This browser does not support basic Web standards, preventing the display of our site's intended design. May we suggest that you upgrade your browser?

Compact Disc Creation

CD Creation FAQs

The CD burner drives in many computer labs may be used to create CDs to archive information and share it with others. The CD burner drives have the ability to write to the CD in increments, which means you can start creating the CD at one time and add more data to it later.

For basic instructions on how to use the CD Burner, see Creating a CD (Easy CD Creator or Roxio). There are several options available to you as you use the CD burner drive. For information on these options, please see CD Creation Setup Options (Easy CD Creator or Roxio).

This document addresses some common questions concerning creating CDs.

return to topWhich labs have computers with CD burners?

To determine which General Access labs have CD burners, please see the Lab Management's Lab Hardware page.

return to topWhat type of  CD burners are in the labs? 

Computers on campus are equipped with CD burners that have a type of burner drive called CD-RW (for Compact Disc-Rewritable). In addition to being able to write to the disc in increments, CD-RW drives allow you to completely erase a recorded CD-RW disc and start over. While files recorded to a CD-R disc are permanent, CD-RW discs can be erased and reused.  However, be aware that the entire CD-RW disc must be erased, and not just certain files.

return to topWhat type of disc can I use in the labs?

Either CD-R or CD-RW discs. All burner-capable computers on campus have CD-RW drives, which can burn both CD-R and CD-RW discs. However, CD-RW discs are considerably more expensive than CD-R discs.

return to topWhat is the difference between CD-R & CD-RW ?

CD-R stands for Compact Disc-Recordable and can be recorded only once.  You may continue to add files until the CD is full as long as the disc is not closed (write-protected).  You cannot delete, rename, rearrange, or alter the files or file structure on the CD after recording.

CD-RW stands for Compact Disc-Rewritable. It allows you to record the disc and then erase the entire disc and start over. You cannot select certain files to delete; you must erase the entire disc.  Unless you erase the disc, you cannot delete, rename, rearrange, or alter the files or file structure on the CD after recording.

return to topCan I burn music files (MP3s) onto a disc?

Copyright law prohibits you from copying any copyrighted material without permission from the owner.  The copying of copyrighted material onto CDs for personal use is illegal and is not appropriate to use in the computer labs.  If you do not have permission from the owner to copy the material, do not burn music material onto a CD.

WARNING: The use of campus computer lab CD burners to make copies of copyrighted music is illegal. Persons engaged in such activity could be prosecuted if caught. For more information, see the UW-Eau Claire Copyright Office's website.

return to topHow much information will fit on a blank disc?

Most discs will let you burn at least 650 MB of data. Some high-capacity discs will hold even more. By contrast, students' H: drives are limited to 100 MB. This makes burning a CD an ideal medium for backing up an entire H: drive, or any other important files or documents. If you have a CD-R or CD-RW disc with some information already on it, you may continue to burn more files until it is full, unless the disc is closed (write-protected).

return to topCan I rename a file I have already recorded onto a CD?

Unfortunately not. Once you record information to a CD you cannot delete, rename, rearrange, or alter the files or file structure on the CD. The CD is a permanent copy of the files you have recorded. However, you could burn a renamed copy of the file to the CD. If you are using a CD-RW disc, you may erase the disc and start over. Files recorded onto CD-Rs are permanent and cannot be erased.

return to topCan I create a disc that is readable on both Windows & Macintosh?

Yes, please see the document Creating a CD Compatible with Windows and Macintosh (Easy CD Creator or Roxio) for instructions.

return to topCan I add more data to a CD after I burn it?

Yes, as long as you did not change the default CD creation write method (Easy CD Creator or Roxio) when you burned the disc. If you did not change the default setting, you can keep adding files or other data until the disc is full (a total of 650 MB for most CDs).

return to topWhat causes a CD burn to fail?

The number of people logged on to a shared drive at any given time impacts the speed of data transmission. When burning a CD, data must record at a constant rate or the burn may fail. For that reason, you will achieve more reliable results if the file you are recording is located on your C: drive. We recommend that before you begin recording a CD, you copy the file you want to record from its current location (e.g., H: drive) to your C: drive. For more information on copying files, see File Management within Office XP Programs.

return to topHow can I erase my disc?

You can only erase CD-RW discs. You cannot select individual files and/or folders to delete; you must erase the entire CD-RW disc. The information burned onto CD-R discs is permanent and cannot be erased or altered in any way.

To erase a CD-RW disc:

  1. Open Easy CD Creator (see Creating a CD (Easy CD Creator or Roxio) for information on how to do this) 

  2. Insert the CD-RW to be erased into the burner drive

  3. At the top of the screen, from the Explorer section, select the drive that contains the disc you wish to erase

  4. From the CD Menu, select Erase CD
    Your disc will be erased.

return to topWhat do some of these terms mean?

Here are some definitions of commonly used terms regarding CD burning:

Burn (a CD): Burning a CD is the same as recording a CD.  The word "burn" means "record" when discussing recordable CDs.  CDs are recorded with a high-powered laser that literally burns the information to the underside of a CD.

Track: A track is an individual group of information. This can be a single song on an audio CD or a group of data on a data CD.  Audio CDs are made up of several tracks (each song is a track).  By contrast, most data CDs have only one track, even if the disc contains different types of data.

Session: Think of a session as a "recording session." Just as it implies, a session is a group of information recorded at one time, in the same recording session. A session may contain one track (as is usually the case with Data CDs) or several tracks (as in most Audio CDs).

Open CD: If a CD is open, it means that further information can be added to it.  It is not write protected.

Closed CD: If a CD is closed, it is permanently write-protected.  No further information can be added to the disc.  Closing a CD is analogous to moving the write-protect tab on a floppy disc to the write-protect position.  However, unlike floppies, you can only change the write-protect setting on a burned CD once.  Once the disc is write-protected (closed), this setting is permanent.

Closed session: A closed session is permanently write-protected. No further information may be added to that particular session. However, the remaining space on the CD is still open and may be recorded.

return to topWhere can I find more information?

Take a look at Andy McFadden's CD-Recordable FAQ, a website with in-depth information on CD-Rs and CD-RWs.

Excellence. Our Measure. Our Motto. Our Goal.