Andy McFadden's
CD-Recordable FAQ

Last-modified: 2010/01/09
Version: 2.73

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Table of contents:

[0] Introduction
[0-1] Legal noise (disclaimers and copyrights)
[0-2] What does this FAQ cover (and not cover)?
[0-3] What's new since last time?
[0-4] Is the FAQ only available in English?
[0-5] Appropriate use of the newsgroups
[0-6] I'm having trouble, how do I ask for help?
[0-7] Spelling and name conventions
[0-8] Can I advertise on the FAQ pages?
[0-9] Can you mail the FAQ to me?

[1] Simple answers to simple questions
[1-1] What's CD-R? CD-RW?
[1-2] Are they identical to normal CDs?
[1-3] Can I create new audio and data CDs?
[1-4] Can I use it to copy my CDs?
[1-5] How much can they hold?
[1-6] Can I just copy files onto a CD-R like I would to a floppy?
[1-7] What can you tell me about DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, etc?
[1-8] Can I copy DVDs with a CD recorder?
[1-9] What's the cheapest recorder and best place to buy media?
[1-10] Can I get step-by-step installation and use instructions?
[1-11] Can I download MP3s from the Internet and make an audio CD?
[1-12] What does this term mean? Is there a glossary?
[1-13] Do I need "music" blanks to record music?
[1-14] How do I learn more? Is there a good book for beginners?
[1-15] Why is this FAQ so far out of date?

[2] CD Encoding
[2-1] How is the information physically stored?
[2-2] What is XA? CDPLUS? CD-i? MODE1 vs MODE2? Red/yellow/blue book?
[2-3] How do I know what format a disc is in?
[2-4] How does copy protection work?
[2-4-1] ...on a data CD-ROM?
[2-4-2] ...on an audio CD?
[2-4-3] ...on an audio CD (Macrovision - SafeAudio)
[2-4-4] ...on an audio CD (SunnComm - MediaCloQ and MediaMax CD3)
[2-4-5] ...on an audio CD (Midbar Tech - Cactus Data Shield)
[2-4-6] ...on an audio CD (Key2Audio / Sony DADC)
[2-4-7] ...on an audio CD (BayView Systems - Duolizer)
[2-4-8] ...on an audio CD (Sanyo)
[2-4-9] How does the Doc-Witness OpSecure CD-ROM work?
[2-4-10] What's the Sony BMG rootkit (First 4 Internet XCP)?
[2-5] What's a multisession disc?
[2-6] What are subcode channels?
[2-7] Are the CD Identifier fields widely used?
[2-8] How long does it take to burn a CD-R?
[2-9] What's the difference between disc-at-once and track-at-once?
[2-10] Differences between recording from an image and on-the-fly?
[2-11] How does an audio CD player know to skip data tracks?
[2-12] How does CD-RW compare to CD-R?
[2-13] Can DVD players read CD-Rs?
[2-14] Should I buy a DVD recorder instead?
[2-15] What are "jitter" and "jitter correction"?
[2-16] Where can I learn more about the history of CD and CD-R?
[2-17] Why don't audio CDs use error correction?
[2-18] How does CD-R compare to MiniDisc?
[2-19] What does finalizing (and closing and fixating) do?
[2-20] How are WAV/AIFF files converted into Red Book CD audio?
[2-21] What does MultiRead mean? MultiPlay?
[2-22] If recording fails, is the disc usable?
[2-23] Why do recorders insert "00" bytes at the start of audio tracks?
[2-24] How many tracks can I have? How many files?
[2-25] Will SCMS prevent me from making copies?
[2-26] Is a serial number placed on the disc by the recorder?
[2-27] What's a TOC? How does it differ from a directory?
[2-28] What's an ISO? A CIF? BIN and CUE? .DAT?
[2-29] Why was 74 minutes chosen as the standard length?
[2-30] Why is there a visibly unwritten strip near the CD-R hub?
[2-31] What is "BURN-Proof"? "JustLink"? "Waste-Proof"?
[2-32] Can playing CD-Rs in a DVD player hurt the discs?
[2-33] Who *really* made this CD-R blank?
[2-34] Can I make copies of DTS-encoded CDs?
[2-35] Why 44.1KHz? Why not 48KHz?
[2-36] What format are .CDA files in?
[2-37] What are DD-R and DD-RW?
[2-38] What's an ATIP?
[2-39] What are "ML" discs and devices?
[2-40] What's CD-MRW? Mount Rainier? EasyWrite?
[2-41] What's Audio Master Quality (AMQ) recording?
[2-42] Can I draw pictures on a disc with the recording laser?
[2-43] What are the gory details about how are 1s and 0s encoded?
[2-43-1] How does the laser read or write a disc?
[2-43-2] How do pits and lands turn into 1s and 0s? What's EFM?
[2-43-3] What's a frame? CIRC encoding? How does ECC work?
[2-43-4] What's in a sector?
[2-43-5] What's in a subcode channel?
[2-43-6] I want even more details
[2-44] Digital is better than analog, right?
[2-44-1] What is "digital" and "digitization", anyway?
[2-44-2] How does this relate to CD-DA?
[2-45] What's a CDR-ROM? CD-PROM?
[2-46] What's HD-BURN? GigaRec?
[2-47] What are C2 errors? What do they say about disc quality?
[2-48] What are CD+R and CD+RW?
[2-49] What's HighMAT?
[2-50] What's VariRec?
[2-51] Will my CDs work on players in other countries?
[2-52] Do CD-Rs have deeper pits? Are "shallow burns" bad?
[2-53] What's a stacking ring?

[3] How Do I...
[3-1] How do I copy a CD-ROM?
[3-1-1] Why can't I just do a block copy like a floppy?
[3-2] How do I extract tracks from ("rip") or copy an audio CD?
[3-2-1] How do I remove the voice from a CD track, leaving just music?
[3-2-2] How do I encode a CD track to MP3?
[3-3] How do I get rid of hisses and clicks on audio CDs?
[3-4] How do I copy game console discs (e.g. Playstation, Dreamcast)
[3-5] How do I get long filenames onto a disc?
[3-5-1] ISO-9660
[3-5-2] Rock Ridge
[3-5-3] HFS/HFS+ and Macintosh extensions to ISO-9660
[3-5-4] Joliet
[3-5-5] Romeo
[3-5-6] ISO/IEC 13346 and ISO/IEC 13490
[3-5-7] ISO-9660:1999
[3-6] How do I use a CD-i disc on a PC?
[3-7] How can I extract disc and track titles from an audio CD?
[3-8] How do I write more than 80 minutes of audio or 700MB of data?
[3-8-1] How well do 80-minute CD-R blanks work?
[3-8-2] How well do 90-minute and 99-minute CD-R blanks work?
[3-8-3] How can I exceed the stated disc capacity ("overburning")?
[3-9] How do I put photographs onto CD-ROM?
[3-9-1] How do I create a PhotoCD?
[3-9-2] How can I set up a photo album on CD-ROM?
[3-9-3] How can I show digital photos on my DVD player?
[3-10] How do I make a CD that will work on a PC or a Mac?
[3-11] How do I access different sessions on a multi-session CD?
[3-12] How do I transfer my records or cassettes to a CD?
[3-12-1] ...with a stand-alone audio CD recorder?
[3-12-2] ...with a CD recorder attached to my computer?
[3-12-3] How can I clean up the audio before recording?
[3-13] How do I transfer an audio DAT tape to CD?
[3-14] How do I put audio and data on the same CD?
[3-15] How do I make a bootable CD-ROM?
[3-16] How do I convert home movies into video on CD?
[3-16-1] How do I create a VideoCD from AVI or MPEG files?
[3-16-2] How do I create an SVCD?
[3-16-3] How do I create an AVCD?
[3-17] How can I burn several copies of the same disc simultaneously?
[3-18] Can I make copies of copies?
[3-19] How can I compress or encrypt data on a CD-ROM?
[3-20] Can I do backups onto CD-R?
[3-21] How do I automatically launch something? Change the CD icon?
[3-21-1] How does Windows "autorun" work?
[3-21-2] How do I launch a document (like a web page)?
[3-21-3] What autorun software is available?
[3-22] How can I be sure the data was written correctly?
[3-23] How do I create, copy, or play Audio Karaoke/CD+G discs?
[3-24] How do I copy a CD-ROM with 3GB of data on it? A huge VideoCD?
[3-25] How do I get my CD-R pressed into a real CD?
[3-26] How do I make a CD without that two-second gap between tracks?
[3-27] How can I record RealAudio (.ra), MIDI, WMA, and MP3 on a CD?
[3-28] How do I add CD-Text information?
[3-29] Can I distribute a web site on a CD-ROM?
[3-30] How do I clean my CD recorder?
[3-31] Is it better to record at slower speeds?
[3-32] Where do I get drivers for my CD recorder?
[3-33] Can I copy discs without breaking the law?
[3-33-1] ...in the United States of America?
[3-33-2] ...in Canada?
[3-34] Can CD-Rs recorded at one speed be read at a different speed?
[3-35] How do I make my CD-ROM work on the Mac, WinNT, and UNIX?
[3-36] How do I put "hidden tracks" and negative indices on audio CDs?
[3-37] Do I need to worry about viruses?
[3-38] How do I cover up a bad audio track on a CD-R?
[3-39] How do I duplicate this hard-to-copy game?
[3-40] Should I erase or format a disc? How?
[3-41] How do I equalize the volume for tracks from different sources?
[3-42] How do I make a bit-for-bit copy of a disc?
[3-43] How do I put punctuation or lower case in CD-ROM volume labels?
[3-44] How do I extract audio tracks from an "enhanced" CD on the Mac?
[3-45] How do I disable DirectCD for Windows?
[3-46] How do I specify the order of files (e.g. sorting) on ISO-9660?
[3-47] How do I put a password on a CD-ROM?
[3-48] Can I record an audio CD a few tracks at a time?
[3-49] How do I copy DVDs onto CD-R?
[3-49-1] I heard about software that copies DVDs with a CD recorder!
[3-50] How do I copy Mac, UNIX, or "hybrid" CD-ROMs from Windows?
[3-51] How do I copy something in "RAW" mode? What's DAO-96?
[3-52] How do I do cross-fades between audio tracks?
[3-53] How do I create a CD with my favorite songs on it?
[3-54] How do I record directly onto CD from a microphone?
[3-55] Is it okay to record a CD from MP3?
[3-56] How can I test a disc image before recording?
[3-57] How do I clear the "read-only" flag under Windows?
[3-58] How do I share a CD recorder across a network?
[3-59] How do I write a large file across multiple discs?
[3-60] What's the safest, most reliable way to write data to CD-R?

[4] Problems
[4-1] What does "buffer underrun" mean?
[4-1-1] What's the deal with Windows Auto-Insert Notification (AIN)?
[4-1-2] What's all this about Win9x VCACHE settings?
[4-2] I can't get long Win95 filenames to work right
[4-3] I can't read the multisession CD I just made
[4-4] Write process keeps failing N minutes in
[4-5] Why did my CD-R eject and re-load the disc between operations?
[4-6] My CD-ROM drive doesn't like *any* CD-R discs
[4-7] How do I avoid having a ";1" on my ISO-9660 discs?
[4-8] I keep getting SCSI timeout errors
[4-9] I'm having trouble writing a complete disc
[4-10] What's the CDD2000 Write Append Error / spring problem?
[4-11] Getting errors reading the first (data) track on mixed-mode CD
[4-12] My recorder ejects blank discs immediately
[4-13] I'm getting complaints about power calibration
[4-14] My Adaptec 2940 pauses after finding my recorder
[4-15] I can't see all the files on the CD-R
[4-16] My multi-session disc only has data from the last session
[4-17] I'm getting SCSI errors
[4-18] Why doesn't the copy of an audio CD sound the same?
[4-18-1] Why doesn't the audio data on the copy match the original?
[4-18-2] The audio data matches exactly, why do they sound different?
[4-19] Digital audio extraction of a track is shifted slightly
[4-20] I can't play extracted audio files by double-clicking in Win95
[4-21] I can't read an ISO-finalized packet-written disc
[4-22] I'm finding corrupted files on the CD-ROMs I write
[4-23] Having trouble playing an audio CD in a home or car player
[4-24] Having trouble using a CD-ROM on a different machine
[4-25] I can't copy a VideoCD
[4-26] The test write succeeds, but the actual write fails
[4-27] I can no longer erase a particular CD-RW disc
[4-28] Having trouble formatting discs with DirectCD
[4-29] I can't write CD-Rs after installing Windows 98
[4-30] I can't use the copy of a CD-ROM after installing Windows 98
[4-31] The disc I was writing with DirectCD is now unreadable
[4-32] I'm getting a message about 100 form transitions
[4-33] My system hangs when I insert a blank disc
[4-34] My CD-R discs don't work in my DVD player
[4-35] I need help recovering data from a CD-ROM
[4-36] What does "not convertible to CD quality" mean?
[4-37] I inserted a CD-ROM but Windows thinks it's an audio CD
[4-38] I get read errors when trying to copy a game
[4-39] Restarting or shutting Windows down after recording causes hang
[4-40] Why do CD-Rs play poorly when anti-skip protection is enabled?
[4-41] I'm having trouble recording under Windows 2000 or WinXP
[4-42] I formatted a CD-RW and only have about 530MB free
[4-43] My CD recording software keeps crashing
[4-44] Do I need to update my ASPI layer?
[4-45] The write process completes, but the disc is still blank
[4-46] My CD-RW drive doesn't work with my CD-RW blanks
[4-47] Audio discs have crackling sounds on the last few tracks
[4-48] Files in deep directories can be seen but not opened
[4-49] My CD-ROM drive stopped working after uninstalling software
[4-50] Audio CDs recorded from MP3s play back fast and high-pitched
[4-51] Windows says access denied, can't create or replace file
[4-52] I can't see any files on a CD-R or CD-RW from MS-DOS
[4-53] My OS doesn't support ISO-13346 "UDF"
[4-54] Why don't I get disc and track titles on my CD-Rs?

[5] Hardware
[5-1] Which CD recorder should I buy?
[5-1-1] Yamaha
[5-1-2] Sony
[5-1-3] Smart & Friendly
[5-1-4] Philips
[5-1-5] Hewlett-Packard (HP)
[5-1-6] Plasmon
[5-1-7] Kodak
[5-1-8] JVC
[5-1-9] Pinnacle
[5-1-10] Ricoh
[5-1-11] Pioneer
[5-1-12] Olympus
[5-1-13] Optima
[5-1-14] Mitsumi
[5-1-15] DynaTek Automation Systems
[5-1-16] Microboards of America
[5-1-17] Micro Design International
[5-1-18] MicroNet Technology
[5-1-19] Procom Technology
[5-1-20] Grundig
[5-1-21] Plextor
[5-1-22] Panasonic (Matsushita)
[5-1-23] Teac
[5-1-24] Wearnes
[5-1-25] Turtle Beach
[5-1-26] Creative Labs
[5-1-27] Taiyo Yuden
[5-1-28] Memorex
[5-1-29] Hi-Val
[5-1-30] Dysan
[5-1-31] Traxdata
[5-1-32] BenQ (nee Acer)
[5-1-33] Waitec
[5-1-34] BTC
[5-1-35] Caravelle (Sanyo)
[5-1-36] Micro Solutions
[5-1-37] Pacific Digital
[5-1-38] Iomega
[5-1-39] Goldstar (LG Electronics)
[5-1-40] AOpen
[5-1-41] Toshiba
[5-1-42] TDK
[5-1-43] Lite-On
[5-1-44] CenDyne
[5-1-45] VST (SmartDisk)
[5-1-46] ASUS
[5-1-47] Samsung
[5-1-48] APS / LaCie
[5-2] How long do CD recorders last?
[5-3] What kind of PC is recommended?
[5-4] What kind of Mac is recommended?
[5-5] Which standard CD-ROM drives work well with CD-R?
[5-6] What kind of HD should I use with CD-R? Must it be AV-rated?
[5-7] What SCSI adapter should I use with a CD recorder?
[5-7-1] Adaptec - 1510/1522A/1540/1542CF
[5-7-2] Adaptec - 2840/2910/2920/2930/2940
[5-7-3] ASUS - SC-200/SC-875
[5-7-4] Tekram - DC-390U/DC-390F
[5-7-5] Adaptec - 1350/1460/1480
[5-8] Can I use a CD recorder as a general-purpose reader?
[5-9] To caddy or not to caddy?
[5-10] Can I burn CDs from a Jaz drive? Tape drive?
[5-11] What is "Running OPC"?
[5-12] What's the story with stand-alone audio CD recorders?
[5-13] What's firmware? How and why should I upgrade my recorder?
[5-14] How well do parallel-port, USB, and 1394 recorders work?
[5-15] How should I configure my system for an ATAPI CD recorder?
[5-15-1] Should I have DMA enabled for an ATAPI recorder in Windows?
[5-16] How important is CD-RW?
[5-17] What is an "MMC Compliant" recorder?
[5-18] What do I need to record on a UNIX (Linux, Solaris, etc) system?
[5-19] What do I need for recording CDs from a laptop?
[5-20] I need to make *lots* of copies
[5-21] How do I connect two drives to one sound card in a PC?
[5-22] How fast is 1x? What are CAV, CLV, PCAV, and ZCLV?
[5-23] Will playing CD-Rs damage my CD player?
[5-24] Can I "overclock" my CD recorder?
[5-25] I need some help installing the drive
[5-26] How much power does a CD recorder use?
[5-27] Will the laser in my drive wear out?

[6] Software
[6-1] Which software should I use?
[6-1-1] Adaptec - Easy-CD, Easy-CD Pro, and Easy-CD Pro MM ("ECD")
[6-1-2] Adaptec - CD-Creator ("CDC")
[6-1-3] Gear Software - GEAR Pro
[6-1-4] Roxio - Toast
[6-1-5] CeQuadrat - WinOnCD
[6-1-6] Young Minds, Inc. - CD Studio+
[6-1-7] Golden Hawk Technology (Jeff Arnold) - CDRWIN
[6-1-8] Optical Media International - QuickTOPiX CD
[6-1-9] Creative Digital Research - CDR Publisher
[6-1-10] mkisofs
[6-1-11] Asimware Innovations - MasterISO
[6-1-12] Newtech Infosystems, Inc. (NTI) - CD-Maker
[6-1-13] Cirrus Technology/Unite - CDMaker
[6-1-14] Hohner Midia - Red Roaster
[6-1-15] Dataware Technologies - CD Author
[6-1-16] CreamWare - Triple DAT
[6-1-17] MicroTech - MasterMaker
[6-1-18] Angela Schmidt & Patrick Ohly - MakeCD
[6-1-19] Liquid Audio Inc. - Liquid Player
[6-1-20] Jörg Schilling - cdrecord
[6-1-21] Prassi Software - CD Rep and CD Right
[6-1-22] Zittware - CDMaster32
[6-1-23] Dieter Baron and Armin Obersteiner - CD Tools
[6-1-24] PoINT - CDwrite
[6-1-25] PoINT - CDaudio Plus
[6-1-26] Roxio - Easy Media Creator (was Easy CD Creator Deluxe "ECDC")
[6-1-27] Padus - DiscJuggler
[6-1-28] Ahead Software - Nero
[6-1-29] CharisMac Engineering - Discribe
[6-1-30] István Dósa - DFY$VMSCD
[6-1-31] RSJ Software - RSJ CD Writer
[6-1-32] James Pearson - mkhybrid
[6-1-33] JVC - Personal Archiver Plus
[6-1-34] Roxio - Jam
[6-1-35] Pinnacle Systems - InstantCD/DVD (was VOB)
[6-1-36] Sony - CD Architect
[6-1-37] Eberhard Heuser-Hofmann - CDWRITE
[6-1-38] CeQuadrat - JustAudio!
[6-1-39] Digidesign - MasterList CD
[6-1-40] Thomas Niederreiter - X-CD-Roast
[6-1-41] Jesper Pedersen - BurnIT
[6-1-42] Jens Fangmeier - Feurio!
[6-1-43] Iomega - HotBurn
[6-1-44] DARTECH, Inc - DART CD-Recorder
[6-1-45] Interactive Information R&D - CDEveryWhere
[6-1-46] DnS Development - BurnIt
[6-1-47] Andreas Müller - CDRDAO
[6-1-48] Tracer Technologies - (various)
[6-1-49] SlySoft - CloneCD
[6-1-50] IgD - FireBurner
[6-1-51] Jodian Systems & Software - CDWRITE
[6-1-52] Erik Deppe - CD+G Creator
[6-1-53] Micro-Magic - CD Composer
[6-1-54] Earjam, Inc. - Earjam IMP
[6-1-55] Emagic - Waveburner
[6-1-56] Zy2000 - MP3 CD Maker
[6-1-57] Integral Research - Speedy-CD
[6-1-58] Desernet Broadband Media - Net-Burner and MP3-Burner
[6-1-59] Stomp, Inc. - Click 'N Burn
[6-1-60] Steinberg Media Technologies - Clean! plus
[6-1-61] Enreach - I-Author for VCD/SVCD
[6-1-62] VSO Software - Blindread/Blindwrite
[6-1-63] Microsoft - Windows XP
[6-1-64] An Chen Computers - CD Mate
[6-1-65] E-Soft - Alcohol
[6-1-66] Stomp Inc. - RecordNow MAX
[6-1-67] James Mieczkowski - Cheetah CD Burner
[6-1-68] Blaze Audio - RipEditBurn
[6-1-69] Acoustica, Inc. - MP3 CD Burner
[6-1-70] MagicISO, Inc. - MagicISO
[6-1-71] Simone Tasselli - Burn4Free
[6-1-72] Sonic Solutions - Record Now!
[6-1-73] Freeridecoding - BurnAgain
[6-1-74] PowerKaraoke - Power CD+G Burner, PowerKaraoke
[6-2] What other useful software is there?
[6-2-1] Optical Media International - Disc-to-Disk
[6-2-2] Gilles Vollant - WinImage
[6-2-3] Asimware Innovations - AsimCDFS
[6-2-4] Steven Grimm - WorkMan
[6-2-5] Cyberdyne Software - CD Worx
[6-2-6] Arrowkey - CD-R Diagnostic
[6-2-7] DC Software Design - CDRCue Cuesheet Editor
[6-2-8] Astarte - CD-Copy
[6-2-9] Frank Wolf - CDR Media Code Identifier
[6-2-10] Logiciels & Services Duhem - MacImage
[6-2-11] Erik Deppe - CD Speed 2000
[6-2-12] Andre Wiethoff - Exact Audio Copy (EAC)
[6-2-13] Earle F. Philhower, III - cdrLabel
[6-2-14] Adobe - Audition (formerly Cool Edit)
[6-2-15] Elwin Oost - Burn to the Brim
[6-2-16] Mike Looijmans - CDWave
[6-2-17] ECI - DriveEasy
[6-2-18] Jackie Franck - Audiograbber
[6-2-19] High Criteria - Total Recorder
[6-2-20] Smart Projects - IsoBuster
[6-2-21] GoldWave Inc. - GoldWave
[6-2-22] Naltech - CD Data Rescue
[6-2-23] Jufsoft - BadCopy Pro
[6-2-24] CDRoller Soft Co. - CDRoller
[6-2-25] FlexiMusic - Wave Editor
[6-2-26] Nic Wilson - DVD Info Pro
[6-2-27] Audacity
[6-3] What is packet writing (a/k/a DLA - Drive Letter Access)?
[6-3-1] What's UDF?
[6-3-2] Do I want to do packet writing?
[6-4] What packet writing software should I use?
[6-4-1] Roxio - Drag-to-Disc (a/k/a DirectCD)
[6-4-2] CeQuadrat - PacketCD
[6-4-3] SmartStorage - SmartCD for Recording
[6-4-4] Gutenberg Systems - FloppyCD
[6-4-5] Pinnacle Systems - InstantWrite (was VOB)
[6-4-6] Prassi - abCD
[6-4-7] Ahead - InCD
[6-4-8] Oak Technologies - SimpliCD ReWrite
[6-4-9] NewTech Infosystems, Inc. (NTI) - File CD
[6-4-10] Veritas - DLA (Drive Letter Access)
[6-4-11] BHA - B's CLiP
[6-5] Can I intermix different packet-writing programs?
[6-6] I want to write my own CD recording software
[6-6-1] PoINT - CDarchive SDK
[6-6-2] Golden Hawk Technology (Jeff Arnold)
[6-6-3] Gear Software - GEAR.wrks
[6-6-4] VOB - CD-Wizard SDK
[6-6-5] Dialog Medien - ACDwrite.OCX
[6-6-6] ECI - The Engine
[6-6-7] NUGROOVZ - CDWriterXP
[6-6-8] Ashampoo - DiscForge Plug & Burn
[6-6-9] NuMedia Soft - NMSDVD Burning SDK
[6-6-10] Sonic Solutions - AuthorScript
[6-7] What software is available for doing backups?
[6-7-1] Adaptec - Easy-CD Backup
[6-7-2] D.J. Murdoch - DOSLFNBK
[6-7-3] Dantz - Retrospect
[6-7-4] Veritas - Backup Exec
[6-7-5] Symantec - Norton Ghost
[6-7-6] PowerQuest - Drive Image Special Edition for CD-R
[6-7-7] Centered Systems - Second Copy
[6-7-8] FileWare - FileSync
[6-7-9] Novastor - NovaDISK
[6-7-10] Roxio - Take Two
[6-7-11] NTI - Backup NOW!
[6-7-12] CeQuadrat - BackMeUp LT
[6-7-13] Duncan Amplification - disk2disk
[6-7-14] Pinnacle Systems - InstantBackup (was VOB)
[6-7-15] Microsoft - Backup
[6-7-15] Portlock Software - Storage Manager
[6-7-16] Willow Creek Software - Backup To CD-RW
[6-7-17] TeraByte Unlimited - Image for Windows
[6-8] How do I get customer support for bundled recording software?

[7] Media
[7-1] What kinds of media are there?
[7-2] Does the media matter?
[7-3] Who manufactures CD-R media?
[7-4] Which kind of media should I use?
[7-4-1] What's the best brand of media?
[7-5] How long do CD-Rs and CD-RWs last?
[7-6] How much data can they hold? 650MB? 680MB?
[7-7] Is it okay to write on or stick a label on a disc?
[7-7-1] Can I write on them? What kind of pen should I use?
[7-7-2] Are labels okay?
[7-8] How do CD-Rs behave when microwaved?
[7-9] What can I do with CD-R discs that failed during writing?
[7-10] Where can I find jewel cases and CD sleeves?
[7-11] What's "unbranded" CD-R media?
[7-12] How do I repair a scratched CD?
[7-13] What's this about a Canadian CD-R tax?
[7-14] Can I get 80mm (3-inch "cd single") CD-Rs?
[7-15] Where can I find CD-ROM business cards and "shaped" CDs?
[7-16] Can you tell pressed CDs and silver CD-Rs apart?
[7-17] What's the difference between "data" and "music" blanks?
[7-18] How do I convert data CD-Rs into "consumer audio" blanks?
[7-19] Is translucent media bad?
[7-20] How do I destroy CD-R media beyond all hope of recovery?
[7-21] Can I recycle old CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs?
[7-22] Is there really a fungus that eats CDs?
[7-23] How do I clean CD-R and CD-RW discs?
[7-24] Are "black" discs different from other discs?
[7-25] My disc just shattered in the CD drive!
[7-26] How do I tell which side on a silver/silver disc is up?
[7-27] How should I handle and store CDs?
[7-28] What causes the rainbow effect when looking at the data side?
[7-29] Can I print directly on a CD-R?

[8] Net Resources and Vendor Lists
[8-1] Information resources
[8-2] Magazines and other publications
[8-3] Net.vendors
[8-3-1] Consumer software, hardware, and media
[8-3-2] Net.vendors (duplication services and hardware)
[8-4] News sources & mailing lists

[9] Contributors

The last-modified date of each section is shown below the Subject line. The date format used is YYYY/MM/DD. The date stamps were added on 1998/04/06, so you won't find any older than that.

This version of the FAQ is generated automatically by faq2html, an application developed specifically for converting the plain ASCII version of the CD-Recordable FAQ to HTML.


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