How to Make Your Own Cds

• Introduction
• Use of Easy CD Creator
• Use of CD-RWs (Re-Writable CDs)

  Introduction 

There are two types of CDs: Data and Audio. Data CDs used to store files and folders, they cannot be played in your  stereo system. Audio compact discs used to record music from tracks and audio files such as WAV or MP3 files. These CDs can be played on your stereo system.

There are two types of blank CDs: CD-Recordable (CD-R) and CD-Rewritable (CD-RW). It's important that you understand the difference.

Use of Easy CD Creator 

To make a data CD:

1. Start Easy CD creator.
2. Open new data CD project. From the File menu, point to New CD Project, then select Data CD.
3. Insert a blank CD into your CD-Recorder (the destination drive).
4. In the Select Source Files drop-down list box, select the folder where your files are located; a list of all files in the folder appears in the Source window.
5. Select the file (hold down the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple files) in the Source window, and then click Add . The file is added to the data CD project.
   Note: Up to 650 MB (74-minute CD) or 700 MB (80-minute CD) of files and folders can be added to a data CD project.
6. Click Record . The Record CD Setup dialog box appears.
7. Click Start Recording.

A session is a recorded area on a CD containing one or more music or data tracks. A CD can have either a single session (as is the case with most music CDs) or multiple sessions, which are called multisession CDs.

To make a multisession CD:

1. To record the first session, follow the instructions above. Before you start recording, do the following:
   • In the Record CD Setup dialog box under Options, select Finalize Session. Don't Finalize CD as the record method.
   • If the first session is part of a data CD, we recommend that you record the CD in the Mode 2: CD-ROM XA format. (From the File menu, select CD Project Properties).
2. When you are ready to add another session to the CD, insert the CD into your CD-Recorder and follow the instructions again in Making a Data CD.
3. When prompted to add another session to the CD, select Yes.
4. Continue with the instructions in Making a Data CD.

Use of CD-RWs (Re-Writable CDs) 

Before you can copy files to a CD-RW disc, you must format it. You can also format the CD to erase its data. Using Quick Format for this purpose only deletes the internal directory where the files are listed. You can no longer see the files, but the files are still there. To format or erase a CD-RW disc:

1. From the Select CD drop-down list box on the DirectCD window, select the CD-Recorder you want.
2. Click Format CD. The Format dialog box appears.
3. In the Label text box, type a name to identify your CD.
   The CD label can be up to 11 characters. You cannot use the following characters in a label: \ / : ; * ? " < > | + = . , [ ].
4. If you want to enable data compression on the CD, select the Enable Compression option.
5. Select the Format Type you want to use.
   • If you are formatting a blank CD-RW disc, you may have two options:
   • Fast Format - Fast format is a special type of formatting supported only on some CD-RW drives. The option is available only if your drive supports it. Fast format allows you to start using the CD in 3 to 7 minutes, while the remaining formatting is done in the background. Background formatting takes up to 90 minutes to complete, depending on the speed of the CD-Recorder and what other work the computer is doing at the time. You can safely interrupt fast formatting by ejecting the CD. The CD is still readable in other devices that can read CD-RW discs, but you cannot write data to it until formatting is complete. When you reinsert the CD into a drive that supports fast format, the formatting continues from where it left off.
   • Full Format - Full format takes about 60 minutes for a 2x drive and about 15 minutes for an 8x drive. It verifies the integrity of the CD surface, prepares the CD for data, and writes the UDF file system to the CD.
   • If you are formatting a CD-RW disc that has been fully formatted before, you have two options:
   • Quick Format - Quick format takes only a few minutes. It writes the DirectCD file system to the CD, but does not verify the physical condition of the CD. Any files that were on the CD will not be accessible, but they are still on the CD.
   • Full Format - Same as described for the Full Format option above. Any data that was on the CD will be completely erased.
6. Click Start Format. CD formatting begins and a progress dialog box appears.
   You can do other tasks on your computer while the CD is being formatted. The CD Ready dialog box appears when formatting is complete.
7. Click OK. The CD is ready for you to write information to it.