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Using optical discs (CDs, DVDs, and BDs)
An optical drive, such as a
Your optical drive can read standard CD and DVD discs. If your optical drive is a
NOTE: Some of the optical drives listed may not be supported by your computer. The listed drives are not necessarily all of the supported optical drives.
Some optical drives can also write to optical discs, as described in the following table.
Optical drive type | Write to CD- | Write to | Write to DVD±R DL | Write label to | Write to BD R/RE |
| RW | DVD±RW/ |
| LightScribe CD or |
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| R |
| DVD ±RW/R |
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No | No | No | No | No | |
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DVD±R SuperMulti DL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
LightScribe Drive*† |
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|
Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
SuperMulti DL Drive* |
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Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
RW SuperMulti DL |
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Drive* |
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†LightScribe discs must be purchased separately. LightScribe creates a grayscale image similar to
CAUTION: To prevent possible audio and video degradation, loss of information, or loss of audio or video playback functionality, do not initiate Sleep or Hibernation while reading a CD, DVD, or BD, or writing to a CD or DVD.
Selecting the right disc (CDs, DVDs, and BDs)
An optical drive supports optical discs (CDs, DVDs, and BDs). CDs, used to store digital data, are also used for commercial audio recordings and are convenient for your personal storage needs. DVDs and BDs are used primarily for movies, software, and data backup purposes. DVDs and BDs are the same form factor as CDs, but have a much higher storage capacity.
NOTE: The optical drive on your computer may not support all the types of optical discs discussed in this section.
CD-R discs
Use
●Distributing large presentations
●Sharing scanned and digital photos, video clips, and written data
●Making your own music CDs
Optical drive 39