Writing CD-Roms In The Computer Sciences Department

There are two types of facilities available for writing CD-Roms in the Department of Computer Sciences.

Anyone with a UNIX instructional account can write CD-R/RWs and DVD-R/RWs using the workstations in the 1st floor instructional labs, at their own risk. instructions are given below, but given differences in hardware, they may not work on all machines.There is also a Centos workstation available to CS users in room 1355 which is capable of writing CD-R/RWs and DVD-R/RW.

Please verify that you are using the correct media type for the machine you will be using to burn. To determine the capabilities of the CD/DVD writer, run the following command: cdrecord -prcap and make sure you purchase the correct media type

Users of desktop workstations equipped with CD-RW drives and running the Centos linux operating system can use facilities on those workstations to burn CD-R and CD-RW disks.

Places to Purchase CD-R/DVD-R Media

There are several different places that you can purchase CD-R/DVD+R ("CD/DVD-Recordable") and CD-RW/DVD-RW ("CD/DVD-ReWritable") media. Some of the places that sell CD-R or CD-RW media are:

• DoIT Tech Store (First Floor Computer Sciences and Statistics building)
• Most Retail Computer Stores

Suggested Brand Of Recordable CD Media

We can not make any recomendations on recordable CD media. You can purchase any recordable CD media that you feel comfortable with; however, if you plan to burn a DVD using the machines in 1355 you must use DVD-R or DVD-RW media, not DVD+R or DVD+RW (the minus sign is significant!). Purchase a brand of media that is affordable and that you think will be reliable.

Capacity of CD/DVD Media

Most modern CDs should hold approximately 700 MB of data; however, older discs may be limited to 650MB (this is generally printed on the disc). DVD-R/DVD-RW media has a capacity of approximately 4.7 GB. To find out how large your account is, look at your quota when you log in. This information can also be found by pressing <CTRL><ATL><DEL> on NT, by typing fs lq U:\ at the U:\ prompt on NT, or by typing fs lq ~ on UNIX. The account size is given in KB. To convert the figure to MB you should divide by 1000.

Note: exact space needs will vary depending on the file system allocation methods used by UNIX, NT, and the CD-ROM.

Operating System Specific Instructions

• Writing CD-Roms On The Linux Workstations
• Writing CD-Roms In The Public Windows 2000 Lab