and thank you in advance.
Thelma in Winnipeg

You should never work on files ON a CD of any type. Do all the work on
a hard drive and then copy the finished revision back to the CD.
Eventually the CD will still become full if you dont' reformat it, even
though all you can see is your one file on it. Just like on a hard
drive, deleting a file does NOT erase the contents; it only removes the
location of the file from a table, making it LOOK deleted. A hard drive
can over-write that space but a CD cannot, because it works on an
entirely different principle.

HTH

Twayne