Files are write protected....

[anken]

My problem:
I have data files on CD which I have burned with Nero.
When I try to add to an open file, I get the message that the files are "write protected" and I can't add anything to it. If I try to unclick the write protect, it goes right back to it.

The same is happening with the Picture CD when trying to add pictures to an album.
It used to work in the past but I don't remember if I have done it since I changed from Win98 to WinXP Home.
I have also tried to do it with the build in windows backup but with the same results.
Does anybody have any ideas why this is happening?????

[John Prophet]

well if the cd is "closed" you aint gonna write anything to it, lol.

The only way you can just "drag and drop" stuff to it, or use the "send to" command..is if you are running Nero's "InCD" function...that is the thing where it makes the cd like a floppy to where you can just drag stuff to it or send stuff to it.

But basically, unless you are using "InCD"..it will always tell you its write protected.

And just some advice....dont store anything really VITAL using 'InCD" (or adaptecs "direct CD")...because they seem to be a little sketchy...like somethimes they work, somethimes they dont.....I have known more than one person who was using them for backup and all of a suddent the disk becomes unreadable....ouch.

[Dj-Icer]

You missed that anken

[eagle1]

Unless you copied the stuff to the cd using a Direct-CD type method, you CANNOT edit the stuff on the CD. Hence the file protection error.


Edit: Damn JP. I have seen that these are your peak hours!!!

[John Prophet]

lol.....I am in some bad sleep habits right now....hopefully this coming year I will shift things BACK several hrs, lol.

[eagle1]

LOL!
What time is it where you are anyway?

[John Prophet]

1145pm right now. I need to get more into the, say 10pm to 6am sleep zone. Right now its more like sleep in till 12-1pm! sad sad, lol

[anken]

Eagle1,
this is probably a silly question but what do you mean by using the
Direct-CD type method?

John Prophet, thank you for your advice.
How do you guys recommend burning to the CD where it can be edited later ?
I have Nero 5.5 OEM and then of course the windows backup.

[John Prophet]

Direct CD is adaptecs version of Nero's "InCD"....its "packet writing" or I think they call it "udf".

anyway what that is, is when you take a cd and you actually "format" it, just like a floppy disk...you actually are putting a file system on the cd....then it shows up as a drive in your "my computer" and you can just "drag and drop" or send files to it, or use windows backup to backup to it....like Isaid though, Im a little iffy on using it for backup...especially with windows backup cuz of the whole "differential/incremental" thing...I had issues when I tried it...the files would be there one day, they next day they wouldnt.

I was under the impression that if a file was sent to a cd with the "InCD" method that you COULD edit it and change it etc.

[eagle1]

1145pm right now. I need to get more into the, say 10pm to 6am sleep zone. Right now its more like sleep in till 12-1pm! sad sad, lol

lol

Anken, Direct CD is a program made by Adaptec (now Roxio I think) that it is almost the same as Nero's InCD.!

I don't normally record files that I will edit later on CDs just because I don't trust these programs that say you can do that. (I have damaged - just like JP story - a few cds trying to do this.).
What I usually do is that I give the files I edit different numbers and don't close the CD session so if I'm working on a script called ecc then the edited one I save it to cd as ecc_2 and so on and so on.

I Know it's not what you want to do but that's just my "safe" way of doing things.

I'm sure there's a good program that allows you to do this but if there exists one, I don't use it!

I have heard great things about Nero's one though. Don't know why it's not working well for you!

BTW, are you using CD-rs or CDRWs?

[bailey]

you cannot edit anything to a cdr
anything written to it is done,
you can add more files to the cdr if there is room
but you cannot change anything
everything is read only.

now if you use a cdrw and it has been properly formatted, you can use it like a 640 meg floppy, read and wirite to it all you want even delete and edit files.

but a cdr no way

[eagle1]

Yeah.. that's why I asked!

[anken]

Thanks for your suggestions.
Yes. I'm using CDRW's and I always make sure that it is a multi session.
Maybe I'm doing something wrong.....just can't figure it out...
The Nero Program I'm using is
5.5 OEM which came with the CD Burner.
Would it be worthwhile to spring for the regular edition? I think it's 6.0 now...

[bailey]

yes I think it woud, you could also update it to 5.5.10.4

[anken]

Thanks for your suggestions.
Guess I better save up some pennies for the full" Nero" software.

Now, that's probably another silly question but you mentioned that the CDRW is formatted properly.....
Do I have to format a brandnew CDRW before using it?

[John Prophet]

doesnt have to be formatted for regular use...they only have to be formatted if you are going to use them with Nero's "InCD"...which as I said, makes it like a floppy or hard drive where you can drag and drop to it and also you'll see it on the "send to" list etc.

But for regular use of Nero etc...no, you dont have to format any cd's.

[anken]

Thanks for the explanation JP.
It was confusing for me.
I'll try to use Nero's "InCD" and make two backup CD's each time just in case one of them fails.

[TM12]

I don't recall seeing anyone say it but files written to CDR are marked by default with the attribute "Read Only" and remain that way even when copied to the hardrive. However, once on the harddrive you can uncheck "Read Only" in the properties and write changes to it again. In order to write your changes back to the CDR, you have to give it a different file name and, as someone already mentioned, make sure the disk isn't closed. I personally use Nero's INCD and found that it works the best for Drag and Drop but I caution everyone that it and Direct CD don't like to read each others disks and that anything but the newest version of INCD will bump heads with the Adaptec burning files that are installed by default with Windows Media Player 9.

[anken]

Thank you TM12 for your help.
I guess the newest version of INCD would be Nero's version 6.0?
I haven't bought it yet and I'm glad that I waited.
Again, thanks for setting things straitght.
This "write protection" has been puzzeling me for some time.

[John Prophet]

Not to make you nervous or anything...but I would be a little hesitant to use InCD to be my sole backup at all....in other words, the whole concept of the pre-formatting and then dragging and dropping thing...I just dont trust it.

If you have something really valuable you are safer to just burn it to cd using the regular Nero wizard...you know, by not formatting it first etc. Like if you had some particularly important financial records you might put them in a certain folder and then you would just burn that folder to a cd. I suppose you could use cd-rw if you didnt want to end up with a lot of cd's laying around when they fill up....for instance you could back up the folder to cdrw.....then next week back it up to a different cdrw....then next week back it up to the first cdrw...etc etc....that way if one cdrw becomes unreadeable you still have the other and you will have only lost that weeks info. And then when the cdrw starts getting near to being full, you could either burn it to a regular cd-r to be set aside...then erase the cdrw and start again...or some similar scheme.



You could use InCD for other stuff that is not as important maybe I guess.

JP