Progress in the field of computer technology today is as fast as ever. What seemed a fantasy a few years ago has already become an everyday reality. As an example, it’s enough to recall the heyday of compact disks (CDs) of 650 megabytes, then gradually replaced by their improved counterparts with 700 or even 800 MB. At that time, such dimensions seemed, if not colossal, then more than sufficient for the average user. In addition to the volume, it was very simple to use these media: programs for burning discs were selected and with their help information was dropped onto the "blank" (blank disc).
Now, after so many years, you can mentally look back and analyze the development of such storage media. As you know, manufacturers of hard drives offered more and more new models with a large amount of disk space. In fact, this meant that the free space size limit was removed for all applications.
Distributions began to grow, and films were compressed in high quality (larger size). As a result, each owner of the CD-RW drive once had the thought that 700 MB of compact disk became small and something needed to be changed. Just at that time, “completely by accident” was proposed DVD technology, in which the program for burning discs allowed to record as much as 4.7 GB. This was a breakthrough. Even now, when DVD media has squeezed under the onslaught of the Blu-Ray discs that replaced them with 25 GB or more, they are still actively used.
To burn a disc, you need: a program for burning discs, an appropriate drive, and prepared data. By pressing a few buttons in the program, you can record the necessary information.
Surprisingly, many were skeptical (and still are) about the duration of storage of the carrier itself. It was believed that 5-8 years is the limit for a budget compact disc, then, as a result of air penetration and temperature, gradual destruction begins and the recorded information cannot be read. It can be argued that 90% of goods from different manufacturers have successfully passed the test of time and even after 10 years of careful operation, they store data correctly.
In addition to the quality of the medium, the used program for burning discs also affects the safety. Not always obvious, but nonetheless it is. Each developer of such programs implements their own drive recording and control algorithm, sometimes successful, and sometimes not.
The most famous program for burning discs is the famous Nero from German professionals. She was one of the first such programs on the market, which greatly determined her future popularity.
Now there are alternative solutions, but this does not detract from the convenience of the above. It is worth noting that the company Nero AG has set a course for the production of real program combines: here is the program for burning Nero Burning Rom discs, the creation of Cover Designer covers, the Wave Editor sound editor, and much more. Perhaps there are people willing to pay 70 euros for the full package of Nero Suite, but this solution does not seem optimal.
You can burn a disc using the Burn Wizard built into the Windows operating system. You should open “My Computer” and drag the necessary folders and files with the mouse onto the icon and letter of the CD. A dialog box appears, each action in which is accompanied by prompts. Although there are fewer customization options than in Nero, it’s shareware and is available to everyone.
An alternative recording product is Ashampoo Burning Studio. No less famous than Nero. Sometimes it allows you to burn a disc when other programs cannot correctly end the session (AHCI problem on some drives).
Among the free programs, it is worth noting BurnAware, ImgBurn and Small CD-Writer. Often their capabilities are enough for the average user.