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Subject:
From:
Rick Glazier <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
PCBUILD - Personal Computer Hardware discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 13 Oct 1999 08:16:44 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
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You are asking for lots of trouble from a number of different places.
You said you were NOT using CD-RW -- (sort of...)
(The problems can become even worse with them on "older" equipment.)
I also assume you are NOT using a packet writing program such as Direct-CD.
Packet written CD-Rs are not readable with-out special software.

When you make a CD-R, if you have closed the session (finalized or fixated)
the disk, there is no hope of changing it.
On the other hand, if the disk is not closed, you will have various "firmware"
problems with the CD-ROM drives that try to read your disks.
The way CD-ROM drives react to multi-session disks can be quite a surprise.
A reader that will read "closed" disks may not read (properly) "open" ones...
I think you will have huge compatibility problems. OR NOT.  It depends on
the age of the equipment your disks are played on.
To answer your question -- Yes - What you want to do is possible.
You import the older session file info, and the burner program changes the "pointers"
in the table of contents on the CD to look at the newer files.
Note that the CD-R itself has nothing erased. The old files become "lost" on the
disk and it keeps getting smaller and smaller. (They CAN be read , in the burner,
if your CD-Burner software can be selected to read all the different sessions.)
Also note there are at least two totally hidden "book-keeping" areas on the
CD-R that once filled (from lots of small changes) will render the CD-R
un-changeable even if there is lots of "normal" space not recorded with data.
All I am really saying is, after you are done, and you can play the CD-Rs
on your machine, you will not have any idea if they will work reliably elsewhere.
If they do, you were lucky. If they do not, you might have to burn 100% new
ones each time.

Lots of info, (spelled it takes hours to read), about CR-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW
can be found at http://www.fadden.com/cdrfaq/
I hate to be too negative. Be forewarned of what you are getting into...
                     Rick Glazier


----- Original Message -----
From: Mick Fitzpatrick <[log in to unmask]>
> I will be distibuting some files via CDR. Occasionly I will update the CD so
> therefore I would like to keep it very 'user friendly'. The updated files
> will have the same names as the files that were previosly 'burned' onto the
> CDR. Therefore I would like to, erase, delete the older files. Is it
> possible to delete them or maybe hide them?? Any help will be appreciated.

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