CD-RW in OS X

nmm88

nmm88

Registered
Hi, Im wondering what kind of options there are for bruning CD-RW's in Panther. I have a blank CD-RW and loaded it in, i think it just treated it like a regular CD-R however when I burned my documents to it. Is there a way to use it like a small version of a hard drive by dragging and dropping? Any other info would be helpful, thanks! (Im not really interested in buying additional software like Toast if I dont have to, I prefer to use OS X built in capabilities)
 
Well if you want to have more control over burning things, such as on a timed basis, Toast is a good buy, it does so much more than the Finder CD burner.
 
Ya, I know Toast would be great, I just need to know if there is a simple way to burn a CDRW in OS X. Thanks.
 
OS X, unfortunately, will _not_ allow you random access to your CDRW. You can write to it and then rewrite later by erasing it using Disk Utilitiy (in /Applications/Utilities). After you've erased it, you can write to it again.

Clunky, yes. I don't think it's a HUGE problem. If you're using CD-RWs for backups, for example, you simply have to erase them (using Disk Utility) before you do your next backup. But using them as little hard drives, no.

I don't think even Toast will allow you to use it in that way, where you can read and write to it randomly. Toast's advantage is that it's quicker at making copies than Finder and it can do so much more. You can even, as I understand it, author DVDs and SVCDs using Toast 6.

Doug
 
Thanks for the info! Any ideas on if some of the next OS releases will have any better features?
 
CD-R and CD-RW aren't designed for RAM (random access memory) access. Sounds like you want something more like DVD-RAM. These can be used in a non-linear method, like a virtual hard drive.

Toast may support the removal/replacement of specific files and/or folders on CD/DVD -RW discs. I don't have any rewritables at the moment, so i can't check for you.
 
I use Toast to do multi session burns. I backup important folders each week to the same CD-R
(not a CD-RW) until it's full.

It's not exactly drag and drop, but as close as you'll get when burning. Just drag to the Toast window, choose your settings, and click Burn.
 
Pengu,

CD-RW _can_ be accessed (and individual files erased) randomly in Windows. I haven't done it in a couple years, but I simply used the program that came with my burner to prepare the RW and then it became a random access drive.

OS X lacks this ability. Is it a big deal? Probably not, unless you're in love with CD-RWs.

Doug
 
Ok, lets clarify things. The software you were using to burn with, supported RAM, or non-linear writing to CD-RWs. this has nothing to do with Windows. Until XP there was no support in windows for burning. There still isn't support that i know of, for the feature we're talking about. The finder provides the tools to burn a CD, and erase and re-record a CD-RW. pretty much what i would expect for free. As i said, if you specifically want RAM access to optical media, use a technology DESIGNED for that, DVD-RAM, not a technology that someone has sorta hacked the functionality out of.
 
Pengu,you are correct in assuming that I had to install support software to access CD-RWs randomly (I happened to be using 98 at the time). And I believe you're correct about Win XP not natively supporting packet writing with CD-RWs. But I don't see anything unclear about my message.

As I typed before, I DID use CD-RWs as random access read/write volumes in Windows. Native or not, you CAN do it in Windows (with a 3rd party app.). Nmm88, used to Windows, was asking if it was possible in OS X. I said no and I believe I'm correct about that too.

I was responding to your message that said CD-RWs weren't designed for random access. Designed for it or not, it was a very common practice a few years ago to use them just that way in Windows. It worked just fine.

As to how practical or appropriate the practice is, I wasn't offering advice. I don't miss random access CD-RWs when I can pay 8 cents for a CD-R and do multisession burning. Better yet, for lots of files or very large files, I use DVD-Rs or RWs. Nor do I miss anything else about Windows. :cool:

Doug
 
nmm88 said:
What do you mean by multisession burning? Thats something i havent heard of before?
Click to expand...

Crude description: It's possible to write to a CD-R, "leave it open" (so to speak), and write on it again later. Obviously, once something is burned onto a CD-R it can't be erased or changed. But if there's room left over, you can burn again. Burn another session. Hence the term "multisession" burning.

Interestingly, Finder treats each session as a separate volume. So, if you have two sessions on one CD-R, Finder will show a CD icon on the desktop for EACH session.

I read that it is possible to change the settings in Finder so that it will leave the discs open and allow you to burn again. I'd have to look for the setting, but I'm sure someone will post with instructions. It may even be the default behavior (don't think so). I use Toast, though, which supports it.

Doug
 
I know you're saying that the Windows software supported RAM access to CD-RWs, but my point is, don't keep saying "windows can do it, why can't macs" before you've tried/investigated to see if there is a mac program to do it.
 
Roxio's Direct CD will do this. We have it at work and it is one feature I sorely wish was in OS X:
DirectCD is a program that allows you to write files directly to a CD-Recordable (CD-R) or CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) disc in much the same way that you copy files to a floppy diskette or removable drive.
Click to expand...
and is available for
On the following Operating Systems:
Windows 95
Windows NT
Windows 98
Windows 2000
Windows ME
Windows XP
Click to expand...
Roxio used to have some stuff on their website as to why packet writing is not compatible with OSX but they seem to have pulled it as I couldn't find it anywhere - I think from memory it had something to do with the HFS format and files being split into data forks and resource forks
 
That's right. DirectCD.

Of course, the last time I bought a CD-RW, it was rated for a 4x rewrite speed. That was quite a while ago. So, I can see your point, Pengu.

Doug
 
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