RE: Can't Erase/Format CD-RW (WinXP Pro Sp2)

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You should first use Nero or other burning software to erase the CD-RW, as
Windows will probably recognize an InCD formatted disc to be CD-ROM, thus
removing the feature to erase it. Alternatively, you may use InCD to erase
the CD-RW. By the way, InCD is not poor in formatting, it formats CD-RWs into
MRW format. This enables you to use your CD-RW the way you would use a floppy
disk, that means you can add/modify/delete files as you wish, anytime. The
sacrifice for this capability is the free space available on the CD-RW will
be around 505 MB only. Once the disk is erased, you would have the option to
burn it normally (like the way Windows XP does) or format it into InCD format
(for greater functionality, of course).
"AA Smith" wrote:

> At present, the instructions found at Help in WinXP Pro SP2 read as follows:
>
> To erase files from a CD rewritable disc: 1. Double-click the My Computer
> icon on your desktop.
> 2. In My Computer, right-click the CD recording drive, and then click
> Open. Windows displays a temporary storage area where files are held before
> they are copied to the CD. Files or folders that are located in the
> temporary storage area are listed in the Files Ready to Be Written to the CD
> box.
> 3. In the CD Writing Tasks pane, click Erase this CD-RW. The Welcome
> to the CD Writing Wizard dialog box is displayed. After you click Next, the
> Erasing the CD dialog box is displayed and the progress bar displays the
> progress of the process.
> 4. When the process is finished, you receive a message in the
> notification area and you can use the CD-RW disc.Note: Not all CDs are
> erasable. If the CD that you are using is not erasable, for example, then
> this feature is not available.
>
>
> However, when I carry out steps 1 & 2 above, no CD Writing Tasks pane is
> present in the folder that's displayed. So, for now, I can't erase/format
> the CD-RW.
>
> One thing that has probably contributed to this is the fact that I did have
> Nero's InCD installed on this computer until I found that it does a poor job
> of formatting the CD-RW. When formatted/erased many months before I
> installed InCD, WinXP Pro formatted this particular CD with a 650 mb maximum
> capacity. However, InCD formatted it with a much smaller max. capacity;
> specifically 540 mb. So, I uninstalled InCD & rebooted, but I can't figure
> out how to format/erase this CD with WinXP Pro SP2.
>
> So, I'd very much appreciate your help.
> --
> With kindest regards,
>
> *** Smith
>
>
>
.

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