Technical Assistance, Please!

[Corlyss_D]

Okay, I've ripped and burned a couple of cds, and I managed to screw one up so badly I want to erase it. I can't figure out how to do it with Windows Media Player or thru the disc operations in windows proper. The erase button is never active in WMP and the Windows disc operations tell me it's a read only file and I can't erase it.

So how do I get rid of the unwanted files and have a clean disc I can record another album on?

[BWV 1080]

You don't - CD's are not erasable. Just start over with a new CD

[Ralph]

Corlyss,

If you're using CD-RW discs you can certainly record over the initial material.

[jserraglio]

Sounds like you may be using a CD-RW which can be erased, unlike a CD-R which cannot.

If so, open My Computer.
Next, open the CD drive window by double clicking its icon.
Then look at the left pane of this open window. Under CD Writing Tasks, you should see an Erase this CD-RW command. Click it to erase your disk.

I think you got a read-only error b/c you tried to delete rather than to erase the files. Been there, done that.

You may also like to know that CD-RWs are less stable than CD-R disks, so for stuff you want to keep, BWV 1080 is right: start over with a new disk.

[Corlyss_D]

Thanks guys.

It looks like I'm screwed - it's a CD-R not a CD-RW. Being able to write to it once but not erase it seems incredibly pointless, but I guess that's it. So I'll just have two copies of the thing. Maybe I can use it as a coaster . . .

Next time I'll get the CD-RW discs.

[premont]

Next time I'll get the CD-RW discs.

As a routine this is a bad idea.

CD-RWs are more unstable than CD-Rs.
CD-RWs are more expensive than CD-Rs.
Some CD decks can´t read CD-RWs,

Regards,

[Corlyss_D]

Next time I'll get the CD-RW discs.

As a routine this is a bad idea.

CD-RWs are more unstable than CD-Rs.
CD-RWs are more expensive than CD-Rs.
Some CD decks can´t read CD-RWs,

Regards,

Oh, okay. Well, the -Rs are certainly cheap enough not to fret over one disc.

[Alban Berg]

You haven't said if you're copying a music CD or backing up data to a CD. If the latter, depending on how much free space there is on the CD, you can usually set an option to allow additional files to be written to the CD until it is full.

[Holden Fourth]

Corlyss, if you save your music/data to your hard drive first, then you can avoid most coaster making mistakes. Could I also suggest that you use a different ripping program? There are many out there but the one I like best is Feurio. It can be a simple or a complex program, it's up to the user.

www.feurio.com

There are also others like audiograbber, Exact Audio Copy (a bit complex for new users) etc that are also good. All are freeware.

[Corlyss_D]

You haven't said if you're copying a music CD or backing up data to a CD. If the latter, depending on how much free space there is on the CD, you can usually set an option to allow additional files to be written to the CD until it is full.

It's music. I just learned how to do this rippin' and burnin' stuff, and I didn't realize I couldn't erase a disc just like I do floppies. Now I know.

[jserraglio]

Oh, okay. Well, the -Rs are certainly cheap enough not to fret over one disc.

. . . I didn't realize I couldn't erase a disc just like I do floppies. Now I know.

No need to give up on the eraseable disk. For the temporary uses you described (rip a few music files to a new compilation, then create a new compilation over it) a CD-RW may be the perfect solution. I keep one on hand for that purpose myself. Can't beat the convenience, just like a floppy.

But whenever I want to archive images, data, or audio, or transfer LP vinyl to CD, I use a CD-R. As other have pointed out, they're more trustworthy and cheaper to boot. Moreover, you can record multiple sessions to them till they are full. Make certain to "finalize" the disk (close it so no further sessions can be written to it) if you plan to play it in another machine. Your software should explain how to do this.

As far as software is concerned, I like Nero Express (comes free with lots of CD burners so you may already have it bundled with your computer) but Audiograbber, Feurio, and Easy CD Creator are also nice. Apple's iTunes is a nice free player replacement for Mediaplayer. But if Windows Mediaplayer does the job for you, use it.