Thomas wrote:
>The question we face is whether a user
>first must format the CD's>>


No. Just burn direct to the CD. Your burning software will take care of the 
rest. I use Nero Express---it's quick and easy, with enough basic 
functionality for most purposes. Roxio is also popular.

XP has CD burning built-in which is very easy and effective for simple 
data. Just insert the blank CD, a wizard will open and you can just drag 
your data into the resulting window and click "burn". It will calculate 
whether the disk has sufficient capacity.

If the data is important, you are probably aware that it pays to buy good 
quality disks, as the cheaper no-name ones tend to lack proper protective 
coatings. It's best to burn at least one step less than the maximum speed, 
to reduce errors.

After burning, do some random checks on the CD data to make sure you have 
been successful.

Don Penlington


 From the Beach at Surfers Paradise in sunny Queensland.
Computer tutorials, local scenery,  and other things at my website:
http://users.tpg.com.au/deepend/index1.html

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