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Optical drive type Write to CD-RW Write to DVD±RW/R Write to DVD+R DL Write label to
LightScribe CD or DVD
±RW/R
SuperMulti
LightScribe DVD±RW
and CD-RW Combo
Drive with DL support
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Blu-ray Disc ROM
Drive with SuperMulti
DVD±R/RW DL
support
Yes Yes Yes No
CAUTION: To prevent possible audio and video degradation, loss of information, or loss of audio or
video playback functionality, do not initiate Sleep or Hibernation while reading or writing to a CD or DVD.
Selecting the right disc
An optical drive supports optical discs (CDs and DVDs). CDs, used to store digital data, are also used
for commercial audio recordings and are convenient for your personal storage needs. DVDs are used
primarily for movies, software, and data backup purposes. DVDs are the same form factor as CDs but
have 6 to 7 times the storage capacity.
NOTE: The optical drive on your computer may not support all the types of optical discs discussed in
this section.
CD-R discs
Use CD-R (write-once) discs to create permanent archives and to share files with virtually anyone.
Typical uses include the following:
●
Distributing large presentations
●
Sharing scanned and digital photos, video clips, and written data
●
Making your own music CDs
●
Keeping permanent archives of computer files and scanned home records
●
Offloading files from your hard drive to free up disk space
After data is recorded, it cannot be erased or written over.
CD-RW discs
Use a CD-RW disc (a rewritable version of a CD) to store large projects that must be updated frequently.
Typical uses include the following:
●
Developing and maintaining large documents and project files
●
Transporting work files
●
Making weekly backups of hard drive files
●
Updating photos, video, audio, and data continuously
16 Chapter 5 Optical drive