How to choose the right formatting options and disk type. How to format a hard drive in various ways New sd rw needs to be formatted

Since there is a section on the forum about storage media (including optical media, such as CD and DVD), it was decided to write an article about such, unfortunately, a not very popular method of recording discs as batch recording. Perhaps, after reading this, someone will be interested in this method.

Batch method for burning CD/DVD-RW discs or how to use optical RW discs like a flash drive or HDD

Nowadays, various flash drives and portable HDDs have almost completely replaced optical CDs and DVDs, which at one time were quite popular due to their relatively low cost and very capacious volume (at that time, anyway). And there are, of course, many reasons for this. This is their size, and constant damage to disks due to scratches and cracks, and low speed recording, and noise when the drive operates.

Even the process of writing data to such disks could only take place in a session: we decide in advance what data to write, we assign it to the program, and the recording occurs. Subsequently, if we need to add something to the disk, we open a new session, and this means losing a few more extra megabytes (on a DVD - tens of megabytes), since they are allocated for service information. Well, how about removing some separate files It’s impossible in principle from the disk, you have to completely erase and then rewrite the data onto the disc, leaving only what you need...

Of course, the complexity and inconvenience of writing data to such disks turns off most users. After all, it’s much easier to plug a flash drive into a USB port and copy what you need; if there is something unnecessary, you can delete it. But not many people know that in fact, this is also possible on optical discs. After all, a writing laser, in theory, doesn’t care what to write. Solution - Batch recording method (Packet Writing), invented by the way quite a long time ago.

The essence of the method

Unlike the session recording method, when the entire session with data and service information is pre-formed and immediately written entirely to disk, the batch recording method allows you to write data not immediately, but in small portions (packets). Thus, the disk can be treated like a regular flash drive: write, edit, delete data directly on it.

The RW disc is first formatted (this operation takes 10-15 minutes), the UDF file system is written to it, after which the disc can be fully used on any recording drive in operating systems Linux family (if the package is installed udftools), as well as Mac OS X and Windows Vista/7/8. In earlier Windows versions(Windows 98/ME/2000/XP) you will need to install additional software, such as Nero InCD or Roxio Drag-To-Disc, For example. In the absence of such software in Windows XP, for example, data from such a disk can only be read.

In this article I will look at the process of preparing a DVD-RW disc for use in batch recording mode in the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems. For those who have Windows 7 or Windows 8 installed on their computer, the preparation process will in principle be similar to Windows Vista.

Batch recording CD/DVD-RW in Windows Vista/7/8 operating system

As I already said, before you use our RW disc (in my case it is a DVD-RW disc), you need to first format it. In Windows Vista/7/8 this procedure is extremely simple; you do not need to install any additional programs.

1. Insert our RW disk into the drive tray.

2. If there is any data on it, erase it. To do this, double-click on the icon Computer on the desktop (or execute the menu command Start ==> Computer). In the window that appears, find the icon of our drive, right-click on it and select the item in the menu that appears Erase this disk.

The Erase Disk Wizard window will appear. Click Further, the erasing process will begin. After it is completed, click Ready.

3. Now that we have a blank disk, we can immediately begin formatting. Just double-click on the drive icon, a small window will appear in which you will be asked to enter the label of the future disk. Enter the desired label, you can leave the existing one; it can be changed later.

Click on the round arrow button Show formatting options.

The window will expand and formatting options will appear. There will be two switches here that set the method for writing data to the disk. By default the radio button will be set Live file system- this is exactly what we need, so we leave it enabled. Now we need to decide on the version of the UDF file system.

It all depends on what operating system you're on. this disk will be used, The default version of Windows Vista is UDF 2.01. If the recordable disc will be used on computers running Windows Vista or later, you can leave version 2.01. If the disk is planned to be used for more earlier versions Windows, it is recommended to change the version to 1.50. To do this, immediately under the switch Live file system click on the link Change version, in the window that appears, select UDF version 1.50 from the drop-down list and click OK.

4. We have decided on the parameters, we can start formatting. Click on the button Further. A message will appear warning us that formatting may take time and that we should not turn off the computer during the formatting process. We agree, we press Yes. The formatting process will begin, and a window will appear on the screen displaying its progress.

The duration of this operation largely depends on the permissible recording speed of the disc itself, as well as on the maximum recording speed supported by the drive. In my case, I used a 4-speed DVD-RW disc, the formatting procedure took about 15 minutes.

5. Once the formatting procedure is completed, the window displaying its progress will disappear. You can start working with the disk.

You can write, delete, edit files on the disk in any program, in any file manager. The disk is removed in the usual way: close all programs that use the disk, then remove it. When you insert a disc into the burner drive on a computer running Windows Vista/7/8, you can use it immediately.

Batch burning CD/DVD-RW in earlier versions of Windows

Before the release of Windows Vista, manufacturers software for burning CDs and DVDs to your software packages built in special utilities for burning optical discs using the batch method. Ahead AG Software (now Nero AG Software) released a utility Ahead/Nero InCD, Roxio - Drag-To-Disc(previously known as DirectCD), NTI - NTI FileCD.

In truth, such utilities were quite buggy. And since batch burning technology was so successfully implemented in Windows Vista, CD and DVD burning software manufacturers decided to abandon their own batch burning utilities in subsequent versions of their packages.

These utilities are usually paid. Find latest versions at the office manufacturers' websites is extremely difficult. I will be using Nero InCD v4.3.

The installation process for Nero InCD is quite simple: run installation file, enter serial number, install the program and restart the computer. After the reboot, you can start working with our RW disk.

1. Insert an RW blank into the drive.

2. Click 2 times on the icon My computer on the desktop, in the window that appears, right-click on the icon of our drive. In the menu that appears, select the item InCD Format.

3. A window for setting formatting parameters will appear on the screen.

There are few parameters: you are asked to specify the formatting type and disk label. What's good is that, unlike Windows Vista, there is quick formatting, which will take less than a minute (however, in this case the disk surface will not be checked for damage).

UDF version selection can be activated by going to Options and checking the box there Allow extension format options. After this, a button will appear in the formatting window Advanced, by clicking on which you can select the required version UDF.

Select the quick format, set the desired label and click Start. Formatting will take a few seconds, after which the disk can be used.

For some reason, a disc recorded in Windows Vista in batch recording mode could not be written to in Windows XP via Nero InCD. However, a disc formatted in Nero InCD opened without problems in Windows Vista and data could be written to it.

How to cancel batch write on disk?

Simply erasing the disc. In Windows Vista, this can be done using OS tools or using third-party software such as Nero Burning ROM. In Windows XP, using the same Nero InCD utility, clicking in the window My computer on the drive icon and selecting InCD Erase.

Modified April 17, 2013 by Shadow TH

DVD - RW discs

Format DVD disk – this option is available only in Windows 7. In Windows XP you will be prompted to “erase CD-RW”, which is similar in principle, but not the same thing. Just keep in mind that format You can only use DVD-RW discs; attempting to format a DVD-R disc will damage the disc.

When formatting DVD disc and the disk is partitioned into sectors, for convenience write-read disc, which is unacceptable for DVD-R discs. Writing to 1 bit will ruin the entire disc and it will be perceived as written. It is not possible to delete information from DVD-R discs.

Need to know that DVD-R disc initially already formatted.

The easiest way to format a DVD disc. To do this, insert the disc into the drive and wait for it to load. Open My Computer. Right-click on the DVD disc,


Select “Format” from the menu that appears. Next will be the formatting settings

warning about deleting all data

Another way to erase DVD disk, use some program, for example Nero, Image Burn, etc.

When erasing a DVD disc using Nero, you need to running program Select “DVD” from the drop-down list. A little lower, among the icons, select the window with a plus - “Add-ons”, then select “Clean DVD”. The “Erase rewritable disk” window will open and two actions to choose from: “Quickly erase RW disk” and “Fully erase rewritable disk”. It is better to choose full erase. Click “Erase”. The sedum lasts about a minute.

Instructions

In case you are using an operating room Windows system XP, it is better to use additional programs to format the disk. To erase information from a disk, you will need the Nero program Start Smart. Download it from the Internet and install it on your computer. After installation, insert the disc from which you want to delete information into the computer's optical drive.

Launch Nero Start Smart. In the main program menu, select the “Advanced” tab. Then select “Erase DVD” in the window that appears. The program wizard will appear. Act according to the wizard's instructions. After the operation is completed, a dialog box will appear notifying you that the disk has been successfully erased.

If your operating system is Windows Vista or Windows 7, then you can format the disk without installing additional software. Insert the disc into your computer's optical drive. Wait until the disk spins up and autorun works. After autorun, a dialog box will appear. In this window, select the “Burn files to disk” option. A new dialog box will appear. In this window, enter the disk name. Next, select the “Show Formatting Options” command and select formatting options. You can select Mastered or LFS file system as an option. Then click Next. The formatting process will start.

If you are going to write information to disk various types, for example, photographs, etc., the LFS file system should be selected. Since when formatting a disk in this file system, it works like a flash drive. If files of the same type will be written to the disk, for example, or movies, use the Mastered file system. A disc recorded this way will be compatible with devices such as DVD players and CD players.

Video on the topic

Any electronic information carrier requires formatting - preparation for recording certain data. Formatting required as hard disks both flash drives and CDs. Before you can write any information to a DVD, it must be prepared for recording. There are several ways to format disks, and their choice depends on the type of disk, as well as on how exactly the disk will be read in the future.

Instructions

Insert the disc into the DVD-ROM and select Windows window or a disc burning program, select the “Burn files to disc” option. Enter the name of the new disk, and then click on the “Show formatting options” button.

Select one of two options – Live or Mastered. These parameters indicate the types of file system the disk is in. Disks formatted with the Live file system support manual drag-and-drop of files onto the disk. This format is suitable for rewritable discs because it allows you to delete some files and replace them with new ones without erasing all other information.

In this article, you will learn how to format a CD/DVD-RW disc that has problems playing or loading information. Please note that a recorded (full) CD/DVD-R disc cannot be formatted. Formatting a disk will erase all data stored on it.

Steps

1 On Windows

1. 2 Open the Start menu. To do this, click on the Windows logo in the lower left corner of the screen.
2. 3 Open File Explorer. To do this, click the folder icon at the bottom left of the Start window.
3. 4 Click This PC. This tab with a computer icon is located on the left side of the Explorer window.
4. 5 Click the optical drive icon. It looks like a gray disk and is located in the "Devices and Drives" section in the middle of the page.
5. 6 Click Manage. You'll find this tab at the top left of the Explorer window. A toolbar will open under the Manage tab.
6. 7 Click Formatting. The icon for this option is on the left side of the toolbar and looks like a gray disk with a red circular arrow. The Format window will open.
7. 8 Select a file system. Open the menu " File system" and select one of the following options:
   • UDF 1.50
   • UDF 2.00- to use the disk in XP and older versions.
   • UDF 2.01 (default)- to use the disk in modern operating systems.
   • UDF 2.50
   • UDF 2.60- to use the disk in modern operating systems. Supports Blu-ray.
8. 9 Click Launch and then click OK. The process of formatting the disk in the selected file system will begin.
9. 10 Click OK when prompted. The formatting process will be completed.

2 On Mac OS X

1. 1 Insert the CD-RW disc or DVD-RW disc into your computer. Hold the disc with the label facing up and insert it into the optical drive.
   • If your computer doesn't have an optical drive, buy an external drive.
   • In Mac OS X, you can't format a drive the way you can in Windows, but you can erase it and reformat it to fix errors.
2. 2 Click Go. This menu is located on the left side of the menu bar, which is located at the top of the screen. A drop-down menu will open.
   • If the menu bar doesn't appear, click on the desktop or open Finder.
3. 3 Click Utilities. This option is at the bottom of the Go drop-down menu.
4. 4 Double-click the Disk Utility icon. You'll find this icon in your Utilities folder - it looks like a stethoscope disk.
5. 5 Select a drive. Click the drive name in the External section, which is located on the left side of the Disk Utility window.
6. 6 Click the Erase tab. It's at the top of the Disk Utility window. A window with disk properties will open.
7. 7 Click Complete. This option will completely erase and reformat the drive.
   • Or select "Quick" to quickly erase the drive, but this will not erase any errors that may be on the drive.
8. 8 Click Erase. This will erase and reformat the drive. When the process is complete, you can burn music or video to the disc.

• If you use third party program software such as Roxio CD Creator or Nero can simplify the process of formatting a disc.
• A CD-RW disc can be formatted many times because it is a rewritable disc.

Warnings

• A CD/DVD-R disc can only be formatted once. Files from this disk cannot be erased.

A DVD disk can be formatted (cleared, deleted contents) only if it is RW, i.e., intended for repeated recording of information on it. It is not possible to delete information from DVD-R discs. There are two ways to format a disk.

How to format a DVD disc in the easiest way

To clean the disc, insert the disc into the drive and wait until it loads. Double-click on the “My Computer” shortcut and select your drive in the pop-up window. Right-click on the disk image and select “Clean up” or “Format” from the menu that appears. The only bad thing about this method is that not everyone in their standard set of programs has a utility designed for recording and formatting disks.

How to format a DVD disc in Nero StartSmart

1. Let's launch the program.
2. At the top, select DVD from the drop-down list.
3. A little lower, among the icons, select the window with a plus - “Add-ons”.
4. There we select “Clean DVD”. The “Erase rewritable disk” window will appear and two actions to choose from: “Quickly erase RW disk” and “Fully erase rewritable disk”. It is better to choose a complete erase in order to clean the disk for sure and not have problems with writing information to it in the future.
5. Click “Erase”.
6. That's it, the disk is formatted and ready for further recording of information on it.