Creating a Multisession CD (Finish)

In this section we show you step by step how to use Nero to continue and finish an existing Multisession CD so that it is write protected and no further writing is possible.

All settings may be left at their default values.

  1. Load the Multisession CD you wish to continue into the recorder.
  2. Start a new compilation by clicking on the appropriate button or the File menu and the command New.
  3. Click the 'CD-ROM (ISO)' icon - the Multisession tab is in front. Use the tabs to specify the attributes of the compilation, such as the name of the CD, different characteristics and restrictions.
  4. Activate the 'Continue Multisession CD' option to create an ISO CD.

    For a Multisession CD with linked files, activate the two checkboxes 'Replace files in compilation' and 'Add new files to compilation' in the 'Options' section.

    For a Multisession CD with independent files, clear the two checkboxes 'Replace files in compilation' and 'Add new files to compilation' in the 'Options' section – this will ensure that Nero will not search for links to existing files on the CD.

  5. On the ISO tab you can toggle between Mode 1 and Mode 2/XA format as required. You should not need to verify the format – in the past there were problems with CD drives that could not read Mode 1 CDs, but very few of these drives should still be in use today. If these options are grayed it means that selection is not logically meaningful at present. Mixing Mode 1 and Mode 2/XA tracks on a CD would result in an unreliable and potentially unreadable CD format.

    In the 'File/Directorynames length' section you can specify the ISO level for the length of the names. Up to 31 characters are permitted for Windows 95 and higher. Names cannot be more than 11 characters long for Windows 3.1 (8 for the name and 3 for the extension). ISO Level 2 will be best in most cases – if you know that the CD must also be readable on a Windows 3.1 system then you should select Level 1.

  6. On the Label tab you can give your CD a name and overtype the default name 'New'. You can use letters A-Z, digits 0-9 and the underscore character (_) – diacritics (accents) and spaces are not supported.
  7. On the Dates tab you can specify the date of the compilation and of its files. The current date and time are entered for the compilation as default, also the creation date of the files.
  8. Use the Misc tab to specify which files will be buffered in the cache. Files that are on slow media (floppy disks and network drives) and are very small are moved to the cache by default. You specify the location of the cache on the Cache tab in the File menu (Preferences option).
  9. Once you have selected your settings, click the New button on the right.

    Select the ISO track you want to continue. This will usually be the last ISO track on the CD, so this selection is preset. Click the OK button. The files and folders that are already on the CD are now read and automatically updated. A Nero Multisession compilation window now opens.

    The new Multisession compilation window displays all of the files and folders found on the CD. Depending on the selected update options some files and folders will be gray and some black.

    Black files and folders are the ones that have been added or replaced. Folders in which at least one file or folder has been replaced or added are also displayed black so it is clear where the changes are.

    Files and folders that are shown grayed in the compilation window are not written again during burning. They already exist on the CD. Nero will therefore only write a reference to these files on the CD.

  10. Compile the files for the CD using Drag&Drop editing by simply clicking on the required files in the File Browser and dragging them into the compilation window.

    Clicking the right mouse button opens a context menu where you can selectively add or omit certain file types. In addition there are a number of commands that you will also find in Windows Explorer, such as 'Copy', 'Open' and 'Cut'.

    When compiling with Drag&Drop the directory structure is moved across too, i.e. if you drag an entire folder into the compilation window the folder will be created on the CD you wish to burn.

    If you drag a lot of individual files however this may affect the clarity of the CD's contents. To avoid this you can create new folders within the compilation. To do this, select the Create Folder option from the Edit menu or click the right mouse button and choose the command from the context menu.

    A folder you have just created is assigned the name 'New' by default and can be renamed immediately. You can create as many folders as you need and pull the existing files across using Drag&Drop. You can of course drag other files into the compilation window from the File Browser.

  11. Click on the Write CD button or select the Write CD command from the File menu to open the write dialog box. This option is only available when the compilation window is active, as can be seen from the fact that the title bar is blue. If the File Browser is selected (and the title bar of the compilation window is therefore grayed) the option is not available and CD writing cannot be started. In this case click anywhere in the compilation window.

    The 'Write CD' dialog box now opens - it is the same as when creating a new compilation but the Burn tab is now in front.

  12. If you now wish to finish the CD, activate the 'Finalize CD' checkbox. This option finalizes and write protects the CD which you have created. In the 'Action' section activate the other check boxes you require in addition to the 'Write' check box. You will find more information about this section in The Burn tab.

    Important:

    Please ensure that the 'Finalize CD' checkbox is only active when you create the final session of a Multisession CD. Otherwise, your CD will be finalized and write protected. No further writing to the CD is now possible.

    All settings on this and the other tabs can now be reviewed and changed if required.

  13. Confirm your selection by clicking on the Burn button. All the selected steps now run in sequence until writing is complete. You can monitor progress in a status window which shows the individual steps being logged as they are executed. A typical final message would be: 'Burn process was successful with 12x (1800 KB/s)'. The CD is then ejected. The messages shown can either be saved, printed or discarded. Close the window by clicking on the Discard or Close buttons.
  14. You can now check what has been written to your new CD by inserting it again and clicking the 'CD Info' icon.


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