Copy and Paste to a CD

[cranheim]

I have a Dell 8200 desktop running Windows XP Home edition w/SP3, and IE8. I
have Roxio Easy CD Creator 5 Basic v 5.3.5.10
I developed a problem when doing a copy and paste from different media (C
drive, Floppy, another CD) to a CD-RW disk. It used to write the CD-RW in a
CDUDFRW format, but since a problem developed, it now writes the CD-RW disk
in a CDFS format. I have been working with someone on a Dell forum, and they
think it was first using my Roxio software during the copy and paste, but
because of some problem, it defaulted to using the WindowsXP CD burning
software instead. Is there some place to specify what software actually does
the CD disk burning when a simple copy and paste is done? The problem is
also causing the inability to eject a CD-RW disk that contains the original
CDUDFRW format. (Just a different symptom that started at the same time). I
have looked in the WindowsXP help screens, as well as the help screens in
Roxio, and have not found any settings that would decide what software would
do the CD burning on a simple copy and paste. Perhaps if I knew what
controls this operation, it may help in finding a solution. Thanks for
your time. Charles Ranheim

 

[thanatoid]

<SNIP>

Read this, or parts of it anyway. You'll find out why everything
you have been doing was not exactly wrong, but just about the
worst and least secure way possible, starting with the software
(Roxio, "Windows CD burning") and ending with pretending a CD-
R/W is a floppy.

http://www.cdrfaq.org

Also, CDUDFRW is actually called UDF. This format was developed
for people too lazy or too cheap to properly burn using the
disc-at-once method (which is the most reliable one), and can
cause a variety of problems, as most of such solutions do.

You might want to read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Disk_Format

Look at some of the links at the bottom as well.

 

[cranheim]

There certainly is a lot of technical information on the different formats
out there. I do understand the difference between a CD-R and a CD-RW. I do
not use the CD-RW's for a permanent backup media. I was only using the CD-RW
as a temporary storage until the disk was full, then I copied it to a CD-R
disk for the final backup. I had been transferring data to the CD-RW disk
using a simple copy and paste. When things were working, it would copy from
the source and write to the CD at the same time, in UDF format. I thought my
WindowsXP was doing the copy and paste, but I am not sure. Is this true, or
was it Roxio doing the copy and paste? Then, something changed. Now, when I
do the same copy and paste, it reads the input data first, then opens a
Wizard to write the data to the disk, which looks more like WindowsXP is now
doing the copy and past operation. I also found the CD was now being written
with a file system of CDFS. I had not started Roxio at any time prior to the
copy and paste. Can anyone explain what may have happened to my simple copy
and paste routine? I understand the hazard in using CD-RW disks for
permanent backup, and will use mainly CD-R disks in the future. I sure would
appreciate it if someone could tell me how to determine what software (WinXP
or Roxio) is executing the copy and paste operation. If I knew that, it
might help understand the rest of my present problem. Any help will be
greatly appreciated. Charles Ranheim

 

[thanatoid]

I sure would appreciate it if
someone could tell me how to determine what software (WinXP
or Roxio) is executing the copy and paste operation. If I
knew that, it might help understand the rest of my present
problem. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Charles
Ranheim

Don't top post, and SNIP irrelevant parts from the replies etc.

I can't help you since I do not use either Roxio or the Windows
CD burning feature.
And I suggest you start doing the same, ie using real programs.

<SNIP>

 

[Peter Foldes]

thanatoid

And here is a top post just for your enjoyment since I only top post on these MS
news servers

I can't help you since I do not use either Roxio or the Windows
CD burning feature.
And I suggest you start doing the same, ie using real programs.

Can you explain exactly what the heck you are calling a real program if not Roxio or
similar

 

[Bill in Co.]

Excellent.
And top posting or bottom posting or inline posting is fine, as the occasion
arises. (And those who are too limited in mindsets to be able to handle it
know where the door is.

 

[thanatoid]

thanatoid

And here is a top post just for your enjoyment since I only
top post on these MS news servers


Can you explain exactly what the heck you are calling a
real program if not Roxio or similar

If I have to explain that then I might as well not bother saying
anything.

 

[thanatoid]

Excellent.

What exactly, pray tell?

And top posting or bottom posting or inline posting is
fine, as the occasion arises. (And those who are too
limited in mindsets to be able to handle it know where the
door is.

I am not limited in my mindset(s) but your first, oh-so-
eloquent-yet-economical paragraph is a perfect example of why
SOME conventions are worth keeping. OTOH, I do NOT believe all-
caps is shouting, etc. That's just stupid.

 

[David Webb]

You have a misunderstanding of how the native CD burning utility works in
Windows XP. One cannot simply copy & paste directly to the CD media using this
utility. When you send data to the drive it's stored in a temporary file and
then burned at a later time. Read all about it in this article:

http://winsupportcenter.com/win5/a/xpcd.htm

Since it appears that you're having a conflict between Roxio's utility and Win
XP's, you can simply disable the Win XP utility via My Computer > rt-click on
the CD drive and select Properties > select the Recording tab and then deselect
"Enable CD burning on this drive".

 

[Unknown]

I hope you choose the latter.

If I have to explain that then I might as well not bother saying
anything.

 

[cranheim]

David Webb,
You are correct when saying I do not have an understanding of how CD
burning control works. I had been using CD-RW disks. When I load the disk
into the drive, what determines which format will be used (UDF or CDFS). Is
it determined by the way a new disk is formatted (or not formatted)? You
explained how to disable the WinXP utility. Would that force it to use Roxio
on my machine? If it did, would it always write in the UDF format? Up until
recently, whenever I did a copy and past to a CD-RW disk, it had been
writing in the UDF format. Now, for some reason, when I do a copy and paste
to another CD-R or CD-RW, it uses the CDFS format, which, from what I have
been hearing, is the better format. I plan on using only CD-R disks in the
future for reliability. I have WindowsXP SP3 and a down level of Roxio. This
is why I need to know what controls which format will be written when I do a
copy and paste?
I really appreciate your help and interest in my problem. Charles Ranheim

 

[David Webb]

As stated in the article by the late Alex Nichol, use of the UDF format for CD-R
discs is rare. In most cases, one should always use CD-RW discs. Since the discs
are formatted as CDFS out of the box, you'll have to format it before use.

Just a comment: Ever since the advent of the USB Flash drives, with capacities
of 2, 4, 8, and 16 GB, the use of 640 and 700 MB CD discs as large floppy discs
may be a thing of the past. With flash drives, one can write directly to them
using Send To rather than Copy & Paste. I have my 16 GB Flash drive setup as a
Briefcase to a folder on my Data drive so when I add or update something it's
easily duplicated on the flash drive. This flash drive is what I take with me
for most service calls.

Obviously, I'm no expert in the use of UDF CDs, so you may wish to peruse this
website to answer any further questions:

CD-Recordable FAQ
http://www.cdrfaq.org/