CD Burning Becomes Routine in Windows XP
Published: August 13, 2001
By Galan Bridgman, Windows XP Expert Zone Community Columnist
Editor's Note: Past articles by members of the online community are archived for your use. The information may become outdated as technology changes. For the most current information, please search the Web site or post a question in the newsgroups.
When I first started authoring CDs, the CD recorder itself cost $35,000 (for the cheap model), and blank CDs were a mere $50 apiece. I never would have guessed that someday they'd both cost a fraction of what they did then. In part, this is what has fueled the explosive growth of the CD burning industry.
But the need for CDs has also fueled the growth. Floppy disks just don't hold enough, and the higher volume alternatives to floppy disks do not combine the capacity, portability, versatility, low cost, and ease of use to be preferred over CDs. Yet despite the tremendous acceptance of CDs as a common storage medium, one always required a third–party application to create CDs, each with its own learning curve. This kept CD burning in the realm of the adventurous computer user.
But now, Windows XP makes this technology a mainstream activity. Built–in support for CD burning makes the task easier than ever before—as easy as copying to a floppy disk. Let's take a look at how this works.
How to Burn CDs
Using Windows XP, you can copy tracks either to a compact disk–recorder (CD–R) or to a compact disk–rewritable (CD–RW).When you first insert a blank CD into your CD recorder drive, Windows XP opens a dialog box asking if you want to open a writable CD folder.
Depending on what your needs are, you can choose to open a folder or not. The Always do the selected action check box remembers your choice if you don't want to be prompted every time.
With the folder open, you can drag and drop files and/or directories into it. Windows XP makes a copy of these files in a special staging area until it is time to burn the CD, and displays a list of the contents waiting to be recorded. At this point, you can still change your mind about any of the contents in the folder. Simply select and delete any files or directories you don't want copied. They are removed from the staging area only, and your original files are not deleted.
If you attempt to place more content on the CD than its capacity allows, you will be notified. Typically, a standard CD holds 650 MB, a high capacity CD holds 850 MB. When you're ready to record, just click Write these files to CD in the task bar to the left. The CD Writing Wizard opens and prompts you for a label for the CD. You can enter up to 16 characters. Click Next and the wizard displays a progress bar indicating the status. If you did not select the Close the wizard after the files have been written check box, then a final dialog box opens, asking if you'd like to make an additional copy of the same files.
When you're actually doing this for the first time, by this point you're saying "Wow!," or "Cool!," or "Groovy!," or whatever vernacular your generation uses. But wait! There's more!
Let's say you forgot a file. Or better yet, let's say you put a mere 200 MB on the CD, and it's really bugging you that there's 500 MB going unused. Penny–pinchers never fear, it's not too late to add more!
Simply drag and drop more files into the folder and they will be added to the waiting list for the next recording session. Windows XP fully supports creating multi–session CDs. Just be aware of the fact that adding a file or folder of the same name replaces the prior version.
Rewritable CDs Supported Too
Depending on your recording needs, the slightly more expensive rewritable (CD–RW) format may be appealing to you. I did notice that the recording speed was slightly slower than with CD–discs, but it is nice to simply erase and reuse the media instead of tossing it into the trash when it's no longer relevant. But be careful about using CD–RW media if you don't know the target machine. Generally, CD–RWs play in CD–ROM drives. Some CD drives have difficulty reading CD–RW discs. When you want to erase a CD–RW disc, insert it into your recorder drive and click Erase the CD–RW in the task bar.
If you want to make some adjustments to Windows XP's default settings for recording options, navigate to a folder showing the drive of your CD recorder. Right–click it, click Properties, and then click the Recording tab. There are four options you can change here, including the staging drive it should use, and the default recording speed to use. The default speed is Fastest, which means the fastest speed supported by your drive.
Don't Leave Home Without Your Tunes
We haven't covered audio CDs yet. Windows XP supports the creation of audio CDs through the Media Player. But you can initiate it from Windows XP folders too. If you have a folder open with media files such as .WMA, .MP3, or .WAV, select the files to record and then click Record to audio CD in the task bar. Windows Media Player opens with your selected files in the list of audio files to be recorded. You can continue to add files, either from Windows XP folders or through the Windows Media Player interface. When you're ready to record your audio CD, click the Copy Music button in Media Player. It converts the audio files to the required format for audio recording in a temporary location, and then begins the CD recording process.
The integrated CD burning capabilities in Windows XP do not perform every task the third–party applications do, only the most commonly needed ones. There are still certain tasks such as full CD duplication for bootable CDs and creating CDs from images (such as an .ISO file) that will require a third–party tool. I know I'll be installing my favorite tool, but I'm also finding it delightfully refreshing to use the integrated CD recording for most of my recording tasks.
Galan Bridgman is a developer, architect, and enthusiast for digital media technologies. He co-developed QuickTime for Windows for Apple Computer. At Starlight Networks he developed innovative client and backend technologies using ActiveMovie® and NetShow® Server, the precursors to Windows Media Technology. He is a full-time consultant, and is currently developing a next-generation, fully-automated radio station using Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series technologies. After hours he enjoys showing others how to make the most of Microsoft's latest Windows Media applications. Check Galan's Web site for more information about him.
