You did not say which OS so I am EXCLUDING
how XP works in the following. That is all new
and works different from anything I have used
(or refused to use) in the last four years

You want to do what I was thinking you might be doing...
Packet writting on CD-RW. The worse choice of all
the choices available. It is a disaster waiting to happen.

That was the short version...  More:
I tested that on my computer and have never used it
because of the results of my tests, and various horror
stories (lots) I read on the (now closed) Roxio E-mail
user-to-user support "listserver~" list...

Please be careful, and do not use it as your only 
backup (or archive), at least until you find it works for you...

Please note that CD-Rs might last for 5-100 years,
where CD-RWs might last from 1 month to 5 years.
The physics of the media are very different and CD-RWs
are known to "forget" what was written to them, (or at least
corrupt it easily over time...)
Thay are fine for temporary use with "Mastering" Software,
but that is not what you are saying...

It gets into all sorts of complex technical details,
but a VERY short version is that in certain circumstances,
what "could" be called the FAT (file allocation table) is
held in RAM until the disk is written, the program closed
properly, the disk ejected properly, the computer shut
down or at least not frozen, etc... I am fuzzy on the details
and failure modes.
Bottom line is, if anything goes wrong, EVERYTHING on
the CD is lost...

This is because these are not multisession disks, with
"some" closed sessions, but are kind of "active" constantly...
There is something I don't quite remember about the
difference about Fixed vs. Variable Packet sizes and which
is more stable... When you hear about Packets, you
are usually also talking about formatting, at least in
the CD sense. (Formatting can take 10 seconds or
many hours depending on the "CD" type...)
Longer formatting times (more than likely) being the
"Fixed length" type and more stable...

Bottom line is, please look into this at a good source
and check it out for youself.  I can only "warn" you to
do that. I can't give all the mundane details...

I would hate to see you on a "CD-help-specific list"
someday asking how to get back all your lost data...

Lots of people use it and love it... I wish them well...

                 Rick Glazier
  From: Karen Miller 
  The CDRW is what I want to do and format the CD to use it for that.

  Pacific Digital refers to that as Direct CD.

  Rick Glazier wrote:
  > Also, there are different types of formats for different types of CD media.
  > So a safe and accurate answer to your question would be to ask what
  > type of format do you want to do and on which type of media.
  > (There is no "one answer"...)

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