DirectCD and DLA

[John R Weiss]

I have several CD-RWs formatted in DirectCD (from EZ CD Creator v3.x) from
an older system. I just installed XP Pro on a new system with a DVD+/-RW,
and Sonic MyDVD installed DLA as an apparent replacement for the DirectCD
(UDF?) format for CD-RW and DVD+/-RW.

When I put in an old DirectCD CD-RW, I get a prompt to install DirectCD on
the machine, but then an error that DirectCD is not compatible with XP. A
support box directs me to Roxio, but there is no apparent update to the
DirectCD driver.

The old data is stale, so I can afford to reformat the CDs in the new DLA
format. However, on restart I continue to get a System Tray prompt that the
DirectCD drivers were disabled because they are incompatible. I attempted
to clean the Registry of all references to "DirectCD", but the prompts
continue. I looked in the Device Manager for the DVD drive, but cannot tell
which (if any) of the driver files listed are DirectCD. Where else might I
look to find the rogue drivers and installation lines, so I can purge them
from the system?

 

[Yves Leclerc]

You need to un-install DirectCD from XP. DirectCD 4 / EZ CD 5 was the
beginning where XP was support.

BTW: DirectCD is now Drag to CD (starting with EZ CD 6).

 

[Bob Harris]

Your PC/CDs have several problems, but there is hope.

First, remove all CD writing software form the new PC. This may likely
involve manually editting the registry. But, before jumping into that, get
some instrcutuions from the two CD writing vendors (Roxio and Sonic) about
exactly how to do that. I recall that Roxio has a tool that will remove
100% of their software for you. I do not know about Sonic.

Then, pick one, and only one, CD writing software for the PC. Do not pick
Easy CD Cretaor version 3 or 4, sinc ethey do not work with XP. Version 5
(plus pathces) does work, but version 6 is more reliable under XP. I have
not tried version 7, but assume that it works fine under XP. I have no
exeprience with Sonic software.

Now, so far none of this will read youe old CD-Rws, but at least it will
prevent you from making more coasters.

As for those old CD-RWs, download a program called ISOBUSTER. It can read
CDs (and DVs) in ways that XP can not do directly. It has helped me recover
data from oddly formatted CDs. It uses an interface similar to windows
explorer, except that for each physucal CD you will see more than one treeof
files, each corresponding to a different way to examine the CD. One or more
will show files. Then, copy the files to the hard drive, and then write
them to a new CD.

By the way, ISOBUSTER is part freeware and part shareware. I think that the
functions you need are free. However, it has een a while since I bought the
unlock key for the total package, so I could be mis-remembering.

I recommend that you use Joliet format for the new Cs, not UDF (or DLA)
format. The former is more universally readable than the latter. Remember
to "finalize" the CD, since that is required for a normal CD reader to read
it.

You can use CD-R or CD-RW media. If CD-R, then you can write only once.
But, heck, CD-Rs are pretty cheap these days, and several times faster than
CD-RW for writing. If CD-RW, you can pretend that it a CD-R for purposes of
writing. But, then you can erase the whole CD-RW and do it again. (At
least Easy CD Creator versions 5 and 6 allow me to do that.) This may seem
less convenient than packet writing (i.e., drag&drop, directCD, UDF, DLA),
but it is a lot safer in the long run.

Good luck.

 

[John R Weiss]

That part I figured out. The problem is figuring out where DirectCD is, so
I can uninstall it...

I did not do a full install of EZ CD or DirectCD onto the machine. The
DirectCD driver was installed when I inserted a CD-RW disc into the drive,
and the prompt came up from the DirectCD installer apparently copied to the
disc when it was formatted (EZ CD 3.x).

I cannot find any Uninstall info, and cannot find the driver name or where
it is kept on the HD or called in the Registry.

Any clues?

 

[MelanieWilson]

Please can somebody tell me if the Drag to disk feature works lik
Direct CD eg if I want to save a file from an internet location fo
example can I do it directly onto the CD. Does it format the disk fo
this then leave it open for other files or do I need RW many times typ
disks ?

Previously I used DirectCD a lot to save files in related areas ont
different CDs since XP I can't and it is a major pain. I can't get a
answer from Roxia and nobody I know uses or used directcd

Thanks

Me


-
MelanieWilso

 

[bjrugg]

Yes, packet writing in DLA works similar to packet writing in DirectCD