Perhaps you've discovered the joys of downloading MP3 files to your computer, but are looking for a way to carry your great music collection with you. Or maybe your digital photos are beginning to take up too much space on your hard drive. Or say you're just looking for an alternative to the numerous floppy disks it takes to make a complete backup of your computer.
Whatever your reason, you may be considering adding a CD burner to your computer system. Called "burners" because they use a laser to burn data onto a compact disc, CD-Recordable and CD-Rewritable drives (CD-R and CD-RW) are a great way to save large collections of files to a durable, portable type of media. We’ll provide a brief CD primer and give you step-by-step instructions for carrying out some of the most common tasks with your CD burner.
Storage basics
The primary difference between a CD-R and a CD-RW is that a CD-R can be written in multiple sessions, but once it’s full, it can’t be erased and rewritten. A CD-RW disc can be erased and written over again and again. However, some older CD-ROM drives and most audio CD players will not play CD-RW discs, so think about how you intend to use your drive before you buy. Learn more about this in our CD Writer primer.
MP3 collection
In order to write MP3 music files to a CD, they must first be converted to WAV format. You can use almost any MP3 player or CD-writing software to decode your MP3 files into WAV files. Software such as Musicmatch Jukebox, however, will convert the files automatically. Musicmatch is included with most HP Pavilion PCs, and a limited downloadable version is also available for free on the Musicmatch web site.
Check out these simple steps for creating CDs with Musicmatch.
- Close all of the programs running on your PC, including anti-virus software, then start Musicmatch Jukebox.
- From the File menu, select Create CD. This opens the Burner Plus window.
- Place a CD in the CD-R or CD-RW drive.
- Drag and drop the MP3 files you want to burn into the Burner Plus window. You can also browse for the files by clicking the Add button.
- The status bar at the bottom of the window shows you how much space you will have on your CD. Continue to add MP3 files until you are satisfied with your collection.
- Click the Burn Button to create your music CD.
Back up your hard drive
There are different software programs that are designed for backing up information. One such product is Simple Backup, which is a Windows-based program that helps you use your HP CD Writer to create backups of your computer's files and then restore those files to almost any computer equipped with a CD reader.
This type of software can provide one or all of the following features:
- Full system backup
- Custom backup
- Complete system restore
- Custom restore
Note: Simple Backup is included with many of HP's CD and DVD Writer products. Learn more about HP’s many storage solutions.
Digital photo archive
Making and viewing photos from photo CDs is a snap. Almost all film developers can save your regular photos to a CD. Also, many Internet vendors, such as PhotoWorks.com, will convert your roll of film into a digital format to be viewed on the Web or saved on a CD. Pictures stored on a CD can be displayed on most computers. To access your photos, simply insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive of your computer and click on the CD drive.
Creating a photo CD is even easier with a digital camera. Save the images to your computer hard drive and then use CD-writing software, such as Roxio's Easy CD & DVD Creator, to write them to a CD. A photo CD can be shared with others or used as a digital photo album. Prints can also be made from your photo CD by any film developer.
DVD revolution
Another popular type of media storage is the Digital Video Disc (DVD). It holds 4.7GB of data (about seven times the capacity of a CD). You can store music, movies, photos, and more…and keep them safe for generations to come. To learn more, read Preserving photos on DVD.
|
Printable version
