Unable to modify my files on removable storage

[Trevor]

As soon as I back up any file to CD or DVD/RW it becomes read only and XP2 (Home, SP2) refuses to let me delete or modify it.

I have read the 'taking ownership' kb article, but mine is a single computer, I am the only user and my profile says I'm the
administrator, so I can't see how that applies to me. Effectively Windows is denying me access to my own files.

Please help - this is costing me a fortune in external media!

 

[smlunatick]

As soon as I back up any file to CD or DVD/RW it becomes read only and XP2 (Home, SP2) refuses to let me delete or modify it.

I have read the 'taking ownership' kb article, but mine is a single computer, I am the only user and my profile says I'm the
administrator, so I can't see how that applies to me. Effectively Windows is denying me access to my own files.

Please help - this is costing me a fortune in external media!

You can not "modify" any file/folder on CD/DVD, unless to use a
"packet writing" system like Nero's InCD or Roxio's Drag to Disk.

What you can do is copy all the files off the CD/DVD, modify the
file(s) and re-write all the files back unto the CD/DVD. You need to
use RW quality media thought.

 

[Guest]

As soon as I back up any file to CD or DVD/RW it becomes read only and XP2 (Home, SP2) refuses to let me delete or modify it.

I have read the 'taking ownership' kb article, but mine is a single computer, I am the only user and my profile says I'm the
administrator, so I can't see how that applies to me. Effectively Windows is denying me access to my own files.

Please help - this is costing me a fortune in external media!

You can't edit or modify your files/folders once they are on a CD/DVD, but
you can on a Floppy or USB HDD or another secondary HDD.
So unless you copy these files/folders to the HDD you can't edit or change
them.
I was like you once thought surely I should be able to edit as on a Floppy
but I did discovered I can't.
May be one we will be able to but now you can't or we can't.
Hope that what your Question was about if not sorry for the misunderstanding.
HTH.
Regards,
nass

 

[Gordon]

As soon as I back up any file to CD or DVD/RW it becomes read only and XP2
(Home, SP2) refuses to let me delete or modify it.

Cd ROM = CD *R*ead *O*nly *M*emory.....

 

[smlunatick]

You can't edit or modify your files/folders once they are on a CD/DVD, but
you can on a Floppy or USB HDD or another secondary HDD.
So unless you copy these files/folders to the HDD you can't edit or change
them.
I was like you once thought surely I should be able to edit as on a Floppy
but I did discovered I can't.
May be one we will be able to but now you can't or we can't.
Hope that what your Question was about if not sorry for the misunderstanding.
HTH.
Regards,
nass
---------www.nasstec.co.uk

Read my previous reply. If you use a "packet writing" system, linke
Nero's InCD or Roxio's Drag to Disk, the CD / DVD RW will re-act like
a "large" floppy drive.

 

[AJR]

You can delete/modify files on CD/DVD RW but not on CD/DVD-R. However you
can "replace" files" on CD-R by using the same file name. For example - you
have a file ABC.txt on a CD - you cannot delete/modify but you can replace
it with another file titled ABC.txt

 

[Guest]

Read my previous reply. If you use a "packet writing" system, linke
Nero's InCD or Roxio's Drag to Disk, the CD / DVD RW will re-act like
a "large" floppy drive.

I agree with you if the OP using a third party Software
(writing/burning/editing) he/she can but without Third party No way?.
HTH.
Let us know.
nass

 

[Trevor]

Copy them where? They were already on my machine to begin with. They still are. I want to overwrite what's on the DVD-RW with
updated versions as a backup in case my PC fails.

 

[Trevor]

I use CDBurnerXP Pro 3 - it has Joliet and ISO1/2 options. I also have Cyberlink Power2Go - that just spits out the DVD halfway
through and tells me I've aborted the burn when I've done no such thing.

 

[Trevor]

You might be able to - I just get an 'access denied' message!

 

[Guest]

Well Trever, since it is spitting it out it could be the Burner software gone
bad or corrupt, I did read that there is overflow in this product, read this
link I don't know if it is right or not?.
http://secunia.com/product/5927/
Try to uninstall and reinstall but before installing scan for malwares and
run disk Clean Up on your System.
HTH.
Regards,
nass

 

[Trevor]

Thanks for the thought, nass, but I think we're heading down the wrong path here. Cyberlink's software might be flaky, but I had no
trouble burning my files to disk with the other burner. My main beef is that the files are automatically converted to read-only, and
that I am denied access to them by Windows to change that attribute when I want to erase or overwrite them. I never had that trouble
with Win 98. Indeed, if I put the same disk into a Win 98 machine, I can change the attributes of the files there at will, modify
them, erase them, whatever. It's Win XP that's denying me access.

 

[Guest]

Does this happen with the other burner (the Permission issue) or just with
this burner?.
Try to create another profile and see if it is a profile corruption.
Or change the permission before burning by unchecking the read-only or you
can't do that either!.
HTH.
Regards,
nass

 

[Gordon]

You can delete/modify files on CD/DVD RW

But only if the CD/DVD RW is formatted for packet writing AFAIK?

 

[Trevor]

I don't think this is the root of the problem. I perhaps haven't made myself clear. This is an example of what happens:

I have a file on my computer - call it ABC.doc - that I want to back up. It is NOT read only.
I copy ABC.doc to a CD-RW or DVD-RW. It copies fine, but on the disk it is now shown as a read only file.

I do some work on ABC.doc and want to back up the latest version. The old version on the CD/DVD is now redundant, so I try to
overwrite it with the new one. I get the 'are you sure?' question and answer 'yes'. Then I get an 'access denied' message.
Similarly, if I try to uncheck the read-only attribute of the file on the CD/DVD I get an 'access denied' message.

It appears that my computer is seeing this drive as a ROM drive rather than a RW drive. Under 'Properties\Hardware' in the My
Computer window both my CD-RW and DVD-RW drives have as their type 'DVD/CD-ROM drives' and the manufacturer for both is given as
'(Standard CD-ROM drives)'.

 

[Tim Jackson]

So are you just using WinXP drag and drop to copy the file from HD to
CD/DVD?

WinXPs native CD/DVD writing software is really only a one way thing. It
lets you write to a CD/DVD but won't let you delete or modify files you have
written to CD/DVD. If you want to do this then you need third party "packet
writing" software such as Roxio Drag-to-Disc or Nero InCD.

 

[Trevor]

No - see the rest of the thread. I have Cyberlink Power2Go, which writes fine to CD-RWs but doesn't like DVD-RWs, and CDBurner XP
Pro, which writes to both. I've never been able to make the XP writing program work (although I've never tried too hard either ).
Files burned with either program suffer the same 'read-only' hijacking.