CD Burning.......will I ever understand it?

[cookie_monster]

right, got a bit of a predicament. i fit into the computer literacy category of "i know what i need to know, to do the things i need to do to" and now im venturing out of that sphere of safety, so please go easy on me with the replies.

i took some photos for my ma when i went to prague- so far so good.

got them off the camera, onto the pc- so far so good.

ive got a cd writer drive, ive got cd's, i've got nero- looking promising....

and then it all went belly up.

turns out i dont have nero at all, just a shortcut that ask for the serial number (nope- not got one of those, second hand pc 2 yrs ago) and that its only a demo version.

so first things first- can anybody recommend some free downloadable trustworthy and idiot proof cd burning software? *idiot proof is very very important! *

second problem- the cd writer drive doesnt appear to show up on my pc as a drive. i seem to have 3 drives with stuff saved on them (i know i have a partitioned hard drive- i do not know what that means and suspect i dont need to!)....and my pc has no problem registering the external camera drive....so where is it?

will it automatically be found when i have the software installed or do i actually need to do something or is it just time to get someone who knows what theyre doing in?

all help gratefully received, so long as it doesnt turn into technojargon....ill only get lost!

cheers guys,


x

 

[db]

your CD drive should defo show up, with or without software.. windows xp will burn to CD/DVD without any third party add-ons..

when you double click on My Computer, what icons are shown? what happens when you put a blank CD in the drive? if everything is working, windows should automatically prompt you to burn files to it.. if your CD drive isn't even showing up, i suspect it's knackered i'm afraid, flower..

unless, of course, you're not running windows xp (service pack 2), in which case that's a whole other story..

 

[tek-monkey]

Right click on My Computer, go to manage, go to device manager (or hardware or wahtever?). Does the CD writer show up there?

 

[cookie_monster]

bobby- im running windows 2003 (suspected not 100% legit....but the pc shop put it there 2 years ago- not me!). but i have 2 cd drives- one plays stuff fine. the other one which doesnt appear to be working says its a re-writer. can i just use the one that does work to brun cds?

tek-monkey- got into the control panel and clicked on the hardware installation wizard.....it doesnt seem to show up on there. conclusion- its boogered as bobby suggested.

thanks again, especially for keeping it in english!


x

 

[db]

bobby- im running windows 2003 (suspected not 100% legit....but the pc shop put it there 2 years ago- not me!). but i have 2 cd drives- one plays stuff fine. the other one which doesnt appear to be working says its a re-writer. can i just use the one that does work to brun cds?

tek-monkey- got into the control panel and clicked on the hardware installation wizard.....it doesnt seem to show up on there. conclusion- its boogered as bobby suggested.

thanks again, especially for keeping it in english!


x

i doubt you're running windows 2003 - that's a server platform (i.e. costs thousands of pounds and is geared towards large scale enterprise usage).. right-click on your My Comptuer icon and go to Properties.. what does it say under "System:"? should be something like:

Microsoft Windows XP
Professional
Version 2002
Service Pack 2

you say you have 2 CD drives - why? did someone fit the second one because the first one went tits-up?

personally, i'd recommend you just buy a cheap USB flash drive, chuck the pictures on there, and send that to your old dears.. this one from play.com for example - only £5.99 with free delivery, and holds nearly 3 times as much as a CD.. i'm sure you can find cheaper if you should around!

 

[FooFighter]

why not upload them to photoshack et al and forward the links?

 

[cookie_monster]

why not upload them to photoshack et al and forward the links?

because i want to send the actual full size images to my mum (its stuff for arty inspiration and i want her to have the means of playing about with them as much as possible- hence keeping the resolution as high as possible etc)

bobby- already considered the usb memory stick idea....but it just stings loads when id forked out 8 quid for 10 cds (needed them with cases for posting) to then spend even more money!

ill check the windows thing- as i say, i suspect none of it is totally legit.

as for the cd drives- no idea- second hand pc remember. one is definately a cd rom drive and the other does say its a writer.


x

 

[cookie_monster]

Microsoft Windows XP
Professional
Version 2002
Service Pack 2

just checked....thats exactly what it says.


x

 

[db]

Microsoft Windows XP
Professional
Version 2002
Service Pack 2

just checked....thats exactly what it says.


x

yeah, so if you've have a working CDRW drive installed, it should show up as an icon in My Computer.. and if you insert a blank CD at any point, after about 30 seconds you should get a box come up asking you if you would like to burn files to it.. if that's not happening, i suspect your CD drive is fubared

 

[FooFighter]

if you both have msn accounts isn't there a shared folder thingamajiggy that you could transfer them with

 

[cookie_monster]

if you both have msn accounts isn't there a shared folder thingamajiggy that you could transfer them with

lol....this is my mum we're talking about!

yeah,do you the messenger thing? ive used it before but i just know she'll not take to that idea. im on yahoo and dont appear to be able to send attachments anymore because my browser is opera and mum is on hotmail so's the rest of the family.

bobby- tried just putting the disk in, it makes lots of whirry and clicky noises, spits it out a couple of times and seems to be searching for files on the disk in my computer. my arrow then keeps getting a disk icon and the autoplay window kicks in- again with the torch searching. then everything goes dead slow stop like its about to crash....and then the 'my computer' folder does finally crash.

i think she's just gonna have to wait another month and i'll stick them on a usb stick for when i come back for the garden party....oh well, good things come to those who wait and all that jazz.

thanks again folks- its just yet another reason why i really ought to save some moola for a new machine.


x

 

[My Name is URL]

cookie_monster, its your lucky day...

http://www.download.com/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-Free/3000-2646_4-10776287.html?tag=dl.1

Its free and its incredibly easy to use...

Enjoy!

 

[cookie_monster]

cookie_monster, its your lucky day...

http://www.download.com/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-Free/3000-2646_4-10776287.html?tag=dl.1

Its free and its incredibly easy to use...

Enjoy!

thanks gk....but will it work if the cd writer drive is boogared?


x

 

[db]

cookie_monster, its your lucky day...

http://www.download.com/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-Free/3000-2646_4-10776287.html?tag=dl.1

Its free and its incredibly easy to use...

Enjoy!

thanks gk....but will it work if the cd writer drive is boogared?

i think even you know the answer to that one, flower

get yourself a cheapo usb flash drive.. you can get it back off your old dears once they're done, and use it to get yourself out of similar pickles in the future

 

[cookie_monster]

i think even you know the answer to that one, flower

i was living in hope! lol

usb stick it is....and a call to mum tonight explaining the situation.


x

ps. anybody want x10 tdk cd's with cases for a fiver when i come back next month?