Using DVD-RAM disc under Windows XP

DVD-RAM discThe main advantage of DVD-RAM disc over standard DVD R/RW disc is that it can be used as regular drive storage, something like floppy disk but with huge capacity (4.7 GB). All you need is DVD recorder that supports DVD-RAM (most new ones).
Follow these simple steps to start using DVD-RAM under Windows XP.

First you need to disable Windows XP built in CD writing.
Double click on “My Computer” icon on your desktop. Find your DVD recorder in the list, right click on it and select “Properties”.

Select dvd recorder properties
In Properties window, clear “Enable CD recording on this drive” box. This will disable Windows XP built in CD recording “feature”. Click OK.
DVD recorder properties
Insert DVD-RAM disc in your DVD recorder.

Now you need to format DVD ram. Again, right click on your DVD recorder icon in “My Computer” window and click on “Format”.

Format DVD-RAM disc

Format window will appear. For “Volume label” you can put whatever you want.

Format

When you click “Start” button, system will warn you that all data on disc will be erased. Click OK to continue.

Formating can take considerable amount of time. On 5x discs with recorder that supports 5x or higher speed, it will take around 15 minutes. On slower discs it can take up to 45 minutes.

After formating, you can use your DVD-RAM disc as regular floppy disc. You can write, read and delete files with Windows Explorer or any other file manager.

Writing to DVD-RAM disc is slower that writing to standard DVD+-R disc. This is not only because DVD-RAM are usualy only 5x (12x are appearing now), but also hardware data verification is enabled by default. This cuts writing speed in half.

More Information: [Removing DVD-RAM disc from cartridge->removing-dvd-ram-disc-from-cartridge]

1 thought on “Using DVD-RAM disc under Windows XP

  1. nice info, thanks. so you have to cancel the enable cd writing at cd properties.

    i really thought before that DVD RAM is the same thing like the RAM hardware in your PC (imagine 4.7 GB of RAM!). now i am not as ignorant as before.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *