What is DirectCD?

DirectCD is a way to write files directly to a CD-Recordable (CD-R) disc much like you would to a floppy diskette or removable drive. DirectCD provides a file system based on UDF v.1.5 and writes data to the CD-R disc using packet writing technology. This file system gives you drive letter access to your CD-R drive.

DirectCD includes a Wizard that guides you step-by-step through the process of preparing and ejecting CD-R discs.

With DirectCD you can read and save your files directly to your CD with any software application that can read and write to a drive letter. Some examples include:

•	Software applications, such as Microsoft Word, when you use the save or save as commands

•	Windows Explorer when you drag and drop files

•	Using Windows 95 Send To command

•	Using MS-DOS command prompts

Note: DirectCD works under Windows 95 only.


Uses for DirectCD

DirectCD is the easiest way to save data files directly to CD. Some of the uses for DirectCD include:

•	Archiving data

•	Backing up a hard drive

•	Disseminating information to field offices

•	Transferring and distribute data to other Windows 95 systems

•	Distributing databases


When to Use CD Mastering Software Instead of DirectCD

You should use CD mastering software, such as Easy-CD Pro, to make CDs when you want to:

•	Create a test copy of a CD before having it factory-duplicated

•	Exchange data over different operating systems such DOS or Windows 3.x

•	Make an audio CD

•	Make a special data CD, such as CD-Extra

Refer to your CD mastering software's online Help for more information.


Starting DirectCD

There are three ways to start DirectCD so you can begin writing data to your CD. To access DirectCD, you can either:

•	Double click the CD-R icon [image] located on the right side of the taskbar,

•	Click the Start button, point to Programs, and select DirectCD, or

•	Right-click on the icon in Windows Explorer or under My Computer

The DirectCD Wizard appears and guides you step-by-step to prepare the CD so you can write data directly to it.


Writing to a CD the First Time

Before you can write data directly to your CD, you must first format it. To do so, follow these steps:

1.	Insert a blank CD into your CD-R drive.

2.	Double click the CD-R icon [image] on the taskbar.

The Adaptec DirectCD Wizard Welcome screen appears.

3.	Click Next.

4.	Select the CD-R drive containing the blank CD and click Next.

5.	Select the option that says:
I will be using DirectCD to read and write the CD through the drive letter associated with the CD-R drive.

6.	Click Next to continue.

7.	Type in the name you want to call your CD in the Volume Information screen and click Finish.

Note: Volume names are limited to 11 characters.

The DirectCD Disc Ready screen appears when the formatting is complete.

  Using CD Mastering Software


Adding Data to a CD

Once your CD is formatted as a DirectCD disc, there are a number of ways to add data to it:

•	Drag and drop files from Windows Explorer on to the CD-Recordable (CD-R) icon

•	Select Save As from the Windows 95  application's File menu and select the drive letter of your CD-R drive

•	Use the Send To command

•	Use MS-DOS command prompts


Ejecting the CD

Once you have added data to your CD and you want to remove it from your CD-R drive, there are two different ways to format the CD depending on how you want to use the disc. When you eject the CD, the DirectCD Wizard guides you through the process and formats the disc depending on how you want to use it. Select the option that matches your needs:

•	Reading the CD on Your Computer

•	Reading the CD on Another Computer


Ejecting the CD if the Eject Wizard is Turned OFF

If you have chosen not to display the Eject Wizard, you can eject a CD by doing the following:

•	Right click on the CD-R tray icon [image] on the taskbar.

  Turning the Eject Wizard ON


Writing More Data to a DirectCD Disc

To add more data to your DirectCD disc [image] meaning that you have previously formatted a blank CD for DirectCD use [image] you can add more information to it until the disc is full. To do so, follow these steps:

1.	Insert the DirectCD disc into your CD-R drive.

2.	Wait for the DirectCD Disc Ready screen to appear.

3.	Click OK and continue writing more data to your CD.

  Writing More Data to an ISO 9660 Disc


Writing More Data to an ISO 9660 Disc

If you closed a DirectCD disc to ISO 9660 format [image] meaning you select the option to read the disc on a standard CD-ROM drive [image] you can still add more data to it by following these steps:

1.	Insert your disc (that was previously finalized to read on a standard CD-ROM drive) into your CD-R drive.

2.	Double click the CD-R icon [image] on the taskbar.

3.	Click the Next button two times until you see the Make Writable screen.

4.	Select the option that says:

I will be using DirectCD to read and write the CD through the drive letter associated with the CD-R drive.

5.	Type in the name you want to call your CD in the Volume Information screen.

You can now add more files to the CD using Windows Explorer or any Windows application.

  Writing More Data to a DirectCD Disc


General Tab Settings

The DirectCD General tab displays information about the CD currently inserted in the CD-R drive. The settings are as follows:

Settings	Description
Label	Indicates the volume name of the CD.
Type	Indicates the type of CD inserted in your CD-R drive, such as blank CD-R or DirectCD discs.
Used space	Indicates the amount of data (in MB) currently on the CD.
Free space	Indicates the amount of data (in MB) available on your CD.


DirectCD Settings Tab

The items found in the DirectCD Settings tab are as follows:

Setting	Description
Device	Specifies if the CD-R drive is locked or unlocked and lists the manufacture's name and model number.
Media Type	List the type of media inserted into the CD-R drive.
	Media	Can Be Used in DirectCD
	• Blank CD-Recordable disc	Yes
	• CD-Recordable disc with read-only files/folders	Yes
	• CD-Recordable disc with unrecognized data	Yes
	• DirectCD disc	Yes
	• CD-Recordable disc in unknown file system format	No
	• Read-only disc	No
	• CD-Recordable disc with read-only audio data	Yes
	• Unsupported or bad media	No
	• Unknown (Device not ready)	No
Drive Access Speed	Lists the current Read and Write speeds. You can change this by selecting different speeds from the drop-down list box.


DirectCD Wizard Options

You can configure the DirectCD to display any of the following Wizard screens:

Screen	Description
DirectCD Disc Ready	When you insert a DirectCD disc into your CD-R drive, this screen notifies you when the disc is read for direct read and write access.
Disc Ejected	When you finalize a disc to be read on a standard CD-ROM drive, select this option if you want to be notified that it has been ejected.
Eject Disc	Select this option if you want the Eject Wizard displayed when you eject a DirectCD disc. Deselect this option if you do not want the Eject Wizard to guide you through the eject process.
Startup Banner	Select this option if you want to display the DirectCD graphic banner each time you start your computer.


Turning the Eject Wizard OFF

You can choose to eject a DirectCD disc without the help of Eject wizard. To turn the Eject Wizard OFF, follow these steps:

1.	Right-click on the CD-R tray icon [image].

2.	Select Properties.

3.	Click the Settings tab.

4.	Deselect the option that says:

Display the Eject Wizard screen before ejecting a DirectCD disc.

The Eject Wizard screen will not be displayed the next time you eject a DirectCD disc.

 Ejecting the CD if the Eject Wizard is Turned OFF


Turning the Eject Wizard On/Off
Turning the Eject Wizard Screen ON

If you have chosen to turn OFF the Eject Wizard screen, you can turn it ON by doing the following:

1.	Right-click on the CD-R tray icon [image].

2.	Select Properties.

3.	Click the Settings tab.

4.	Select the option that says:

Display the Eject Wizard screen before ejecting a DirectCD disc.

The Eject Wizard screen will be displayed the next time you eject a DirectCD disc.


UDF v. 1.5

Universal Disk Format. A standard developed by the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) that specifies a standardized file system so that a CD-Recordable drive can be used as a logical device on a computer system.


Software Example

With DirectCD, you can save your files directly to CD from any windows application such as Microsoft Word.


Windows Explorer Example

With DirectCD, you can use Windows Explorer to drag and drop files directly on to the CD.


Double Clicking the CD-R Icon

Double click the CD-R icon located on the right side of the taskbar near the clock. The DirectCD Wizard appears and guides you step-by-step to prepare the CD for writing data to it.


How to Format the Disc

1.	Select the option that says:
Format the disc so I can read and write data to it directly from drive [F:].
Drive [F:] indicates the default letter assigned to your CD-R drive. Your drive letter may be different.

2.	Click Next to continue.

3.	Type in the name you want to call your CD in the Volume Information screen.

The DirectCD Disc Ready screen appears when the formatting is complete.


Ejecting the CD to Read on Your Computer

When you eject the DirectCD disc from your CD-R drive and want to continue reading the CD on your computer or another CD-R system that supports DirectCD, the disc must be formatted so you can continue using DirectCD. To do so, follow these steps:

1.	Right-click the CD-R icon [image] on the taskbar.

2.	Select Eject from the drop-down list box.

3.	Select the option that says:

Leave the disc as it is so that it can be read and written through drive letter access in the future.

DirectCD ejects your CD from the CD-R drive. When you are ready to add more data to the CD, insert it into the CD-R drive.

  Writing More Data to a DirectCD Disc


Eject the CD to Read on Another Computer

When you eject the DirectCD disc from your CD-R drive and want to read it on another computer that has a standard CD-ROM drive, it must be formatted as an ISO 9660 closed session disc. To do so, follow these steps:

1.	Double click the CD-R icon [image] on the taskbar.

2.	Select Eject from the drop-down list box.

3.	Select the option that says:

Organize the disc so that it can be read in a standard CD-ROM drive. Note: You will have to make the disc writable to add more files to it.

NOTE: To make the disc readable on a standard CD-ROM drive, the disc is closed as an ISO 9660 format. This format information requires 22 MB of space on the disc for the first session, and 13 MB for each additional session.


Easy-CD Pro

When you select this option, DirectCD starts Easy-CD Pro (or another CD mastering software installed on your system) so you can use CD mastering software to make a data CD.

You should use Easy-CD Pro  to make data CDs when you want to:

•	Create a test copy of a CD before having it factory-duplicated

•	Exchange data over different operating systems such DOS, or Windows 3.x

•	Make an audio CD

•	Make a special data CD, such as CD-Extra

Refer to your CD mastering software's online Help for more information.


Make Disk Writeable

Selecting this option allows you to continue using DirectCD to add data directly to your CD and maintains the existing data on your CD.


Packet Writing

A method of CD recording in which data can be written in much smaller chunks than are possible with the current Disc-at-Once and Track-at-Once methods used in CD mastering software.


The Adaptec DirectCD Wizard checks to see what kind of CD you have in your drive, and based on that information, sets up the CD so that you can add data to it using DirectCD.

When you are ready to eject the CD, the Adaptec DirectCD Wizard appears and guides you through the final process so you can read the CD either on a computer using DirectCD or on a standard CD-ROM drive.


DirectCD lists all available CD-Recordable (CD-R) drives attached to your system. Select the CD-R drive you want to use for DirectCD.


Specifies if the CD-R drive is locked or unlocked and lists the CD recorder's manufacture name and model number.


List the type of media inserted in the CD-R drive (for example, blank CD-Recordable disc, DirectCD disc, and so on) and indicates if the discs can be used with DirectCD.


The CD is formatted so you can read and write data directly to it when the CD is in your CD-R drive.


CD mastering software installed on your system is launched so you can use it to prepare the data on the CD.


Type in the title of the CD. Note: Volume Names are limited to 11 characters.


Select this option if you want to continue using DirectCD to read and write data to the disc in your CD-R drive.


Select this option to read the disc in a standard CD-ROM drive. To write more data to the disc, make your selections in the Make Disc Writable Wizard screen.


Select this option if you are ejecting the disc to read on a CD-ROM drive and you do not want to add more data to the disc.


Select this option to display the Eject Wizard. Deselect it if you want to use the shell extension menu.


Shows the amount of data currently on the CD.


Shows the amount of deleted space on the CD that is no longer available.


Shows the amount of space available on the CD.


Select the different read and write speeds for your CD-R drive from the drop-down list box(s).


Select this option to display the DirectCD Disc Ready screen when you insert a DirectCD disc into your CD-R drive.


Select this option to display the Disc Ejected screen when you eject a disc that has been formatted to read on a standard CD-ROM drive.


Select this option to display the DirectCD banner when you start your computer.


Shows the total amount of space (used and free) on the CD.


Volume Information

Typing the Volume Information is a useful way to categorize and organize your CD-R disc collection.


ISO 9660

An international standard which specifies how data is arranged (its logical format) on a CD-ROM.