I have a REALLY important question I need help with. I am getting a new
computer with a CD-RW drive and I am wondering a few things:
1)Can you record audio CDs on a CD-RW disc and will they play in any
standard CD player?
2)Can you record audio CDs on a CD-R disc from a CD-RW drive and will they
play in any standard CD player?
3)Can you download MP3's and burn them onto CDs with a CD-RW drive?
4)Can you backup data, like save files, onto CD-RW discs?

Ok Sarah, here we go

1) It is no recommended to use CD-RW disks for audio. CD-RWs cannot be read
by your average stereo's CD Player.

2)Yes, CD-Rs are the standard for audio recording. CD-RW drives will accept
both CD-R and CD-RW disks.

3)Yes, but you will need special software that will convert the MP3 file
into wave or CDA format, the latter being of higher quality.  The best
programs for this purpose are MusicMatch Jukebox and Nero Burning Rom 5.0.
MusicMatch is also a good MP3 player and it will also copy a pre-recorded
store-bought CD onto your hard drive and convert the tracks into MP3 format.
It is a free product ( www.musicmatch.com). Nero is a great all around
burning program. It will burn both audio and data CDs, and it will allow you
to copy from CD to CD. It is not free however. The advantage of Nero over
MusicMatch is that if you want to use the 80min./700Mb blank CD it is not a
problem, but with MusicMatch it is. MusicMatch Jukebox will not let you burn
a playlist that is longer than 74minutes. You can still use the 80 min. CD
with MusicMatch, but you won't benefit from the extra space. You can check
Nero at www.ahead.com .

4) Yes, that is what CD-RW disks are geared for. If  your CD-RW drive comes
with a program called DirectCD by Adaptec, install it. This program will
format your CD-RW disks so that you can use them as you would you hard drive
or Floppy drive through your Windows Explorer. All the functions that are
available for the hard drive and Floppy disks in Windows Explorer are also
available for the CD-RW, but the disk has to be formatted using DirectCD.

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