Operating the CD-ROM Drive, CD-Writers, DVD-ROM Drive

*your PC user guide

Operating the CD-ROM Drive:

•Open the disk tray by pressing the eject button.

•Place an audio CD/CD-ROMdisk in the centre of the tray with the printed side of the disk (label) facing upwards.

•Close the disk tray by pressing the eject button. The drive is now ready for operation.

!NOTE: Most CD-ROM disks will ‘auto play’ i.e. start to run as soon as the disk is loaded into the drive. Some CD-ROM Drives will not ‘auto play’, as a safety feature to help prevent accidentally interrupting the normal operation of the system.

CD-Writers

A CD-RWdrive reads and plays CDs like an ordinary CD-ROM. It also writes data to CD-R and CD-RW disks. Data written to a CD-R disk cannot be deleted. But data can be added until the disk is full. CD-RW disks work the same as CD-R disks, but data already on the disk can be deleted, you can delete individual files or even clear the entire disk. Most CD-RW disks allow this to be done hundreds of times. Some PCs come fitted with a CD-Writer drive. Our CD write capable drives come ready to use with all the necessary software to create audio and data CDs.

!Not all CD-R and CD-RW disks are compatible with every CD Drive, as CD Drives are constantly being updated and improved by the manufacturer. Please contact Support for recommendations if you are having difficulty.

!Windows XP has built in support for CD writers and you can save information on CD-R and CD-RW disks in the same way that you can copy files to a Floppy Disk or Hard Drive.

To Copy Files and Folders to a CD:

•Insert a CD-R or CD-RW into the CD-Writer drive.

•Click on the files or folders you want to copy to the CD.

•Click ‘Copy this file’ under ‘File and Folder Tasks’, ‘Copy this folder’, or ‘Copy the selected items’.

In the Copy Items dialog box click the CD-RW drive, and then click ‘Copy’.

In My Computer, double-click the CD-RW drive. Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Verify that the files and folders

that you intend to copy to the CD appear under ‘Files ready to be written to the CD’. Under CD Writing Tasks, click ‘Write these files to CD’, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Alternatively you can click ‘File’ and then ‘Write these files to CD’.

Hints on writing CDs:

•If you choose not to write the files in the temporary folder to a CD, you will see a reminder that the folder still contains files when you start the PC.

•Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold. Standard CDs hold up to 650MB.

•Check you have enough space on your Hard Drive (C:/) to store the temporary files created during the CD writing process. For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700MB of the available free space.

•After you copy files or folders to the CD, view the CD and open the file to confirm that the files were copied.

•Blank CD-R and CD-RW disks vary greatly in quality. Always buy blank disks from brand name manufacturers -and never use unbranded ‘white label’ disks as they can be of poor quality.

	! IMPORTANT NOTICE. CD copier software is designed to assist you in reproducing material in
	which you own the copyright or have obtained permission to copy from the copyright owner.
	Unless you own the copyright or have permission from the copyright owner, you may be
24	violating copyright law and be subject to payment of damages and other remedies. If you are
	uncertain about your rights, contact your legal advisor.

*your PC user guide

DVD-ROM Drive

Some systems may have a ‘Digital Versatile Disk’ DVD-ROMdrive, which at first glance looks like

a CD-ROM drive but has the DVD logo on the front panel to differentiate it from a CD-ROM drive.

A double-sided DVD-ROM disk holds up to 17Gb of information to run comprehensive multimedia, games software, and digital quality movies.

Viewing DVD Movies:

Put your DVD movie in the drive and Windows XP will ask you what program should play the DVD, most systems are provided with PowerDVD already installed and ready to play.

Once PowerDVD starts a small control panel will appear with controls exactly like a standard home DVD player. Controls like ‘PLAY’, ‘STOP’ and ‘FAST FORWARD’.

DVD disk regions:

DVD disks and players have embedded ‘region codes’ so that, for example, DVD disks released for ‘North America’ will not be playable in Europe.

! When buying DVD movies always make sure that they are for use in Europe - Region 2.

DVD-+Writers

A DVD-+Ror DVD-+RWDrive can perform all the functions of the CD Drives listed above. It can read and play CDs like an ordinary CD-ROM. It can also write data to DVD-R and CD-RW disks. It can also read DVDs and can also write data to DVD-R and DVD-RW disks. As before data written to a CD-R disk cannot be deleted. But data can be added to the disk until the disk is full. DVD-RW disks work the same as DVD-R disks, but data already on the disk can be deleted, you can delete individual files or even clear the entire disk. Most DVD-RW disks allow this to be done hundreds of times. Some PCs come fitted with a DVD-+ Writer drive. Our DVD Write capable drives come ready to use with all the necessary software to create audio, data and DVD disks.

Hints writing DVDs:

• Avoid interruptions. Make sure there are no programs running that could periodically interrupt your computer’s operations. Switch off programs such as screen savers, e-mail, virus updates and fax software. Also, log off the network to prevent anyone accessing your hard drive during burning.

•Keep files in the same place: If the files you want to burn are scattered all over your hard drive, the burning software may have trouble finding them quickly enough to send them smoothly to the burner. Keep all your files in the same folder or even better; reserve a partition on your hard drive for storing disc images. Do not copy across a network.

•Create a real disc image: most burning software gives you the choice of creating a real disc

image of the files to be burned or burning them "on-the-fly". A real disc image is a single file that contains all the files you want to burn. It’s time consuming and takes up hard disc drive space, but it’s a safer bet when burning lots of smaller files to a recordable disc.

•Defrag often: When you save a file to your hard drive, the data is written to blank parts of the disc. As a result, the file’s data is fragmented. When you access a file, the software has to find all the fragments, which can slow things down. Defragmentation, or "defragging" consolidates files into a single, contiguous space for fast access.