format CD-RWs

[Karl Townsend]

I use CD-RWs a lot. Backups, copy files, store data. Everything a floppy
does only 500 times bigger.

My last three or four computer boxes (Win98 and XP home) have allowed me to
right click on the
CD drive with a new CD-RW in it and then select the "Format" option. After
formatting, I could read, write, edit, erase, etc. data just like a floppy.

My new box with Win XP Pro installed does not have the "format" option on a
right click. When I copy files to the CD it puts them in a pending pile. I
then have to actually write them as a second operation. Later, it won't let
me delete the files or edit them (read only).

FWIW,I've not set up an admin account and haven't learned how. "format" is
greyed out when I navigate to the disk under control panel...disk
management. To format here, my understanding is that you must be the
administrator.

What a PITA! How can I add this option back?

Karl

 

[Epona]

I use CD-RWs a lot. Backups, copy files, store data. Everything a
floppy does only 500 times bigger.

My last three or four computer boxes (Win98 and XP home) have allowed
me to right click on the
CD drive with a new CD-RW in it and then select the "Format" option.
After formatting, I could read, write, edit, erase, etc. data just
like a floppy.

My new box with Win XP Pro installed does not have the "format"
option on a right click. When I copy files to the CD it puts them in
a pending pile. I then have to actually write them as a second
operation. Later, it won't let me delete the files or edit them (read
only).

FWIW,I've not set up an admin account and haven't learned how.
"format" is greyed out when I navigate to the disk under control
panel...disk management. To format here, my understanding is that you
must be the administrator.

What a PITA! How can I add this option back?

Karl

What you've described is exactly how the CD writing option works under XP.
If you want CD-RWs to work as RWs then you need to purchase a 3rd-party
solution (which is what you must have had to do under every other Windows OS
you've ever had because XP is the only one with any form of native CD
burning.

 

[Nick Burns]

No windows that I ever used has built in packet writing. Get Nero, it has
what you want.

 

[Guest]

Writing to a CD-RW


The type of program required for writing to CD-RWs is called a UDF packet writer. Whenever you buy a new CD-RW drive it should come with a burning suite like Roxio's Easy CD Creator or Nero's Burning ROM. There are other burning suites out there, but these are the main two. Both companies bundle a UDF packet-writing program with their products. For Easy CD Creator this program is called DirectCD and for Nero it's called InCD.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I use CD-RWs a lot. Backups, copy files, store data. Everything a floppy
does only 500 times bigger.

My last three or four computer boxes (Win98 and XP home) have allowed me to
right click on the
CD drive with a new CD-RW in it and then select the "Format" option. After
formatting, I could read, write, edit, erase, etc. data just like a floppy.

My new box with Win XP Pro installed does not have the "format" option on a
right click. When I copy files to the CD it puts them in a pending pile. I
then have to actually write them as a second operation. Later, it won't let
me delete the files or edit them (read only).

You need a third party Packet writing program (Direct CD; InCD etc).
The inbuilt burning does not work in this mode - you must have had one
of them on the earlier machines. See http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpcd.htm