On this page:

• Burning a data CD
• About CDs
• CD-R vs. CD-RW disks

Burning a data CD

To burn data on a CD using Mac OS X (Leopard 10.5 or Tiger 10.4):

1. Press the Eject key, which is located in the upper right corner of your keyboard (see Figures 1 & 2).
   
   

   Figure 1.

   Figure 2.

   
   
2. Insert a blank CD-R disk in your CD drive, then close the CD drive.
   
   
3. Do the following (see Figure 3):
   • From the Action pop-up menu, select Open Finder.
   • Click OK.
     
     
     Figure 3.
     
     A CD icon appears on your desktop (see Figure 4):
     
     
     Figure 4.
     
4. Double-click the CD icon to open a Finder window showing the contents of the CD, which currently is empty.
   
   
5. Open another Finder window: From the File menu, click New Finder Window.
   
   
6. From the Finder window, select the files and folders you want to put on the CD and drag-and-drop them on the CD Finder window. To select multiple files and folders, press the Apple key and click the folders and/or files you want.
   
   
7. Arrange the files on the CD exactly as you want them before burning the disk.
   Important: On a CD-R disk, the names of files, folders, and the disk cannot be changed after the CD is burned.
   
   
8. After putting all the files and folders you want in the CD Finder window, select Burn "Untitled CD" (in Leopard 10.5) or Burn Disc (in Tiger 10.4) from the File menu.
   
   
9. Name the disk, then click Burn.
   Note: To reuse a CD-RW disk, you must first erase the entire disk, then you can burn to it again using Steps 1-9 above.

Do you need more information or help with burning a CD?

Select Mac Help from the Help menu to access the online help.

About CDs

• One CD (700MB) holds about 486 times as much data as a floppy disk (1.44MB).
• One CD (700MB) holds about 7 times as much data as one Zip disk (100MB).
• CDs (about $1 each) are cheaper than Zip disks (about $8 - $10 each).
• CDs are more durable than floppy & Zip disks because they have no moving parts.
• There are two kinds of CDs available:
  • CD-R (CD-Recordable) - A CD that you can only write to once that works just like a standard CD. The advantage of CD-R over CD-RW disks is that you can use CD-R disks with a standard music CD player. CD-R disks (about 40 cents each) are usually less expensive than CD-RW disks (about $1 each). The disadvantage is that you cannot reuse a CD-R disk after it is full of data.
  • CD-RW (CD- ReWritable) - A CD-RW allows you to erase the disk and reuse it, similar to a floppy disk. The disadvantage is that CD-RW disks do not work in all standard music CD players.
• How do you know if a CD is CD-R or CD-RW? "CD-R" or "CD-RW" is imprinted on the CD itself.
• Your CD drive can write both CD-R and CD-RW disks.
• You can buy CDs at most stores that carry technical products, including Best Buy & Comp USA.
  

CD-R vs. CD-RW disks

Should you use CD-R or CD-RW disks?

Use CD-R for...	Use CD-RW for...
Data that you do not need to make edits to, such as archival data that you just need backed-up.	Data that you will be making changes to and re-saving on CD.
Music or other audio that you want to play in a standard CD player.

What you need to remember about CD-R & CD-RW disks:

• CD-R disks can be written to until they are full of data, as long as you do not finalize the CD (see below for more details).
• CD-R disks (about 40 cents each) are usually less expensive than CD-RW disks (about $1 each).