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Compact Disks: What, Why and How

Article in DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology · July 2002

DOI: 10.14429/dbit.22.4.3574

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DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology , Vol. 22, No. 4 & 5, July & September 2002, pp. 17-27
© 2002, DESIDOC

Compact Disks: What, Why and How

Alka Bansal & Dipti Arora

Abstract
This article introduces the basic concept of compact disks (CDs), their types and
uses. The technology behind CDs and CD burner is discussed in brief. It
describes in detail how to use CD burning software Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4
to burn various types of CDs like data CD, audio CD, and multisession CD. Other
features of the software are also introduced.

1. INTRODUCTION re-record on CD-R disc once they have filled

The compact disks (CDs) were introduced it up.
in 1980’s to hold music in a digital format. CD-RW media can only be used in
Now CDs are everywhere. They have CD-ReWritable drives or newer MultiRead
become the standard medium for distributing CD-ROMs. It can be used when users need
not only large quantities of music, but data, to erase the data and re-write new information
video, computer software, multimedia (for example, updating files). It can be used to
presentations, etc. make a practice CD or to test the contents of
a CD before making a permanent one.
2. RECORDING INFORMATION
Blank recordable CD-R and CD-RW are
ON CDs currently available in two capacities: 74
According to their recording behaviour, minutes (both CD-R and CD-RW) and 80
there are mainly two type of CDs (a) CD minutes (CD-R only at this time).
ROMs and (b) Recordable CDs. In The actual capacity of blank CDs can vary
CD-ROMs, user can’t change data in
slightly; some 74-minute CDs can hold up to
CD-ROMs itself, he can only download it to
two minutes more than their stated capacity.
computer hard disk and make changes but
can’t save back on CD-ROMs. Recordable CDs of all types share certain features:
CDs are also of two types: they all have the same physical dimensions,
are made at least partially from clear
q CD-R (CD-Recordable) or writable
polycarbonate plastic, and have a metallic
q CD-RW (CD-ReWritable) layer to reflect the laser beam that reads the
CD-R media can be read by virtually all data. All CDs are ‘groovy’— they have a
CD-ROM, CD-Recordable, and microscopic spiral groove pattern molded into
CD-ReWritable drives. CD-R is excellent for the polycarbonate plastic. The lines of this
permanent data storage and is used if one spiral are so small and close together that
does not need to erase the data. They are they act like a diffraction grating. The spiral
less expensive per CD than CD-RW. But groove is continuous on writable CDs
unlike tapes, floppy disks and many other because it’s needed to guide the laser during
data-storage mediums, users cannot writing.

DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 22(4 & 5) 17

 The major identifying difference between that make up the track are each 0.5 microns
currently manufactured read-only discs wide, a minimum of 0.83 microns long and
(CD-ROM) and writable CD discs can be 125 nanometers high. (A nanometer is a
seen at first glance: CD-ROMs have a silver billionth of a meter.). If users could lift the
metallic sheen on both sides, whereas data track off a CD and stretch it out into a
writable CDs are typically metallic gold on the straight line, it would be 0.5 microns wide and
top and green or green-golden on the bottom. almost 3.5 miles (5 km) long.
The top of a CD bears a label, logo, or other Users will often read about ‘pits’ on a
printed information. The bottom has no CD-ROM instead of bumps. They appear as
markings except in the area near the center pits on the aluminum side, but on the side the
hub. The laser reads the disc from the laser reads from, they are bumps.
bottom, so the bottom is always unobstructed,
its overall color—whether silvery (CD-ROM) The molded polycarbonate substrate layer
or green/green-golden (writable CD or is on the bottom of a CD (the side from which
CD-Recordable)-provides quick identification. the laser reads the data). The pits must be
read through it. This part of a CD’s design
CD-ROMs: helps make it tolerant of scratches. The lens
A CD-ROM is a simple piece of plastic, of the reading laser focuses the beam directly
about four one-hundredths (4/100) of an inch on the pits, through the 1.2-millimeter
i.e., 1.2 mm thick. Most of a CD-ROMs thickness of the polycarbonate. The beam
‘looks past’ scratches on the bottom of the
consist of an injection-molded piece of clear
polycarbonate plastic. During manufacturing, disc, unless they are really deep. This first
line of defense against scratches is not the
this plastic is impressed with microscopic
bumps arranged as a single, continuous, only one. There is a second in the software
extremely long spiral track of data. Then a that decodes the data stored on the disc.
thin, reflective aluminum layer is sputtered Known as ’error detection and correction,’ this
onto the disc, covering the bumps. Then a technology is able to deal with errors in the
thin acrylic lacquer layer is sprayed over the data because some degree of redundancy
and cross-checking is built into the encoded
aluminum to protect it. The label is then
data in the first place. This technique is
printed onto the acrylic. (Fig 1)
generally more effective for images and
A CD-ROM has a single spiral track of music.
data, circling from the inside of the disc to the
outside. The data track is approximately 0.5 Together, the acrylic layer, the out-of-focus
microns wide, with 1.6 microns separating scratches, and software error correction adds
one track from the next. (A micron is a more life to CDs.
millionth of a meter.) The elongated bumps Writable CDs or Recordable CDs:
Chrome The physical structure of a writable CD
L acqu er Layer Alumin ium Layer differs from that of a CD-ROM. A writable CD
is molded from polycarbonate too, but without
pits. Like a long-playing phonograph record, a
writable CD has a smooth spiral groove
running over most of its surface. This groove,
molded into the top side of the polycarbonate
Bumps substrate, serves to guide the powerful laser
beam that does the writing.
L ase r Be am La nd Just as in a CD-ROM, the bulk of the
Polycarbona te
substance of a writable CD is a clear
Substra te
polycarbonate substrate about one millimeter
Figure 1. Cross section of CD-ROM thick. The layer above this one is something
writable CDs have but CD-ROMs don’t have:
18 DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 2 2(4 & 5)
a layer of light-sensitive green organic dye. CD-ROM, but it takes a fair bit of energy for
Above this dye layer is a thin film of metallic the laser beam to make a ‘mark’ on a writable
gold. The gold layer has the same purpose as CD. That’s why scratches, fingerprints, dirt,
the aluminum-chromium layer in a CD-ROM, etc., are much more dangerous to a writable
namely, to reflect the reading laser beam CD before writing than afterward. The
back into the photodetector (Fig. 2). In its fingerprint, dirt, or smudge can scatter the
original state, the dye isn’t dark enough to beam of the writing laser, perhaps weakening
block light reflection from the gold layer it to the point where the mark it makes is too
above. But when the dye has been ‘zapped’ small or too light to be read. So extra care
by the writing laser (which has about ten must be taken in the handling of writable CDs
times the power of the reading laser), a dark before the data is written.
discoloration is created that blocks reflections All writable CD products are made with a
and forms a permanent, readable mark. The unique factory-applied serial ID number. They
dye molecules absorb enough energy during are used in managing a collection of digital
the writing process to break down physically
information. Located near the center hub of
and chemically, leaving an area that no longer the disc, this number is both human-readable
reflects light. The marks made by the writing (alphanumeric) and machine-readable (bar
laser follow the same encoding scheme as code).
the pits in a CD-ROM, so writable CDs can be
read by CD-ROM drives. Erasable CD-RW Discs:
A writable CD starts out blank. A laser On CD-RW discs users can erase old data
‘writes’ data on it by creating discolored areas and record new data. These discs are based
in a layer of greenish dye. The areas of on phase-change technology. In CD-RW
discolored dye on a writable CD act like the discs, the phase-change element is a
pits in a CD-ROM: they interrupt the beam of chemical compound of silver, antimony,
the reading laser. Writable CD technology tellurium and indium. As with any physical
makes it possible for people to create their material, this compound’s form can be
own CDs, which then can be read by changed by heating it. When the compound is
computers equipped with CD-ROM drives or heated above its melting temperature (around
(providing the data is written as music) on 600 degrees Celsius), it becomes a liquid; at
home audio CD players. its crystallization temperature (around 200
Both reading and writing are done from the degrees Celsius), it turns into a solid.
bottom side of the disc, through the full In a CD-RW disc, the reflecting lands and
thickness of the polycarbonate substrate. This non-reflecting bumps of a conventional CD
provides scratch resistance as it does for the are represented by phase shifts in a special
compound. When the compound is in a
crystalline state, it is translucent, so light can
Green Or ganic shine through to the metal layer above and
Dy e
Me ta llic Gold Layer reflect back to the laser assembly. When the
compound is melted into an amorphous state,
it becomes opaque, making the area
non-reflective.
In the compound, used in CD-RW discs,
the crystalline form is translucent while the
Bumps amorphous fluid form will absorb most light.
On a new, blank CD, all of the material in the
La se r Be am Land writable area is in the crystalline form, so light
Dis c Substrate will shine through this layer to the reflective
metal above and bounce back to the light
Figure 2. Cross section of CD-Recordable sensor. To encode information on the disc,
DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 22(4 & 5) 19
the CD burner uses its write laser, which is t A drive mo tor spins the disc. This drive mo tor
powerful enough to heat the compound to its is pre cisely con trolled to ro tate be tween 200
melting temperature. These ’melted’ spots and 500 rpm depending on which track is
serve the same purpose as the bumps on a be ing read.
conventional CD and the opaque spots on a t A la ser and a lens sys tem fo cus in on and
CD-R: They block the ‘read’ laser so it won’t read the bumps.
reflect off the metal layer. Each non-reflective
t A tracking mechanism moves the la ser
area indicates a 0 in the digital code. Every as sem bly so that the la ser’s beam can fol low
spot that remains crystalline is still reflective, the spi ral track. The track ing sys tem has to
indicating 1 in the digital code. be able to move the la ser at mi c r o n
As with CD-Rs, the read laser does not res o lu tions.
have enough power to change the state of the The fundamental job of the CD player is to
material in the recording layer — it’s a lot focus the laser on the track of bumps. The
weaker than the write laser. The erase laser laser beam passes through the polycarbonate
falls somewhere in between: While it isn’t layer, reflects off the aluminum layer and hits
strong enough to melt the material, it does an opto-electronic device that detects
have the necessary intensity to heat the changes in light. The bumps reflect light
material to the crystallization point. By holding differently than the ‘lands’ (the rest of the
the material at this temperature, the erase aluminum layer), and the opto-electronic
laser restores the compound to its crystalline sensor detects that change in reflectivity. The
state, effectively erasing the encoded 0. This electronics in the drive interpret the changes
clears the disc so new data can be encoded. in reflectivity in order to read the bits that
CD-RW discs do not reflect as much light make up the bytes.
as older CD formats, so they cannot be read The hardest part is keeping the laser
by most older CD players and CD-ROM beam centered on the data track. This
drives. Some newer drives and players, centering is the job of the tracking system.
including all CD-RW writers, can adjust the The tracking system, as it plays the CD, has
read laser to work with different CD formats. to continually move the laser outward. As the
But since CD-RWs will not work on many CD laser moves outward from the center of the
players, these are not a good choice for disc, the bumps move past the laser faster—
music CDs. For the most part, they are used this happens because the linear, or tangential,
as back-up storage devices for computer files. speed of the bumps is equal to the radius
The reflective and non-reflective patterns times the speed at which the disc is revolving
on a CD are incredibly small, and they are (rpm). Therefore, as the laser moves outward,
burned and read very quickly with a speeding the spindle motor must slow the speed of the
laser beam. In this system, the chances of a CD. That way, the bumps travel past the laser
data error are fairly high. CD burners
compensate for various encoding problems. L ase r L ens
The established form for music CDs,
called ISO 9660, was the foundation for later
CD formats.

3. CD EQUIPMENT
Disk
3.1 CD Player Drive
The CD player has the job of finding and
reading the data stored as bumps on the CD.
The drive consists of three fundamental
components (Fig. 3): L ase r P ick- up Assem bly
Figure 3. Internal view of CD drive

20 DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 2 2(4 & 5)

at a constant speed, and the data comes off The write laser moves in exactly the same
the disc at a constant rate. way as the read laser: It moves outward while
Data storage on a normal CD is simple. the disc spins. The bottom plastic layer has
The surface of the CD contains one long grooves pre-pressed into it, to guide the laser
spiral track of data. Along the track there are along the correct path. By calibrating the rate
of spin with the movement of the laser
flat reflective areas and non-reflective bumps.
assembly, the burner keeps the laser running
A flat reflective area represents a binary 1,
while a non-reflective bump represents a along the track at a constant rate of speed. To
binary 0. The CD drive shines a laser at the record the data, the burner simply turns the
surface of the CD and can detect the laser writer on and off in synch with the
reflective areas and the bumps by the amount pattern of 1s and 0s. The laser darkens the
of laser light they reflect. The drive converts material to encode a 0 digit and leaves it
the reflections into 1s and 0s to read digital translucent to encode a 1 digit.
data from the disk. Normal CDs can’t be The machinery in a CD burner looks pretty
modified—they are read-only devices. much the same as the machinery in any CD
player. There is a mechanism that spins the
When users write data to a CD-R, the
writing laser (which is much more powerful disc and another mechanism that slides the
than the reading laser) heats up the dye layer laser assembly.
and changes its transparency. The change in Most CD burners can create CDs at
the dye creates the equivalent of a multiple speeds. At 1X speed, the CD spins at
non-reflective bump. This is a permanent about the same rate as it does when the
change and both CD and CD-R drives can player is reading it. This means it would take
read the modified dye as a bump later on. users about 60 minutes to record 60 minutes
It turns out that the dye is fairly sensitive to of music. At 2X speed, it would take users
light—it has to be in order for a laser to about half an hour to record 60 minutes, and
modify it very quickly. Therefore one should so on. Actually 2X, 4X, 8X, etc., are data
avoid exposing CD-R disks to sunlight. transfer rates. To convert data transfer rates
into kilobytes, the number with X should be
3.2 CD Burner or CD Writer multiplied by 150. For example, if we have 4X
CD Burner is an external writable CD drive drive then data transfer rate will be 600kb/s.
with which user can take music or data files For faster burning speeds, users need more
advanced laser-control systems and a faster
from their computer and make their own CDs.
connection between the computer and the
A CD burner’s job is to burn the digital pattern
burner. users also need a blank disc that is
onto a blank CD. Now writable CD drives (CD
designed to record information at this speed.
burners) are standard equipment in new PCs,
Blank CD-R of 8x speed and CD-RW of 4X
and more and more audio enthusiasts are
adding separate CD burners to their stereo are available in the market.
systems. The main advantage of CD-R discs is that
they work in almost all CD players and
CD burning is very simple. once users
have the right software and know the general CD-ROMS, which are among the most
prevalent media players today. CD-Rs are
procedure. The CD burner has a moving laser
relatively inexpensive also.
assembly, just like an ordinary CD player. But
in addition to the standard ‘read laser,’ it has a These days, most burners are packaged
‘write laser.’ The write laser is more powerful with one or more music programs which
than the read laser, so it interacts with the convert songs to the correct format for
disc differently: It alters the surface instead of burning. It controls the encoding process for
just bouncing light off it. Read lasers are not writing to the CD, but users can also buy
intense enough to darken the dye material, so programs or download them over the Internet.
simply playing a CD-R in a CD drive will not Some CD burning software packages are:
destroy any encoded information.
DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 22(4 & 5) 21
t Nero Burning ROM storage. It can also be played on just about
t Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4 every computer that has a CD-ROM drive
using a program such as the Windows CD
t Platinum Toast 5
Player, etc. It can typically hold up to 74
t Titanium Gear Pro 5.0 minutes of music.
4. ADAPTEC EASY CD CREATOR 4 Mixed-Mode CD
Easy CD Creator 4 (Fig. 4) lets users A Mixed-Mode CD is a single session CD
record as much data or audio as the CD can that contains both computer data and audio
hold. To see a blank CD’s capacity in sectors, tracks, and is typically used for entertainment
megabytes, or minutes, insert the CD into and educational programs. Data is written to
their CD-Recorder and select CD Information the first track on the CD followed by one or
from the CD menu. more audio tracks. Mixed-Mode CDs are used
with CD-ROM or drives only and cannot be
played in home or car stereo CD players.
When we create a Mixed-Mode CD, the
CD Layout contains both a data and an audio
section. First add files and folders to the Data
CD Layout section; then add the tracks, WAV
or MP3 files to the Audio CD Layout section.

Multisession CD
A multisession CD contains both audio
files (tracks, WAV, or MP3) and computer
data. The first session contains the audio
files, so a home or car stereo CD player can
Figure 4. Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4 play them. The second session contains data
intended for CD-ROM drive. Many music CDs
4.1 Types of Burned CDs are created as multisession CD to provide
Using Easy CD Creator 4, we can create music CD tracks and a music video all on the
the following four types of CDs: same CD.

Data CD When users add files or tracks to a Data or

Audio CD Lauserst, the Status Bar shows the
A Data CD is used to store computer data amount of data or audio in the CD Lauserst,
such as the files and folders. Unlike an Audio and how much space remains on the CD. The
CD, it is used for data storage only and ‘Estimated space free’ amount is based on a
cannot be played on home stereo CD player 74-minute CD; however, users can still record
or car CD player. It can typically hold upto 650 80 minutes on an 80-minute CD. For Data
MB of data and can be accessed on any CDs, the space is shown in MB; for Audio
computer that has a CD-ROM or CDs, it is shown in minutes:seconds.
CD-Recorder drive. It is used for backing up
and archiving files such as spreadsheets, tax 4.2 Using CD Creator 4
records, and financial data, multimedia To create any type of CD, users must
presentations, graphics, CAD files, internet select the files, folders, or tracks that they
downloads, etc.
want to record from the Explorer section and
Au dio CD then add them to the CD Lauserst (as
explained below).
An Audio CD is used to record music from
tracks and audio files (WAV, MP3, etc.) that « Explorer Section
can be played on home or car stereo CD The Explorer section in Easy CD Creator
player. An Audio CD can’t be used for data Program is where users select the files,
22 DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 2 2(4 & 5)
folders, and tracks users want to add to the from the Explorer section to the Audio CD
CD Lauserst. In the Explorer section, users Lauserst. Repeat for each track users want to
can see how folders are organised on their record. When the actual recording begins,
computer and all the files and folders in each Easy CD Creator prompts users to insert the
selected folder. If users click a hard disk or appropriate music CD in their drive.
folder in the left box of the Explorer section,
The CD Lauserst acts like a pointer only it
the right box displays its contents. If users
does not store the actual data. When users
click a CD-ROM drive that has a music CD add files or tracks to the CD Lauserst, the CD
inserted, the right box displays the tracks. Lauserst keeps track of where the information
« CD Lauserst is located and uses this information when
The CD Lauserst in Easy CD Creator is recording a CD.
where users assemble and organise the files, « CD Guide
folders, or tracks that they want to record. The The CD Guide is the animated character
CD Lauserst must contain all of the files that assists users in creating their CDs. When
and/or tracks before users can create a CD.
displayed on their screen, the CD Guide
When creating a Data CD, the CD Lauserst is offers instructions or tips for the specific task
called a Data CD Lauserst (Fig. 5). When users are performing . To show or hide the CD
creating an Audio CD, the CD Lauserst is Guide, click the CD Guide button on the
called an Audio CD Lauserst. toolbar.
Users may want to save their CD Lauserst
so that users can use it to record the same 4.3 Creating Data/Audio CDs
CD at a later time. Once saved, users can (a) Open Easy CD Creator from the Start
add or remove items from the CD Lauserst. menu. Click Start, point to Programs, point
This is especially useful if users want to to Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4. Screen in fig
create the same CD at a later time. 4 will appear.
A Data CD Lauserst can consist of files (b) Click the Audio or Data button accordingly
and folders, as well as audio files (such as whether to create audio or data CD
WAV or MP3 files, but not music CD tracks). (c) Data/Audio browser and lauserst screen
To create a CD that includes files and folders, will appear
as well as music CD tracks, use the advanced (d) Users can use any of the following two
features of Easy CD Creator for creating a ways to add the files, folders, and music
Mixed-Mode CD or a CD Extra CD. tracks from the Explorer section to the CD
An Audio CD Lauserst can contain tracks Lauserst:
from multiple music CDs. Insert their music m Se lect the item us ers want to re cord in the
CD into their drive and then add the track Explorer sec tion, and then click the Add
but ton on the toolbar. The item is added to
the CD Lauserst or
m Se lect the item us ers want to re cord in the
CD Browser Ex plorer sec tion, and then drag and drop
it into the CD Lauserst
(c) Once all the files are added in Lauserst that
we want to add in our CD, click Create CD.
CD Lauserst
The CD Creation Setup box appears. ( Fig.
6)
CD Gu ide (d) Click OK to start recording
(e) When CD is created ‘CD Created
Successfully’ appears on the screen.

Figure 5. Data CD Browser and Lauserst

DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 22(4 & 5) 23

 m After adding all the audio files that users
4.4 Creating a CD Extra CD
want to record into the Audio CD
When users create CD Extra CD, the CD Lauserst, click the Data CD Lauserst icon
Lauserst contains both an Audio and a Data in the left pane of the CD Extra Lauserst
section. First add the tracks, WAV or MP3 window. The icon is labeled with the date
files to the Audio CD Lauserst; then add files (year:month:day).
and folders to the Data CD Lauserst. m In the Explorer section, select the data
(a) Open Easy CD Creator from the Start files or folders users want to record, and
menu. Click Start, point to Programs, point then click Add. Repeat until the Data CD
to Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4, point to Lauserst contains all of the files and
Features, and then select Easy CD Creator. folders that users want to record.
(b) Open an CD Extra CD Lauserst. Click the (g) Click Create CD. The CD Creation Setup
small arrow next to the New button on the box appears.
toolbar and select CD Extra from the (h) Click OK to start recording.
drop-down list. A CD Extra CD Lauserst
appears. 4.5 Write Method on CD
(c) Insert a blank CD into the destination drive When we click ‘Create CD’ (Fig. 6), one of
(d) Add the audio files users want to record to the following options can be chosen for
the audio section of the CD Extra Lauserst. creating a CD:
m Select the Audio CD Lauserst icon in the Track-at-Once: Click this option to record a
left pane of the CD Extra Lauserst single track at a time. Tracks recorded in
window. Track-at-Once mode are separated by gaps.
m If users are recording tracks from an If a data track is followed by an audio track,
existing music CD, insert the music CD the gap is 2 or 3 seconds. The gap between
into their CD-ROM drive (the source audio tracks is usually 2 seconds.
drive). If users are recording WAV or MP3
m Leave Session Open: Click this option to
files, continue with the next step. Note:
add more songs to the CD at a later time.
users can record any combination of
By keeping the session open, we can
tracks, WAV, or MP3 files to an Audio CD.
record additional songs to the first
m In the left pane of the Explorer section, session at different times. Once all the
select the CD-ROM drive containing the songs are added, for listening to it on a
music CD; a list of the tracks on the CD home or car stereo CD player, we must
appears to the right. If users are recording close the session. (For Audio CDs only)
WAV or MP3 files, select the folder where
their files are located.
(e) In the right pane of the Explorer section,
select the track, WAV, or MP3 file that users
want to record, and then click Add. Repeat
until the Audio CD Lauserst contains all of
the tracks and files that users want to
record.
Note: If users have tracks on other music
CDs that users want to record, repeat steps
3-5 for each music CD from which users want
to record from. During the actual record
process, Easy CD Creator prompts users to
reinsert the appropriate music CD for the
music track being recorded.
(f) Add the data files users want to record to
the data section of the CD Extra Lauserst. Figure 6. CD creation setup
24 DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 2 2(4 & 5)
 m Close Session and Leave CD Open:
Click this option to close the session so
that audio tracks (if in the first session)
can be played back in home or car CD
players. This option is the default option
and is applicable for most CD recording
purposes. Because the CD remains
open, we can continue to record
additional sessions to the CD until it is full.
m C l o s e C D : Click this option to
write-protect the CD. When this option is
selected, no more data can be recorded
to the CD.
Session-at-Once: Click this option to record Figure 7. CD-RW Eraser
a single session and leave the CD open. For
example, we can use Session-at-Once to 4.7 Making Copy of a CD
make CD Extra CD. First record the audio
tracks in the first session and leave the CD To copy directly from a source CD to a
open. Then record a second (data) session blank CD in CD-Recorder, users must have a
and close the CD. CD-R drive to use.
t In sert the orig i nal CD from which cop ies are
Disc-at-Once: Click this option to write and
to be made into CD-ROM, CD-R, or CD-RW
close a CD in one operation without turning
drive.
the writing laser on and off between tracks.
This eliminates the two second-gap between t Select the drive con tain ing the orig i nal CD in
tracks and write-protects the CD. We can the Copy from drop-down list box. (Fig. 8)
select this option if we are recording WAV or t Click Copy (CD Copier tem po rarily re cords
MP3 files stored on hard disk, or music CD the CD contents to hard drive as an image
tracks. file, then a mes sage prompt ing to in sert the
destination drive appears, insert the blank
Set as Default: We can click this button to CD then it will re cord all data to the blank CD.
change the CD Creation Setup default CD Copier au to mat i cally re moves the im age
options. file af ter the CD has been cop ied).
t When the CD is finished, a final message
4.6 Erasing Contents of a CD box appears notifying that the copying is
To erase the contents of a CD disc, follow complete.
these steps:
³ Open CD Eraser Menu (Fig. 7)
³ In Windows Explorer, select the files to be
erased
³ Select Delete from the File menu, or press
the Delete key.
³ Click Yes to confirm erasing of the files
from the CD.
DirectCD erases the selected files from the
CD.
Note: Only CD-RW drives can read from,
write to, and erase data from CD-RW discs.

Figure 8. CD Copier
DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 22(4 & 5) 25
4.8 Creating Label for a CD 6. HANDLING OF CDs
t Do not fold, spindle, or mutilate
Jewel Case
t Use good en clo sures. Cheap plas tic sleeves
A jewel case feature is provided by the
(those some times used to hold CDs in the
Adaptec CD creator to indicate the contents
backs of books or in some types of mul ti ple
of a CD. Both the front and inside covers of
CD holders) are not suitable for long-term
the insert are printed on a single sheet of
storage. Upon exposure to extremes of
paper that is folded in half and slides into the
temperature, direct sunlight and humidity,
top lid of a jewel case (a plastic case that
the disc and sleeve may adhere to each
holds the CD). (Fig. 9)
other.
t Pro tect the in di vid u ally cased CDs fur ther by
placing them in a closed box, drawer, or
cabinet. This gives additional protection
from light, dust, and cli mate fluc tu a tions.
t Never allow CDs to remain out of their
en clo sures for long pe ri ods of time.
t Al ways han dle discs by their edges.
t Don’t eat, drink, or smoke around CDs.
t Don’t write with sharp point to the top
surface. These actions wipe out pits and
caus ing ar eas of the disc to become
un read able. This can hap pen to both
Figure 9. Jewel Case CD-ROMs and writable CDs
t Don’t peel off a la bel.
5. CD RECORDING TIPS t Don’t ap ply sol vents.
t No run ning pro grams in the back ground t User-applied la bels of any kind may
If we have Windows 9X, we can check this un bal ance the CD and make it dif fi cult for the
by pressing and holding Ctrl+ Alt + Del which player to read. La bels may peel off in hu mid
will bring up a close program window. con di tions.
t Disable power management t To clean a CD, use lens cleaner and lens
tissue from a qual ity man u fac turer. Al ways
Ensure that all power management is wipe from the cen ter hub to ward the out side
disabled on the computer. If the computer or a edge. The motion should be in a radial
computer component goes into power saving di rec tion, not in a cir cumfer ential di rec tion.
mode during the recording process this can
cause issues.
t Store CDs in cool and moderately dry
t PC defrag and scandisk hard disk drive environments for greater life expectancies.
Run defrag and scandisk on hard drive In general, storage temperatures for CDs
recently which will help prevent the computer should not be any warmer than about 25°C
from having to search the hard disk drive (77°F) when archival permanence is
longer. desired. Cooler temperatures (down to
t De vice con flicts about 10°C or 50°F) will help ensure the
longest possible life expectancy. At present,
Get to device manager by clicking Start/ no national or international standards for
Settings/Control panel/double click the long-term storage conditions for CDs have
System icon/click the Device manager tab. been published by ANSI or the International
Ensure within device manager there are no Standards Organization (ISO).
conflicts.
26 DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 2 2(4 & 5)
 7. CONCLUSION journal articles, reports, standards, patents,
etc.) and reference services, and so on.
Introduced in 1980, CDs were intended for
musical recordings; but now with their ability With the growth of CD manufacturing
to hold large amount of music, data, audio, industry, we may expect compact disks which
video, etc., they have brought revolution in will be less vulnerable of temperature,
library and information science field, humidity, etc., and can store larger amount of
multimedia industry, education, entertainment data.
industry, and so on. FURTHER READINGS
CDs as a storage and dissemination 1. http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professio
medium have become a necessity in library
nal/products/storage/pcd/techInfo/perma
market all over the world. This technology has nence2.shtml
provided new avenues to store and retrieve
library’s vast bibliographical as well as full text 2. Samsung CD-RW Drive Manual
data. CDs have been extensively used by the 3. http://cds.com/cdtypes.htm
library professionals in numerous services 4. Neelima Vaid. Born to Burn. PC Quest,
such as cataloguing support (bibliofile), online May 2002, 36-42.
public access catalogue, collection
5. http://www.cdconnection.com
development (bibliographical sources, full text
6. Inventors.about.com/library/blcompact
disk.htm
7. http://www.footslog.com

Contributors: Smt Alka Bansal is Scientist C at Defence Scientific Information and

Documentation Centre (DESIDOC), Delhi - 110 054.
Smt Dipti Arora is STA at DESIDOC, Delhi - 110 054.

DESIDOC Bulletin of Inf Technol, 2002, 22(4 & 5) 27

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