Computer and Software Support


Erase Files on CD

This is an article from Microsoft's knowledge base. Its copied here and I have the link to the article on their website because sometimes the locations will change on other company websites and This link will become broken. This will ensure that you will have access to the file by copying it here. On the downside is that if they update the article, this article will not be updated unless I am aware of it. Here is the link to Microsoft's article...Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 306641

This article was previously published under Q306641

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SUMMARY

If your computer is equipped with a CD recorder that supports CD rewritable (CD-RW) discs, you can erase and then reuse the rewritable disc. This article explains how to erase files from a read and write CD in Windows XP.

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How to Erase Files From a CD-RW Disc

To erase files from a CD rewritable disc:

  1. Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop.
  2. In My Computer, Right-click the CD recording drive, and then click Open. Windows displays a temporary storage area where files are held before they are copied to the CD. Files or folders that are located in the temporary storage area are listed in the Files Ready to Be Written to the CD box.
  3. In the CD Writing Tasks pane, click Erase this CD-RW. The Welcome to the CD Writing Wizard dialog box is displayed. After you click Next, the Erasing the CD dialog box is displayed and the progress bar displays the progress of the process.
  4. When the process is finished, you receive a message in the notification area and you can use the CD-RW disc.Note: Not all CDs are erasable. If the CD that you are using is not erasable, for example, then this feature is not available.

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Troubleshooting

You can erase and reuse CD-RW discs; however the disks may not play in other devices (such as audio CD players).

To resolve this issue, use the CD recorder to back up information on CD-R discs. These disks can be written only once, but you can play CD-R disks in most CD players and CD-ROM drives.

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