You should also know that CD-RW's and DVD-RW's are less reliable for this purpose, and should not be used this way except when a backup must be made and a CD-R or DVD-R disc is not available. If you do this, you will not be able to erase the disc and burn new files to it later. It is important to note though that the CD may not be compatible with other CD drives, so you will only be able to reliably read the files from your own computer.īy finalizing a CD-RW or DVD-RW disc, you can use it as an archive CD/DVD for backing up your data. With a capacity of 700MB, if you burn a single file or folder, you may use only a tiny fraction of the available space. This is a helpful feature if you want to fill a CD.

In this way, a CD-R disc can perform similarly to a CD-RW. This enables you to burn some files today and return and burn more files on another date. The line between R and RW discs becomes blurred because some CD/DVD burning software allows you to flexibly use each type.įor example, if you use Roxio Easy CD Creator on a PC or Toast on a Mac, one option you will be given is to finalize a session on a CD-R, but not finalize the CD. Options available with CD burning software Uncompressed image files may average about 1MB each, so you could save about 700 pictures on one CD.ĭVDs have a capacity of 4.7 GB, which is almost 7 times as much as a CD. At this size, you could store over 10,000 files on a CD. To get an idea of how much data this will hold, a typical 5 page Word document is only about 60kb. CD-RW discs can be erased and burned as many as a thousand times, DVD-RW perhaps a hundred. CD-RW and DVD-RW discs are primarily used when you want to burn data or music and at a later time erase the CD or DVD and burn updated or new files to it.For the most reliable data backup discs, use CD-R or DVD-R. CD-R and DVD-R discs are primarily used to backup data or music a single time.While you can use either type of CD or DVD for any backup, each type has special purposes for which it is designed. The Hardware tab should tell you whether the DVD drive can record or not (it may be called a DVD-ROM, which indicates it is only readable, not writable).ĬD's and DVD's come in two types: R and RW.If there's a device there that says 'DVD,' right-click on it and select 'Properties'.Look at the 'Devices with Removable Storage' section of the window.

If it's missing or blank, there is no DVD writing capability.

Look at the 'DVD-Write' section to find the formats you can write.

From the Hardware list on the left, select 'Disc Burning'.

From the Apple menu select 'About this Mac'.

How can you tell whether your computer can burn DVDs? That depends on whether you have a Mac or a PC. Older computers can burn CDs, while most newer computers have the option of burning DVDs as well. CDs and DVDs offer a way to backup data from your computer.

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