[Jedi Master]

O.K. I admit it...my age is catching up with me...I can't decide...looking for some thoughts/input as to which CDRW software to use.

Recently purchased a new system that came with a Lite-On 24/10/32 burner and Roxio EZCD Basic 5.1. I've also used Nero 5.5 and RecordNow MAX

I've read the horror stories of EZCD 5 Platinum under WinXP (and even experienced some problems with it under Win2000 Pro).

1. Is EZCD 5 Plat as bad as everyone is saying? Also, is the main problem related to Direct CD? It appears that the main conflicts are with other installed CDR software (namely Nero), prior installs of EZCD or other software (antivirus, tools, etc.

2. The basic built in software is adequate for doing backups, but requires a full format of the CDRW disk in order to delete something. Direct CD would be a nice feature. However, as noted above, I've seen indications that Direct CD is the main source of problems under Win2000/WinXP.

3. Any known problems/bugs with Nero?

Appreciate any thoughts/input you can provide...

[Alien]

I only just got the XP version of InCD [the 1 that comes with Nero] the other day so haven't really gotten chance to use it much, but it hasn't really misbehaved yet. The only thing I would grumble about it is that when I put a formatted CDRW in it automatically opened a window showing the CD's contents, without me telling it to.

It also popped up the same window [showing the CDRW's contents] after I had ejected the CDRW & put in an install CD for Ulead Video Studio. I know I could have just opened Explorer or My Computer & right-clicked the drive & selected Autoplay, but that's not the point - I wanted things to work they way they were supposed to, so to get XP to recognise that I had put a different CD in I had to reboot then try again.

OK, so it's nothing major, but it was annoying.

[polarcat]

go for Nero!

IMHO it's the most stable CDR/RW suite, and folks at Ahead Software frequetly release new updated versions of this app.

[ThC 129]

I use Nero/InCD it is the best combination i have used for burning.

[Palos]

Although the GUI needs some lift-up, Nero is still the app.of choice here. Burns ISO, BIN/CUE and NRG...what more do you need?

The packet writing software seems to be the downturn of Ahead,Inc. I remember when they switched the build # from 1.3 to 2.0, all CDRWs recorded with 1.3 could NOT be used with 2.0. Pretty annoying, if you ask me, they seemed to flush the backward compatibility down the toilet.

[DeviLduck]

1. Forget ANY version of EZCD, patched or unpatched. Been there, done that...nothing but problems with W98, W2K & XP! Have you ever looked at the Roxio patchwork of fixes for various versions, on their support website? Yes, I tried all the install tricks & patches, custom installing leaving out DirectCD, etc., but problems remained. For me, ezcd5plat was wasted money! Some XP issues are still NOT ACTUALLY RESOLVED by Roxio yet! I too was once seduced by the elegant GUI, but this software is seriously flawed.

2. Stay away from EZCD & DirectCD period. Roxio doesn't care about fixing their products correctly. Avoid the hassle! (On the positive side, Roxio tech support is good, but they're limited to offering FIXES that don't really work.)

3. NERO (v.5572) is what I use now, running WinXPpro. No problems. All software CDR tasks you need can be accomplished. Everything works like a charm.

[Shamrock]

No one tried NTI CD Maker 2000? It's VERY similar to EZCD, and anyone's grandmother can use it.

www.ntius.com

[Wolf87]

WinIso, CDMage, CloneCD, Daemon Tools and Blindwrite suite.

[enio]

Nero is far the best;)

[ThC 129]

Its not Ahead's fault 1.3 CDs are not compatible with 2.0 InCD created CDs. It is the new UDF file format, 1.5. It is that format that is incompatible with 1.3, so its not Ahead's fault it is the way the UDF file format is.

[Alien]

Ummm...THC... InCD was causing me grief when I was trying to read normal CD-ROMs, never mind CDRs that I had written or CD-RWs.

[Brian Frank]

Nero.

[badaro]

I'd go with Nero. EZCD5 has given me a lot of trouble.

[]s Badaro

[Jedi Master]

Postscript - Roxio released EZCD 5 Platinum ver 5.1. Picked up a copy at Frys (if it didn't work, I was willing to endure the hastle of the Frys gestapo). That being said, this version works very well.

[SneakX]

I agree with almost everybody here; EZCD 5 sucks hard.
I decided to go for EZ CD 4, which is actually working perfectly (w/ patch 4.05) without hassle in Windows XP (even if a message claim that both aren't compatible).

It is maybe a luck I got, but it worth the try (i prefer it to nero which disapointed me a lot in the past).

finally for the image files, I use fireburner

[INFERNO2000]

A bump for NERO/CloneCD combo.


I love it. You will too.

[cn1166]

The bang for you buck is Nero Burning ROM 5.5.8...have tried all the others and keep coming back to Nero...

[Mr.Guvernment]

I got a Pioneer DVD 103 DVR burner (dvd burner) and run XP

Nero - for bin/cue etc since fireburner and cdrwin ddon't recognize my burner, or my cdrom

Adpatec for data

When ever i use Nero it puts all _ in spaces and capitalises everything, screwing up alot of my info...i have tried joilet, and all other options, no go, anyone?

Anyways, Nero seem to be the way to do, as well as it's great new built in support for burning DVD's