How to add content to a rewrittable compact disc ?

[Externet]

Hi all.
An archive CD that keeps a sort of files a for long time is a 'RW' rewrittable, but unsure if just by drag-and-drop it will accept and 'burn' additional files to the existing ones. Seems remembering I tried once and did not work...

How is it supposed to be done ? Using the opportunity; can selected files be erased too ?

Miguel
The flag bearer of compfuser idiots.

[CeaSaR]

Miguel,

From the bad old days of 4x's CDR's and CD-RW's (read that as the brand new Win98), it was always best to use the software that came with the recorder. There were extra steps needed to separate the files - usually a 20 Mb space to close the session. This did not close the disc, but left it open for further additions,

Now, IIRC, as XP matured, it was able to do all that automatically as long as you used the eject feature within Windows Explorer. As far as I can remember, it never worked that well. The best RW's I ever compiled were through the supplied burner program.

CeaSaR

Addendum: I forgot to tell you that, yes, you can erase files to free up room, but the implementation required planning to make it effective. To really save room, it was best to recompile all the information on the disc into a single burn, wipe the disc clean and the put it all back on in one single action. That way, all files are contiguous and there is only one 20Mb buffer, not a whole bunch.

We stopped using CD-RW's when CDR's became so cheap, and when external HD's became affordable, CD burning was reserved for archival purposes only. But, that is my (our) situation. Others may vary.

[Externet]

Thanks, CeaSaR.

Ooops.. sorry, I don't 'do windows'...
From your explanation, seems like semantics may have an influence here, as it would be better if called 'eraseable' instead of 'rewrittable'

Dumping all the RW disc contents onto a -say desktop- folder, editing in and out contents and erasing the RW CD to burn the new folder seems to work. A longer process.

[haklesup]

If when the RW disk was originally written the user "Closed" the session. then you will not be able to add data. If you are using an up to date computer with a newer optical drive, then if it is writable, then it will be evident in your file browser. If it appears to be like a CDROM then its probably been closed. If you are using older hardware, there are all sorts of compatibility issues.

[frhrwa]

I use ROXIO, but not sure if they have a non-windows version..

[haklesup]

I don't think CDRW existed prior to windows, CDR came out about with win 3.0 if I recall correctly and they were expensive at first. Roxio replaced Adaptec if you need win 3.1 drivers. I might even have a floppy version somewhere. Roxio is out of business now, most of the functions are built into the OS or free apps now