ECN Forum Forums Technical Discussion Re: Computers and the Internet What type of CD drive do I need

I have to PC's. The laptop is a DVD reader & CD burner. The other tower is just a CD burner. The trouble is they are not compatiable with each other. Then I save something on a CD and take it to the printer & it does not work on there computer. I remember somthing about 2 different formats last time I was shopping. I also found a program to convert or read files in the wrong format but it cost's as much as a new drive. So what type of drive do I need to buy.

On top of that I have problems with the laptop getting it to format a blank CD. Could it be I just don't have the right software to format the drive?

Tom

I'm thinking you have software issues...what products are you using?

Don't format the CD!
You can burn a CD in a universal format everyone can read, usually called burn a data disk. You need all the data assembled before you start but the burner propgram will let you assemble it in a window.
You can leave the disk "open" so you can add to it later.
"Formatting" the CD is so you can use it like a disk drive, simply dragging and dropping in other applications. That is a very proprietary format that is virtually never compatible with anyone else unless they run the same software as you.

Agreed, don't attempt to format the cd . Another thing to watch out for is that some drives (even a few modern ones) won't read from a CD if you haven't 'closed the disc'. Many burning programs allow you to close the session but leave blank space on the disk, some of the drives will then refuse to acknowledge the disc. Given that CD-Rs are cheap, burn one with the setting usually called 'disc at once' (or 'finalize cd' after burning the data) and see if that helps.

I doubt any "burner" will have a problem with an "open" disk. It was just the real early ROMs that had that problem.

That explains some of my problem. I thought you had to format a disk first.

I have Roxio easy CD, music match, & real player on the one. The other has easy write, Nero, Real Player, & HP Memories. I don't know which I should use for data. Never made a muisic disk yet.

I don't care if I need to buy something I just don't know what. Think I need something simple.

Tom

Just open up the burner program,(Nero or EZ CD) select "data disk" and use a blank, unformatted CD. Drag and drop the files you want into the project window and burn. That one should be able to be read by anyone.

I just use windows explorer to burn data discs. Just open My Computer, open the blank disc, open another window and drag the files to the blank cd's window. They appear transparent, and under the File drop-down menu, you can burn the files to disc when you have the disc all set.

I haven't had any problems doing it this way.

giddonah
Have you swapped disks burned this way with anyone else?

I realize this is 4 months old, but I noticed this while looking for another post I made last week (which seems to not exist anymore...) and I like closure.

Anyway, yes, I've shared data discs burned with xp without any problems.