Before you begin:To follow the directions given in this QuickNote you must use a computer with Windows XP. For other operating systems you will have to refer to the Users manual for directions on CD burning. The directions provided here work best with computers on campus, but may work for computers off campus that are also running Windows XP. It is always best to have several ways to access important information. Consider using your Personal Drive (H: Drive), a USB/flash drive, or emailing smaller documents/files to yourself for access from other computers. The differences between a CD-R and CD-RW A CD-R can only have information written to it one time, and the information cannot be removed or erased. A CD-RW can have information written to it multiple times and the information can be removed or erased. For a more detailed description of a CD-R and CD-RW please refer to the “What is a CD-RW” flyer. Burning files to a CD-R or CD-RWBefore beginning these steps you must have either a CD-R or CD-RW inserted into your CD rewriteable drive.

1. Right-click on the file you would like to burn to CD.
2. Select Send to and choose your CD-Rom drive.
3. If you have previously sent a file with the same name to the CD it will ask you if you want to replace the file. If you do not wish to replace the file select Cancel and rename the file before trying to add it to the CD again.
4. Once you have repeated steps 1-2 with all files you would like to burn to the CD proceed to step 4. Please note: Windows does NOT keep track of the space available on a CD. You must keep track of the space you have used on the CD and how much you have left. To view a file’s size follow these steps: right-click on the file, select Properties, and the file size will be displayed. There are typically between 650 MB and 700 MB available on a CD. 1 MB = 1000 KB and 1 KB = 1000 Bytes.
5. Open My Computer and right-click on your CD drive.
6. Select Write these files to CD. The CD Writing Wizard will now open.
7. Enter a name for your CD in the CD name: text box. Check the box to close the wizard once the files have been written and press Next.
8. Your files have now been burned to the CD.

You cannot save directly to a CD from a program (for example, Word). You must save the file to your hard drive (My Documents or another location) and open that location and select the file.

Erasing a CD-RW:The directions in this section apply only to CD-RWs. You cannot erase a CD-R. If you do not see the options described below you are not using a CD-RW.

1. Open My Computer.
2. Double-click on your CD Rewriteable drive in My Computer to open it.
3. In the CD Writing Tasks pane click Erase this CD-RW. The CD Writing Wizard will now open. Click next and the CD will be erased. Erasing a CD will remove all information contained on it. Make sure there aren’t any files on the disc that you will need before you erase it.