MJW

Just got myself a DVD writer (LG GSA-4163B) which supports DVD-RAM. So I've bought some discs (albeit only 3x speed) and would like to set one up so I can back stuff up on it. As I understand it Win XP Pro doesn't support DVD writing in Explorer, so will I have to use something like Nero to write to it ? Can I not format it and just drag and drop to it ? Is there some sort of third-party shell extension program which supports DVD RAM until Microsoft pulls its finger out ?
They seem a bit of a waste if I can only use them at 3x as the drive will do DVD+RW at 8x.
Any help would be appreciated !

jbryant

Hi MJW,

I have the same drive. What you're after is packet writing software. You need something like InCD to enable you to just add/delete/write at will to the DVD-RAM disks. I believe this comes as part of the Easy CD Creator package, but I'm sure there are other similar apps out there.

In reality, I've not actually used anything like this - when I need to run a backup I just reformat one of my DVD-RW disks (about a minute) and then burn to it using Nero. I've had some bad experiences using UDFRinst and DirectCD many years ago and havn't been bothered to give it a try, though I'm sure it's probably much better on the new OSs. Whatever you choose, make sure to do a system restore point first.


DVD-RAM won't work in any way differently to DVD-RW or DVD+RW as far as the system is concerned, but do have a reputation of being a bit more durable. I'm a bit upset when I got the drive that you can't use the caddy-based DVD-RAM disks in the 4163, as I use these in my Panasonic DVD+HDD Recorder sat under the telly as they don't get scratched up and so are ideal for repeated use.

Hope this helps
Joolz

MJW

Hi, cheers for the comments. I have a packetwriter kicking around somewhere - in fact I think Nero 6 comes with one, but I chose not to install it as I too had some trouble with similar software a while ago. Also I was unsure on compatibility with DVD-RAM. May as well just buy some DVD+RWs then and save a few quid !