CD burning in Vista

Burning files to an optical disc is one of the good reasons to move to Windows Vista from Windows XP. The operating system includes a couple of new features, including the ability to write to DVD discs without installing extra software, and it can now use optical discs a little like a USB key, although it cannot reclaim the space on CD-R and DVD-R discs. This video will demonstrate the two different ways of burning files to an optical disc in Windows Vista.

There are two folders on the Vista Desktop that I want to copy. The autoplay menu will appear automatically when a blank CD-R is inserted into the drive. Windows offers two options: burning a music CD with Windows Media Player or copying files. This video wants the latter so left-click on it once and Windows will ask what name you want to give the disc. There are some formatting options. This is important because it's the choice between the two different kinds of disc created by vista.

The first, Live File system, uses the CD like a USB key and the second, Mastered, is a more traditional way of burning files. Leave the top option selected and click on next and Windows will format the disc.

When it has finished an Explorer window will open. Select and then drag and drop the files into this window. Copying may seem as if it takes a little longer than normal, and this is because they are being written to the disc now rather than being held in a temporary location. When it has finished you can see that the title above says 'Files currently on the Disc'. They're not fixed there and can be deleted. Right-click on a file and then left-click on Delete in the menu that appears. Click on Yes when Windows asks you to confirm. The space used by the files is not released when files are deleted, so you won't be able to do this indefinitely.

When you are happy with the files on the disc, simply press the eject button on the drive and a message will appear above the Notification Area saying that Windows is preparing the disc. Once this has finished, the disc will be ejected automatically.

Although the Live file system is very convenient, it does have the disadvantage that the discs created in this way may not work with other computers. So if the disc might be used on a different version of Windows, it is best to use the Mastered option instead.

Insert a disc in the drive and select 'Burn files to disc', give it a name and click on the 'Show formatting options' link. This time select Mastered and then click on Next. The Explorer window will appear just as it did before and files can be dragged and dropped onto it. This time you will see that it says 'Files ready to be written to the disc' and the icons are greyed out slightly. This is because they are held in a temporary folder so they are copied almost instantly and so they can be deleted without wasting any space. If you want to start again, click on the 'Delete temporary files' button.

When you're happy with the files click on 'Burn to disc'. There's a chance to give the disc a name and to change the recording speed. If there are problems with people accessing files from your discs, try a lower speed setting. Click on Next and windows will copy the files to the disc and prepare it for use on other computers. When it has finished it will offer to copy the same collection of files onto a disc. Click on Finish to end the wizard and eject the CD.