I want to find a resource that will show me how to record text i.e.
several articles on a CD/DVD and make a label for it. All the
resources talk about recording music and that's not what I want to do.
I want to put a story on a dvd and create my own jewel case and label
for it. Sort of how we were once able to record something on a floppy
disk. Now I want to do it on a CD with a unique design and label.  I
would like to know what software to use and how to do it. I already
have a burner on my computer but no idea how to use it. I don't
particularly want a book, I'd like an online course or
tutorial. Thank you.

---

Request for Question Clarification by cyclometh-ga on 04 Apr 2004 21:16 PDT

Hi meira-ga!

I wanted to clarify a couple of things before attempting an answer-

1. Do you want to record CDs or DVDs? They are different formats and
DVD recorders aren't commonly available in computers.

2. What operating system do you use, and what type of computer
(processor and speed) do you have?

Thanks!

Regards,

cyclometh-ga

---

Clarification of Question by meira-ga on 04 Apr 2004 23:50 PDT

Thank you. I'm such a newbie...maybe I just don't know the difference.
 I have a compact disc rewritable burner thingy on my computer....it
says Burn Proof 12x10x32x whatever that means. Does that mean I want
to make a CD? What's the difference?  I just want something that
another person can put into their computer and pull up the text that I
wrote. I also want them not to be able to change it.  Just read only.
What would that be? A CD?  I use Windows XP.  Err....I think my CPU
speed is standard. It's not slow...but I am willing to add whatever
functionality I need.  Thank you. Did my answers help>

Hi meira-ga!

No worries about being a "newbie". I'll describe the basics of
creating your own CDs on your computer to you, including the basics of
CDs and Rewritable CDs in general, and I'll then point you to some
software you can purchase for writing your own CDs and creating
labels.

First, let's go over the basics of recordable CDs. They are usually
referred to as CD-Rs, which means "Compact Disc- Recordable", or
CD-RWs, which means "Compact Disc- Rewritable". DVDs, or Digital
Versatile Discs, are a different format entirely, used for video data.
Some PCs have DVD recorders, but it doesn't sound like yours is a DVD
recorder from your description.

There are two kinds of recordable CDs- CD-Rs and CD-RW. You used the
word "rewritable", which means your system probably has the ability to
use CD-RWs as well as CD-Rs. CD-RWs can be erased and re-recorded, and
can hold as much information as a regular CD-R. However, CD-RWs can
only be read in drives that support them, so they're not commonly used
for anything you want to share with other people.

You can purchase blank CDs singly or in packs. I personally purchase
them in spindles of 50 or 100, but most people don't use that many.
You can get them in most office supply or electronics stores, with or
without jewel cases.

As far as recording CDs goes, you have a couple of options. Windows XP
has the ability to record CDs built-in. It may or may not support your
CD burner. However, XP does support most CD burners.

Recording CDs with Windows XP is about as simple as copying files. You
put a blank CD in the drive, and copy/paste files to the CD drive. To
get step by step instructions on recording CDs using Windows XP's
built-in support, click Start, then click "Help and Support". In the
search box, type "Burn CD" and you'll get several entries that
describe how to use XP's support for creating CDs.

However, this is not a complete answer to your question, because you
need to create CD labels, not just CDs, and Windows XP doesn't support
creating CD labels as part of the operating system. Also, Windows XP's
CD burning support is not perfect, and is not always as full-featured
as some would like.

Roxio (http://www.roxio.com) has a product called Easy CD & DVD
Creator 6, which is a fully integrated suite of applications,
including applications to create both music and data CDs, as well as a
CD label creator.

You can get more information about Roxio's products on their products
page: http://www.roxio.com/en/products/index.jhtml

Another software product you may wish to look at is Nero
(http://www.nero.com). Their Nero 6 Ultra Edition is similar in
feature set to Roxio's product described above, and includes a CD
label creator called Nero Cover Designer.

I have used the previous version (version 5) of Roxio's product
myself, and it works quite well. I have heard good things about Nero's
product, although I have no personal experience with it.

Both of these products can create either music or data CDs, and even
DVDs, if you have the right equipment. The documentation for each
product will describe the process of creating data CDs, which is what
you are referring to in your question- placing files on a disc.

To create CD labels, you need the label creation software, which lets
you create the layout on the screen, and an inkjet printer (you may
also be able to use a laser printer). You can purchase "stick-on" CD
labels that you can use in your printer. I recommend doing this after
you get your CD burning software and label creator; the documentation
will tell you what type you need. You can get most types at a store
like Staples or Office Depot, or other office/computer supply store.

These are basically just 8.5x11 sheets with CD labels on them that you
run through the printer, peel off and stick on the CD case. You can
also get similar materials for printing jewel case liners- these are
usually "punch-out" perforated sheets that you print, then simply put
into the jewel case.

I hope this answers your question. If you need any clarification or
more information regarding creating CDs or CD labels, please do not
hesitate to ask.

Best regards, and thanks for using Google Answers!

Cyclometh-ga

Search strategy:

CD burning software

---

Request for Answer Clarification by meira-ga on 05 Apr 2004 06:11 PDT

Thank you...you are so helpful.  I never knew Google Answers could be
this good. I just want to make sure I understand.  This is so new to
me.

So I?m creating what?s referred to as a ?data? CD?

I write my text and do ?save as? to CD drive the way I would have done
?save as? to Drive A with the floppy. As with the floppy, if I give
the disk to someone they can pull up that text by inserting their CD
into their C Drive. How do I make this ?Read Only??

You mentioned Roxio?besides the label making, what does it do that I
don?t do just saving the text to the C Drive?

I have Adaptec EZ CD Creator 4 on my computer (didn?t notice this
before). Is that like Roxio? Does it do something that just saving to
the C: Drive doesn?t do?

What is CD burning software? The Roxio? The Adaptec? Why do I need
that if I have that Burn thing on my computer?is that something else?

---

Clarification of Answer by cyclometh-ga on 05 Apr 2004 06:48 PDT

Hi meira-ga!

(I posted this as a comment by accident instead of as an answer
clarification. Please accept my apologies for the double post of this
information)

Yes, you'd be creating a "data" CD. A data CD is one that contains
files and folders, just like a hard drive or floppy disk. The
difference is that once created, a CD can never be changed- it is
read-only.

Since you have Easy CD Creator 4, I would recommend not bothering with
Windows XP's built-in support for creating CDs. If you do wish to try
using Windows XP's CD support, you cannot use "Save As" to save a file
directly to the CD. What you should do instead is save the files you
want to put on the CD to your hard disk somewhere, then copy and paste
them into the CD drive, which will tell Windows that you want to
create a CD with those files on it. I would recommend using Easy CD
Creator, however- it's easier to understand and comes with much better
documentation.

CD-R blank discs can only be recorded to once; once you have made it,
it cannot be changed. This is actually not entirely true, because it
is possible to create a CD and then add content to it later. However,
once a file is on a CD it cannot be modified by anyone, although it
could be copied to another drive and modified there. However, the
original will never be changed.

Roxio is the maker of a software package used to create CDs by putting
files or music on them. Their software includes a label-creating
package, which you can use to create labels for CDs.

If you have Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4, you have a previous version of
Roxio's software than their current version, which is currently at
version 6. Around the time they released version 5 of their software,
Adaptec changed the name of the company to Roxio. So for all intents
and purposes, Roxio and Adaptec are the same when it comes to Easy CD
Creator; they're just two names for the same company.

You most likely have Easy CD Creator 4 basic edition, which is a great
package for creating CDs, both music and data. It's often distributed
with new PCs or new CD burners. Since it's already installed, you
don't have to purchase anything to make CDs on your system (except
possibly some blank CDs for recording onto). It may not help you with
creating labels for your CDs, however.

I should explain something about creating CDs. CDs are not like floppy
or hard drives. Floppy and hard disks use magnetic surfaces that can
be easily modified.  CDs are an optical storage disk, meaning the data
is encoded onto a very smooth metallic surface as tiny imperfections
far too small for the human eye to see. When "played" in a CD player
or PC, a laser shines on the metallic surface and reflects into a
lens. The imperfections are picked up as changes in the laser beam,
like a needle on a record player picks up the sound from an LP.

The term "burning" means to use a CD recorder like the one in your
computer to "burn" these imperfections onto a blank disc, so that they
can be read just like any other CD in other machines or CD players.
But once they're burned, the data is there permanently- you can't
"unburn" a CD. Also, when creating a CD, the data needs to all be
burned to the disc at one time, in a single session. That's why you
don't save single files to a CD. The software you use will take all
the files you want to add, and send them to the CD in a single
continuous operation.

The reason you need special software for this, such as Easy CD Creator
or Nero, is that unlike a floppy drive, the computer does not have the
ability to save data to a CD without some software to tell it how.
Also, the process of creating a CD is a somewhat delicate one. If an
error occurs during the burning process, the disk is usually rendered
worthless- they're only useful as drink coasters at that point (I have
quite a few myself). Luckily, they're cheap, so a few bad burn
sessions is usually not a problem. With a floppy disk if the system
detects an error while writing to the disk, it simply rewrites the bad
data and moves on. It's not possible to do that with CDs, because they
can't be rewritten.

In your case, I would recommend starting up Easy CD Creator 4 and
creating a new data CD. You can select the files you want to be on the
CD, then select "Record", and they will be placed onto the CD for you
by the software. After that, the disk will be read-only. A standard
CD-R can hold about 640 MB of data, I believe. There are some that
allow you to record a bit more than this, but no more than 800 MB or
so. However, 640 MB is a large amount of data regardless.

Don't worry about making some mistakes as you learn how to make your
own CDs. The process is fairly simple and blank CDs are cheap. And
experience is a great teacher. I'd buy a small pack of CDs without
jewel cases, and buy the jewel cases seperately as you need them. This
will save you money. Just make sure that if you want your CDs to be
read-only that you use CD-Rs, not CD-RWs. CD-RWs can be re-recorded or
modified, while CD-Rs cannot.

If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks
again for using Google Answers!

Regards,

Cyclometh-ga

I was very happy with the response. Very thorough and the person was
very patient. I found out everything I needed to know. Thanks!!

Hi meira-ga!

Yes, you'd be creating a "data" CD. A data CD is one that contains
files and folders, just like a hard drive or floppy disk. The
difference is that once created, a CD can never be changed- it is
read-only.

Since you have Easy CD Creator 4, I would recommend not bothering with
Windows XP's built-in support for creating CDs. If you do wish to try
using Windows XP's CD support, you cannot use "Save As" to save a file
directly to the CD. What you should do instead is save the files you
want to put on the CD to your hard disk somewhere, then copy and paste
them into the CD drive, which will tell Windows that you want to
create a CD with those files on it. I would recommend using Easy CD
Creator, however- it's easier to understand and comes with much better
documentation.

CD-R blank discs can only be recorded to once; once you have made it,
it cannot be changed. This is actually not entirely true, because it
is possible to create a CD and then add content to it later. However,
once a file is on a CD it cannot be modified by anyone, although it
could be copied to another drive and modified there. However, the
original will never be changed.

Roxio is the maker of a software package used to create CDs by putting
files or music on them. Their software includes a label-creating
package, which you can use to create labels for CDs.

If you have Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4, you have a previous version of
Roxio's software than their current version, which is currently at
version 6. Around the time they released version 5 of their software,
Adaptec changed the name of the company to Roxio. So for all intents
and purposes, Roxio and Adaptec are the same when it comes to Easy CD
Creator; they're just two names for the same company.

You most likely have Easy CD Creator 4 basic edition, which is a great
package for creating CDs, both music and data. It's often distributed
with new PCs or new CD burners. Since it's already installed, you
don't have to purchase anything to make CDs on your system (except
possibly some blank CDs for recording onto). It may not help you with
creating labels for your CDs, however.

I should explain something about creating CDs. CDs are not like floppy
or hard drives. Floppy and hard disks use magnetic surfaces that can
be easily modified.  CDs are an optical storage disk, meaning the data
is encoded onto a very smooth metallic surface as tiny imperfections
far too small for the human eye to see. When "played" in a CD player
or PC, a laser shines on the metallic surface and reflects into a
lens. The imperfections are picked up as changes in the laser beam,
like a needle on a record player picks up the sound from an LP.

The term "burning" means to use a CD recorder like the one in your
computer to "burn" these imperfections onto a blank disc, so that they
can be read just like any other CD in other machines or CD players.
But once they're burned, the data is there permanently- you can't
"unburn" a CD. Also, when creating a CD, the data needs to all be
burned to the disc at one time, in a single session. That's why you
don't save single files to a CD. The software you use will take all
the files you want to add, and send them to the CD in a single
continuous operation.

The reason you need special software for this, such as Easy CD Creator
or Nero, is that unlike a floppy drive, the computer does not have the
ability to save data to a CD without some software to tell it how.
Also, the process of creating a CD is a somewhat delicate one. If an
error occurs during the burning process, the disk is usually rendered
worthless- they're only useful as drink coasters at that point (I have
quite a few myself). Luckily, they're cheap, so a few bad burn
sessions is usually not a problem. With a floppy disk if the system
detects an error while writing to the disk, it simply rewrites the bad
data and moves on. It's not possible to do that with CDs, because they
can't be rewritten.

In your case, I would recommend starting up Easy CD Creator 4 and
creating a new data CD. You can select the files you want to be on the
CD, then select "Record", and they will be placed onto the CD for you
by the software. After that, the disk will be read-only. A standard
CD-R can hold about 640 MB of data, I believe. There are some that
allow you to record a bit more than this, but no more than 800 MB or
so. However, 640 MB is a large amount of data regardless.

Don't worry about making some mistakes as you learn how to make your
own CDs. The process is fairly simple and blank CDs are cheap. And
experience is a great teacher. I'd buy a small pack of CDs without
jewel cases, and buy the jewel cases seperately as you need them. This
will save you money. Just make sure that if you want your CDs to be
read-only that you use CD-Rs, not CD-RWs. CD-RWs can be re-recorded or
modified, while CD-Rs cannot.

If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Thanks
again for using Google Answers!

Regards,

Cyclometh-ga